North and South America - AP World History: Modern

Simon Bolivar succeeded in defeating Spanish forces on August 10, 1820 in Bogota, marking the first independent nation called Gran Colombia. While uprisings against Spanish presence in South America occurred earlier in the 19th century, the taking of Bogota marked the first time that the viceroyalty capital and control was in the hands of South Americans. In the subsequent years, other nations in South America followed suite and gained independence.

In 1824, Simon Bolivar led decisive victories against the Spanish forces in Peru in Junin and Ayacucho. In August of 1825, the Congress of Upper Peru, the Republic of Bolivia was established with Bolivar as its first president. After a brief several months as President, Bolivar was succeeded by Antonio Jose de Sucre in December of 1825.

In 1822, forces led by General Antonio Jose de Sucre defeated Spanish forces near Quito, which guaranteed Ecuador's independence. Although Guayaquil gained independence before the Battle of Pichincha, it was this battle that saw the whole country become independent. After the battle, Ecuador joined Gran Colombia until separating in 1830.

Simon Bolivar was from a wealthy Creole family and he was one of the major leaders in the revolutions that created all of the above nations, so he would be the best choice. Moctezuma II was the ruler of the Aztecs when the Spanish arrived, so he would not be a good answer to this question. George Washington was a revolutionary general but he was only active in the modern United States, so he would not be a good answer here. King Ferdinand II was an Old World monarch and sponsored Christopher Columbus's voyage, so he would not be the best choice here. Lastly Pablo Escobar was an infamous 20th century drug smuggler, so he would not be a correct answer.

Juan Peron was a champion of the working class and his platform exemplified this. He was in favor of ridding the country of multinational corporations and giving the jobs, that he believed they had taken, back to the Argentinian people. He therefore was in favor of organized labor and wished to keep foreign investors out of the country. He also did not believe in giving tax cuts to the wealthy.

Due to Napoleon's conquest, the Portuguese royal family had already moved to Brazil, setting up the path towards independence with the establishment of the Empire of Brazil in 1822.

Venezuela declared its independence from Spain on July 5, 1811. It was the first country to do so during the general Spanish American Wars for Independence that occurred between 1810 to 1823. The collapse of the Spanish Monarchy in 1808 led to a power vacuum in South America that allowed several colonies to move to independence. Even though Venezuela declared its independence in 1811, the last Spanish Loyalist forces did not stop fighting until 1823.

The Battle of Pichincha was the final battle on the Ecuadorian rebels' advance to Quito. It was the culmination of Ecuador's struggle for independence that started in 1820. Even before conflict began, Spanish Loyalist forces were already on the retreat throughout the continent. Thus, Ecuador's fight for independence was shorter and less bloody than other conflicts on the continent. The Battle itself occurred over 3,500 meters above sea level on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano. Victory by General Antonio Jose de Sucre allowed the rebels to enter Quito, in effect guaranteeing the formation of Ecuador as an independent country.

The Battle of Ayacucho was the last great battle of the South American wars for independence. Peruvian rebels led by Jose Antonio de Sucre (the same general from the Battle of Pichincha crushed the remnants of Royalist control of Peru. Although the battle occurred in Peru, it also resulted in the formation of the nation of Bolivia, which incorporated parts of Upper Peru that had been led by Simon Bolivar.

Bolivar began his efforts to encourage revolution a year after the Peninsular War began in 1807. The Peninsular War was a conflict between France, the United Kingdom, Portugal, and the Bourbon and Bonapartist Spanish forces. By 1821, Bolivar had helped Venezuela secure its independence.

In response to growing social unrest and economic difficulties in Latin America in the 1960s, John F. Kennedy initiated the Alliance for Progress to encourage social reform and economic growth.

The Good Neighbor Policy, initiated by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, promised that the United States would adopt a policy of non-interference in the affairs of the politics of Latin American countries. This did not function as promised, however; during the Cold War, the United States intervened in Latin America on numerous occasions.

The English Commonwealth of Nations is a term used to refer to the loose association of former English colonies that exist all over the world. The United States of America is one of the few former English colonies that is not a member, but Canada remains in the English Commonwealth, as do countries like Australia and India.

Of these Presidents, Woodrow Wilson, Barack Obama, and Theodore Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize during their terms. Jimmy Carter received his long after his Presidency ended for his dedicated humanitarian work in the years since. Only John F. Kennedy did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Harlem Renaissance took place in the 1920s. It was an artistic movement, with intellectual and social qualities, that took place among the African-American community of New York City. In particular, it was a time of a dramatic increase in the writings of African Americans about their experiences.

The beginning of the Great Depression took place during the presidency of Herbert Hoover who, like many Presidents when the economy is in a bad state, was widely blamed for the disaster. Many Americans were forced from their homes and unable to find work and set up slums and shantytowns throughout American cities. In the early 1930s hundreds of thousands of Americans lived in these “Hoovervilles.”

Juan Peron was elected President of Argentina three times, ruling from 1946-1955, and then again from October 1973 to his death in July 1974. Peron was a military leader who espoused a "third way" form of economics and government between capitalism and communism that was referred to as "Peronismo." Typically, this is called "corporatism," as Peron and his followers sought to have the government work with corporations and labor unions to create economic balance.

For several centuries, Latin America was a series of European colonies, mostly Spanish and Portuguese. In the nineteenth century, most of these achieved independence; however, that independence was to become profoundly illusory in the twentieth century as the United States began to exert overwhelming control over Latin American economic and political life. American investors took control of mines, plantations, and financial institutions throughout Latin America, and the American government took an active role in encouraging revolutions to further political interests.

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the nations of Latin America were generally either colonies or republics, with a few exceptions. When the economic crisis of the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, many states lost faith in their republican governments, and military dictatorships were able to seize power. This happened in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, and several other countries.

In the early twentieth century, more than three quarters of the worlds coffee was grown in Brazil. The country was governed by a proto-republican oligarchy that was able to maintain power as a result of the high cost of and demand for coffee; however, during the Great Depression, the demand for coffee collapsed, causing the price to collapse and plunging Brazil into an economic crisis. This led to the overthrowing of the republican government, which was replaced by a military dictatorship.