Editing History of Spain (section)

===Independence of Spanish America===
{{Main|Spanish American wars of independence}}
[[File:Batalla de Ayacucho by Martín Tovar y Tovar (1827 - 1902).jpg|thumb|The pro-independence forces delivered a crushing defeat to the royalists and secured the independence of Peru in the 1824 [[battle of Ayacucho]].]]
Spain lost all of its North and South American territories, except Cuba and Puerto Rico, in a complex series of revolts 1808–26.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lynch|first=John|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=m3q8ngEACAAJ}}|title=Latin American Revolutions, 1808–1826: Old and New World Origins|date=1994|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-2661-6}}</ref> Spain was at war with Britain 1798–1808, and the British blockade cut Spain's ties to the overseas empire. Trade was handled by American and Dutch traders. The colonies thus had achieved economic independence from Spain, and set up temporary governments or juntas which were generally out of touch with Spain. After 1814, as Napoleon was defeated and Ferdinand VII was back on the throne, the king sent armies to regain control and reimpose autocratic rule. In the next phase 1809–16, Spain defeated all the uprising. A second round 1816–25 was successful and drove the Spanish out of all of its mainland holdings. Spain had no help from European powers. Indeed, Britain (and the United States) worked against it. When they were cut off from Spain, the colonies saw a struggle for power between Spaniards who were born in Spain (called "peninsulares") and those of Spanish descent born in New Spain (called "creoles"). The creoles were the activists for independence. Multiple revolutions enabled the colonies to break free of the mother country. In 1824 the armies of generals [[José de San Martín]] of Argentina and [[Simón Bolívar]] of Venezuela defeated the last Spanish forces; the final defeat came at the [[Battle of Ayacucho]] in southern [[History of Peru|Peru]]. After that Spain played a minor role in international affairs. Business and trade in the ex-colonies were under British control. Spain kept only Cuba and Puerto Rico in the New World.{{sfn|Carr|2008|pp= 101–105, 122–123, 143–146, 306–309, 379–388}}