America · Part 6

ruler continued to stay in Brazil. But when his power was challenged he decided to go to Portugal leaving the colony of Brazil in the hands of his son Dom Pedro. The reliance of the Brazilian upper classes on African slavery favoured their continued ties with Portugal. Plantation owners depended Dom Pedro Jose Maria Morelos Miguel Hidalgo Simon Bolivar: Bolivar belonged to an old aristocratic Creole family in Caracas. He was of fundamental importance to the movement as an ideologue and military leader. In his most famous “Jamaica Letter” (written during one of his periods of exile, ), Bolívar affirmed his undying faith in the cause of independence, even in the face of the patriots’ repeated defeats. While critiquing Spanish colonialism, Bolívar held the view that the only path for the former colonies was the establishment of an autonomous and centralised republican government. The type of republic that he eventually espoused was very much an oligarchic one. He believed that a virtuous governing system would not be possible if the nation was divided by ethnicity. Bolivar was an inspiring figure to left-wing and emancipatory movements in Latin America even in the latter half of the twentieth century. The Age of Revolutions on the African slave trade, which Portugal controlled. The size of the slave population – approximately half the total of Brazilian population in – also meant that Creoles shied away from political initiatives that might mean a loss of control over their social inferiors. Therefore, the Portuguese authorities at home put an end to the reforms undertaken by Joao in Brazil. They wanted Dom Pedro to return to Portugal. However, Pedro declared Brazil’s independence and decided to stay on. In , Brazil obtained independence from Portugal and it became the only constitutional monarchy in South America with Pedro I becoming its first emperor. Other Revolts The liberator of Argentina, San Martin joined Chilean liberator Bernardo O’Higgins and both were able to get independence for Chile in followed by Peru in . Bolivar and San Martin met