SPANISH AMERICAN WARS OF INDEPENDENCE (JCC)

In the early 1800s, the Spanish Empire was facing its greatest crisis since its foundation. With Napoleon invading the Iberian Peninsula in 1808 and King Ferdinand being forced to abdicate, the legitimacy of imperial rule was thrown into question. Across Spanish America, the colonial elites, military leaders, and all-important players were forced to choose between maintaining loyalty to a captive monarch across the ocean or seizing the opportunity to assert their local authority. Revolutionary factions, inspired by Enlightenment ideals, the American and French Revolutions, and long-standing creole grievances over political exclusion and economic restrictions, began forming juntas in cities from Caracas to Buenos Aires. While many initially claimed to govern in the king’s name, the pull toward independence grew stronger, especially as royalist resistance hardened.

Royalist leaders, from the Viceroy of Peru to the Captain General of Guatemala, mobilized armies, forged alliances with conservative elites, and invoked the unity of the empire, with the sanctity of the Catholic Church, and the spectre of social chaos to rally support. Revolutionary commanders weighed promises of social reform against the risk of alienating powerful allies, all while contending with regional rivalries and scarce resources. Now, amid uncertainty, both sides must navigate diplomacy, propaganda, and armed conflict to secure their vision for Spanish America. Whatever the outcome, the events of these years will decide whether the empire endures or is shattered into a constellation of new and fragile republics.