Spanish American wars of independence
United Kingdom

Britain wanted to see an end to Spanish rule in South America and ultimately tap the monopoly of the important potential markets there. At the same time they wanted Spain as an ally to keep the balance of power in post-Napoleonic Europe. To fulfil this, Britain went covert in support of the Revolutionaries in South America. In a kind of private free enterprise going by the law, she sent men, financial and material support to help the insurgents fight against Spain.

One of the most significant contributions were the British Legions, a volunteer unit that fought under Simón Bolívar. This force numbered upwards of 6,000 men – the majority of whom were composed of veterans of the Napoleonic Wars. In combat their greatest achievements were at Boyacá (1819), Carabobo (1821), Pichincha (1822) and Ayacucho (1824) which secured independence for Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru from Spanish rule respectively. Bolívar described the Legions and all who served in them as "the saviours of my country".

Many members of the Royal Navy also volunteered for the revolutionary forces. The most famous being Thomas Cochrane who reorganised the Chilean navy, most of whom were composed of Royal Navy veterans. Amongst many feats he captured the Spanish fortress of Valdivia in 1820; and in the same year he captured the flagship of the Spanish South American fleet, the Esmeralda, in the port of Callao. As well as helping Chile gain independence from Spain Cochrane did the same for Peru too by mounting an effective blockade and transporting troops. He then moved on to Brazil in their fight for independence from Portugal.

At their peak by 1819 around 10,000 men from the British Isles served in South America to fight against the Spanish.

British diplomacy also played a key role; in particular the role of foreign secretaries Viscount Castlereagh and later George Canning both of whom wanted to see the demise of Spain's South American colonies. Castlereagh's greatest achievement was to settle a deal with the European powers at the Congress of Aix-La-Chapelle in 1818 and the Congress of Verona four years later. This blocked aid to Spain which inhibited her reconquest of South America. With the Royal Navy in command of the oceans this set the precedence - they were also a decisive factor in the struggle for independence of certain Latin American countries.
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