---
node: sa_independence
type: period
slug: wars_of_independence_south_america
title: "Wars of independence"
lead: "The South American wars of independence (1810–1826) ended Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule and created the continent's modern nations. They were led above all by Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín."
published: 2026-07-13
updated: 2026-07-13
image_file: wars_of_independence_south_america.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cruce_de_los_Andes.jpg"
image_author: "Julio Vila y Prades"
image_license: "Public domain"
---

## Overview

From 1810 juntas across Spanish South America rejected colonial authority, and long campaigns followed. Bolívar liberated the north and San Martín the south, their armies converging to complete the defeat of Spanish forces.

## Key developments

Decisive victories at Boyacá, Carabobo, Junín, and Ayacucho (1824) broke Spanish power, and by 1826 the last royalists had surrendered. Brazil took a different path, becoming an independent empire under a Portuguese prince in 1822.

## End and transition

Bolívar's dream of a united Spanish America gave way to separate republics, often unstable. The new nations entered a turbulent early national period.