How Did The French Revolution Affect Latin America

During his life as a young man Simon Bolivar was sent to Europe to complete his education. It was during this time that he became familiar with the ideas of the enlightenment. These liberal ideas will plant a seed for growth during Bolivars return to his home country. As the American Revolution was fought the ideas spread; first to France then to Latin America. Simon Bolivar will spend his life trying to liberate Latin America from Spanish rule.
The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was a time in which thinkers believed they could better understand the world around them and one another through scientific reasoning. These thinkers wanted to apply the scientific method to society and its many problems. Some of the things they were questioning were the divine right of Kings, power of the nobles and the power of the Catholic Church. In response to studying these problems some important ideas were formulated. Ideas such as John Locke’s promoted the idea
Colonists in Latin America in the early 1800’s had a lot in common with the revolutionaries of the 1700’s. In both places, they were colonies that were part of an empire whose leader was thousands of miles away. The success of the american revolution and America’s freedom inspired revolts in France and Hispaiola (Haiti). The spark that spread revolutionary ideas to Latin America was Napoleon putting his brother on the throne of Spain. Latin America saw this as weakness and an opportunity. They used this weak point to demand independence. When Toussaint L’Ouverture, a former slave, lead troops against Napoleon’s forces forcing the french out of haiti and becoming the first latin american colony to be liberated from european rule (HistoryWiz). This successful removal of European domination encouraged Simon Bolivar to begin to create a force that would remove the Spanish from his