Simon Bolivar and Revolution in the Spanish Empire

This excerpt is from a letter written by Simón Bolívar, in which he laments the oppressive conditions faced by Americans living within the Spanish system. The letter was written during a time when many Latin American countries were struggling for independence from Spanish colonial rule. Bolívar was a key figure in the fight for independence.

Source 1

Americans today, and perhaps to a greater extent than ever before, who live within the Spanish system occupy a position in society no better than that of serfs destined for labor, or at best they have no more status than that of mere consumers. Yet even this status is surrounded with galling restrictions, such as being forbidden to grow European crops, or to store products which are royal monopolies, or to establish factories of a type the Peninsula itself does not possess. . . In short, do you wish to know what our future held?--simply the cultivation of the fields of indigo, grain, coffee, sugar cane, cacao, and cotton; cattle raising on the broad plains; hunting wild game in the jungles; digging in the earth to mine its gold--but even these limitations could never satisfy the greed of Spain.

A letter by Simón Bolívar, September 6, 1815

Question 1

Short answer

Identify one political trend in Europe that influenced the writing of this excerpt.

Question 2

Short answer

Identify one economic trend in Europe that influenced the writing of this excerpt.

Question 3

Short answer

Explain how the ideas of one Enlightenment thinker inspired revolutions against the Spanish Empire in 19th century South America.

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