Latin American Wars of Independence

This course covers the conspiracies, uprisings, and wars that led to the independence of Haiti and the Latin American colonies of Spain and Portugal between 1780 and the 1898 withdrawal of Spain from Cuba. It focuses on the key military and political leaders of anti-colonial struggles conducted on a continental scale from the islands of the Caribbean to the Andean highlands and beyond. Military strategy and political tactics were decisively shaped by modern debates about the meaning of freedom in terms of slavery and national self-determination. No prior knowledge of Latin America and the Caribbean required.