Reconquista (Spanish America) facts for kids
The Reconquista in Spanish America was a time when Spain tried to take back control of its colonies. This happened after Napoleon was defeated in 1814. During this period, Spanish armies gained power again in the Spanish American wars of independence. The name "Reconquista" is like the medieval "Reconquista" in Spain, when Christians took back land from the Caliphate.
When Napoleon invaded Spain, many Spanish colonies in the Americas started to seek more freedom or even full independence. This was because Spain was in political chaos. By 1815, it was clear which areas were controlled by Spain (royalists) and which by those wanting independence.
Most of New Spain (Mexico) and Peru were under Spanish control. In South America, only the Río de la Plata (Argentina) and New Granada (Colombia) were still free. After French forces left Spain in 1814, King Ferdinand VII returned to power. He said that all the changes made in the Americas were illegal. He also got rid of the Spanish Constitution of 1812 and sent armies to stop the rebellions.
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King Ferdinand VII Returns
When King Ferdinand VII came back to power, it changed everything. Many new laws and governments had been set up in his name while he was away. But Ferdinand saw that many conservatives and the Catholic Church in Spain supported him.
So, on May 4, he rejected the Spanish Constitution of 1812. On May 10, he ordered the arrest of the liberal leaders who had created it. Ferdinand said that the Constitution and other changes were made without his permission. He also declared all the new governments and laws in Spanish America invalid. He brought back the old laws and political systems. News of these events reached Spanish America over the next few weeks or months.
This decision broke ties with two groups that could have helped Ferdinand. One group was the local governments in the Americas that had not yet declared full independence. The other was Spanish liberals who wanted a government that included the colonies. Many people in New Spain, Central America, the Caribbean, Quito (now Ecuador), Peru, Upper Peru (now Bolivia), and Chile saw this as a way to avoid independence.
Most Spanish Americans were moderate. They decided to wait and see what would happen. But Ferdinand's actions pushed areas not controlled by Spanish armies towards full independence. These regions had started their own governments in 1810. Even moderates who hoped to make peace with Spain now saw that they needed to break away to protect their new reforms.
Spain's Military Campaigns
During this time, Spanish forces advanced into New Granada (Colombia), controlling it from 1815 to 1819. They also took control of Chile from 1814 to 1817. New Granada had been independent since 1810. But Venezuela had seen royalists and independence fighters take control many times.
To calm Venezuela and retake New Granada, Spain sent its largest army ever to the Americas in 1815. This force had about 10,000 soldiers and nearly sixty ships. It was led by General Pablo Morillo. This army was key in taking back New Granada, which strongly supported independence. However, its soldiers were spread out across Venezuela, New Granada, Quito, and Peru. Many also died from tropical diseases. This weakened their impact on the war. In the end, most of the Spanish forces were actually Spanish Americans, not soldiers from Spain.
The Army in New Granada
The Spanish army left the port of Cádiz on February 17, 1815. They first landed in Carupano (Venezuela) in April. Then they invaded Margarita Island without any fighting. After leaving the island, Morillo's troops joined other Spanish forces in Venezuela. They entered Cumaná, La Guaira, Caracas, and Puerto Cabello in May.
A small part of the army went to Panamá. The main group headed to the coastal city of Santa Marta in New Granada, which was still controlled by Spain. After getting supplies and volunteers in Santa Marta on July 23, the Spanish forces surrounded Cartagena de Indias. After a five-month siege, the city fell in December 1815.
By May 6, 1816, Spanish and colonial forces had taken back New Granada. They marched south from Cartagena and north from Spanish strongholds in Quito, Pasto, and Popayán. They finally took Bogotá. A special war court was set up to judge those accused of treason. More than a hundred important republican officials were executed. These included Jorge Tadeo Lozano and Francisco José de Caldas. Soldiers from the republican armies of New Granada were forced to join the Spanish army and sent to Peru.
