Modern History/Independence in the Americas

Spain already had difficulty controlling its vast territories in the Americas when the ../French Revolution/ aligned Spain with France, causing problems in the colonies. Eventually there were declarations of independence on the American continents.

Independence of Haiti
Haiti had experienced the Haitian Revolution in the 1790s. Haiti was a self-governing colony of France. Napoleon sent a force to attack Haiti in 1802 or 1803 (FIXME exact year?), with the intention of restoring slavery and resuming direct control of the colony. As a result, the indigenous forces overran the invading French force. The indigenous leader, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, declared independence of Haiti on January 1, 1804.

Parts of Haiti opposed the rule of Dessalines. Someone assassinated him in 1806 and Haiti split into two governments.

British invasion of South America
(to do: What weapons were involved? [w])
 * Why did the British decide to attack South America? [C]
 * Which South American cities were the targets of British action? [C]
 * Who resisted the attack? [P]
 * How was Spain involved in resisting this attack? [G]

The British invasions of the Río de la Plata (Spanish: Invasiones Inglesas al Río de la Plata) were an unsuccessful series British attempts of military controlling the Spanish colonies located around the Río de la Plata basin in South America, between 1806 and 1807, as part of the global impact of the Napoleonic Wars. Spain was an ally of Napoleon at the time and, along with its South American colonies, cooperated in a trade boycott against the forces opposing Napoleon. The resistance of the local people and its active participation in the defence with no support from the Spanish Kingdom are seen as the penultimate step toward their independence.

In 1806, a British force of 1,000 to 2,000 men attacked Buenos Aires, the capital of the Viceroyalty of the River Plate. In 1807, a second invasion with at least 10,000 men targeted Montevideo and Buenos Aires. The northern port of Montevideo fell and became a British base. A large force approached Buenos Aires with the intent of capture.

At this point, Spain seemed to weak to defend its colony. However, the people of Buenos Aires decided not to welcome the British forces. The local population engaged the British in urban combat. (FIXME find a good description of the battle, and discover whether Spain sent any force)