and other agricultural products. Because
of their strategic position in the
Caribbean, they were well-defended by
Spanish forces against foreign attack,
including attack by exporters of revolu-
tion. In Cuba, fear of revolt by the black
slaves who dominated the population,
and who had rebelled successfully in
neighboring Haiti, gave many whites an
interest in maintaining Spanish rule.
These colonies remained the last vestige
of the Spanish-American empire until
1898, when the United States wrested
them away in the Spanish-American War
(see chapter 5).
Mexico and
Central AmericaIn the early morning of September 16,
1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
launched the first phase of the Mexican
war of independence. A parish priest in
the village of Dolores, Hidalgo rang the
church bell to gather the townspeople
and proclaimed an end to the country’s
misrule. His call, which became known as
the Grito de Dolores, or “Cry of
Dolores,” was not precisely recorded. It
may have included “Death to bad govern-
ment!” and “Long live the Catholic reli-INDEPENDENCE IN THE NEW WORLD 73During the first three decades of
the 19th century, most of Spain’s
colonial holdings in the Americas
declared and won their independ-
ence. Beginning with Paraguay in
1811, a total of 15 different nations
emerged from former Spanish
colonies. Initially, Guatemala,
El Salvador, Costa Rica, and
Nicaragua were collectively known
as the United Provinces of Central
America, and Venezuela, Colombia
(including what later became
Panama), and Ecuador were
together united as Gran Colombia.
The map shown here gives the
dates of independence for all
countries and, where appropriate,
the former name of each country.Independence in Latin America