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Decolonization of the Americas

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Decolonization of the Americas refers to the process by which the countries in North America and South America gained their independence.

United States

Main articles: American Revolution and History of United States continental expansion

The United States was the first country in the Americas to gain independence, declaring independence from Britain in 1776, which was recognised with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

Countries in the Americas by date of independence. Note that the United States did not complete its continental territorial expansion until 1867.

Haiti

Main article: Haitian Revolution

Following the French Revolution, many of the ideals of liberty spread to Haiti, where a slave uprising began in 1791. On January 1, 1804, Dessalines declared Haiti a free republic and joined the United States as the second independent nation in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti is the only country in the Western hemisphere in which a slave uprising directly led to freedom.

Spanish colonies

The Spanish colonies in South America won their independence in the first quarter of the 19th century, in the South American Wars of Independence. Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín led their independence struggle. Although Bolívar attempted to keep the Spanish-speaking parts of the continent politically unified, they rapidly became independent of one another as well, and several further wars were fought, such as the War of the Triple Alliance and the War of the Pacific.

During the Peninsula War, several assemblies were established by the criollos to rule the lands in the name of Ferdinand VII of Spain. This experience of self-government and the influence of Liberalism and the ideas of the French and American Revolutions brought the struggle for independence, led by the Libertadores. The colonies freed themselves, often with help from the British Empire, which aimed to achieve political influence and trade without the Spanish monopoly.

A similar process took place in Spain's North and Central American colonies in the 1810s with the Mexican War of Independence and related struggles.

Portuguese colonies

Main article: Brazilian Declaration of Independence

Unlike the Spanish, the Portuguese did not divide their colonial territory in America. The captaincies they created were subdued to a centralized administration in Salvador which reported directly to the Crown in Lisbon. Therefore, it is not common to refer to "Portuguese America" (like Spanish America, Dutch America, etc.), but rather to Brazil, as a unified colony since its very beginnings.

As a result, Brazil did not split into several states by the time of Independence (1822), as happened to its Spanish-speaking neighbors. The adoption of monarchy instead of federal republic in the first six decades of Brazilian political sovereignty also contributed to the nation's unity.

In the Portuguese colony Dom Pedro I (also Pedro IV of Portugal), son of the Portuguese king Dom João VI, proclaimed the country's independence in 1822 and became Brazil's first Emperor. This was generally peacefully accepted by the crown in Portugal, although some guerrillas were fought between Portuguese troops and civilians. Portugal recognized Brazil's independence upon compensation.

Canada

Main article: Canadian Confederation

On July 1, 1867, Canada became a dominion within the British empire. At this point the Dominion of Canada included Upper and Lower Canada (southern Ontario and Quebec, respectively), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The British colonies of British Columbia (1871), Prince Edward Island (1873), and Newfoundland (1949, following World War II) would eventually join Confederation. Britain also ceded control of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory (1870), and the Arctic Islands (1880) to Canada. This level of independence was achieved completely by political means through negotiations between the governments of the British North American colonies (Charlottetown Conference and Quebec Conference). There had been two attempts at achieving Canadian independence by armed force in both Upper and Lower Canada during 1837-1838 (The Rebellion of 1837) however both were put down by the British.

Newfoundland was also given Dominion status on September 26, 1907, although as noted above, this was superseded when it joined the Confederation in 1949.

From 1867 until 1931, Britain maintained control of foreign policy. The Treaty of Westminster transferred that control to Canada. Formal permission of the British Parliament, however, was required for some amendments to Canada's basic law, the British North America Act, 1867. With the passing of the Canada Act, 1982, this last formal legislative link with the mother country was severed, and Canada assumed total independence from H.M. Government in London.

Spanish-American War

In 1898, the United States won the Spanish-American War and occupied Cuba and Puerto Rico, ending Spanish territorial control in the Americas. Still, the early 20th century saw a stream of immigration of poor people and political exiles from Spain to the former colonies, especially Cuba, Mexico and Argentina. After the 1970s, the flow was inverted. In the 1990s, Spanish companies like Repsol and Telefonica invested in South America, often buying privatized companies.

20th century

Many countries did not gain independence until the 20th century:

Current colonies

Some parts of the Americas are still controlled by, or have been incorporated into, European countries:

Additionally, the former Spanish colony of Puerto Rico and the former Danish West Indies are unincorporated territories of the United States (the latter now called the U.S. Virgin Islands).

The remaining non-sovereign territories of the Americas have generally retained this status by choice, and enjoy a significant degree of self-government. (Some have nevertheless been placed on the U.N. list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, an ongoing subject of controversy.) Aruba, for example, seceded from the Netherlands Antilles on January 1, 1986, and became a separate, self-governing member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence by 1996 was halted at Aruba's request in 1990. French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Martinique are not considered colonies of France, but have been incorporated into France itself, as overseas départements (départements d'outre-mer, or DOM).

See U.N. list of Non-Self-Governing Territories
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