The Fight for Chile
In August 1814, the Queen's Talavera Regiment arrived in Talcahuano, a Spanish stronghold in Chile. This unit had fought in the Peninsular War in Spain. It was led by Brigadier Mariano Osorio, the new governor. Osorio gathered about 5,000 local men into an army. The Talaveras Regiment soldiers were almost the only Spaniards in this force.
The new Spanish army fought the independence forces on October 1 in Rancagua. The independence fighters tried to stop them from taking Santiago, but they failed. After Spanish forces took Santiago, patriots found in the city were sent away to the Juan Fernández Islands. By November, Spain had control of most of Chile again.
A member of the Talavera Regiment, Vicente San Bruno, was put in charge of arresting civilians who were thought to have helped the patriots. In 1816, Francisco Marcó del Pont became the new governor. He started a harsh campaign of political and military persecution. Marcó del Pont made San Bruno the head of a special court called the Tribunal of Vigilance and Public Security.
The Royalist Army's Makeup
Overall, only about one-tenth of the Spanish armies in Spanish America were from Europe. And only about half of the special expeditionary units were European once they arrived. When a European soldier was lost, a Spanish American soldier replaced them. So, over time, more and more Spanish American soldiers were in these units.
For example, Pablo Morillo, the commander of the army sent to South America, reported that he only had 2,000 European soldiers in 1820. This meant only half of his expeditionary force was European. It is thought that in the Battle of Maipú, only a quarter of the Spanish forces were European. In the Battle of Carabobo, about a fifth were European. And in the Battle of Ayacucho, less than 1% were European.
The American militias showed the different groups of people living there. For example, in 1820, the Spanish army in Venezuela had 843 white soldiers, 5,378 Casta (mixed-race) soldiers, and 980 Indigenous soldiers.
Turning the Tide: Patriot Victories
Instead of calming the patriots, Spain's actions made them more determined to fight. Soon, even moderate people, who had hoped to negotiate with Spain, realized that war was the only way to keep their new freedoms.
In New Granada, the patriots were not united, which helped Morillo's army advance. Many people from New Granada and Venezuela who supported independence fled to Haiti. They were welcomed there. Others fled to the Llanos (plains), where Morillo's forces could not reach them. The Haitian president, Alexandre Pétion, gave the exiles military and money. This allowed them to continue fighting for independence with the patriots who had formed Llanero (plainsmen) guerrilla bands.
In the southern part of South America, José de San Martín had been building an army since 1814. He was preparing to invade Chile. Chilean patriots who escaped the Spanish attacks fled to Mendoza, an Argentine province controlled by Buenos Aires. They were reorganized under San Martín. While Argentine forces got ready to invade Chile, San Martín and Bernardo O'Higgins started a guerrilla campaign. This was led by Manuel Rodríguez to keep the Spanish forces busy.
Black people, both enslaved and free, from Mendoza and Buenos Aires formed the core of the Army of the Andes. This army received important political and material help in 1816. From January to February 1817, San Martín led his army over the Andes Mountains. This was a very brave move that changed the situation for the Spanish in Chile. By February 10, San Martín controlled northern and central Chile. A year later, he controlled the south. Chile was free from Spanish rule, and independence was declared in 1818. San Martín and his allies then spent the next two years planning to invade Peru, which began in 1820.
In northern South America, Simón Bolívar decided to move the main military operations from Caracas to New Granada. Like San Martín, Bolívar personally worked to create an army to invade a neighboring country. He also worked with exiles from that region who supported independence. However, Bolívar did not have the approval of the Venezuelan congress.
From June to July 1819, Bolívar led an army mostly made up of Llaneros and British Legions. He used the rainy season as cover. They crossed the cold, difficult passes of the Andes. This risky plan worked. By August, Bolívar controlled Bogotá and gained the support of New Granada. The people there still remembered the harsh Spanish reconquest under Morillo. With the resources of New Granada, Bolívar became the clear leader of the patriots in Venezuela. He then brought the two regions together into a new state called Gran Colombia.
Images for kids
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Soldiers in the Royalist army.
See also
In Spanish: Reconquista de Hispanoamérica para niños
