| Latin American history in the 19th century can be divided into several general periods, despite the great diversity of the major regions and nations. Wars of independence dominated the decades between 1806 and 1825. The following quarter-century saw the insecurities of new nations and the rise of political forms like caudillismo (strongman rule) in response; manufacturing imports from British industry and political turmoil weakened local economies. Midcentury decades saw some political and economic stabilization and signs of greater cultural vitality as Latin American novelists and other intellectuals began to emerge. The rise of the export economy and some new foreign interference, particularly from the United States, marked the decades around 1900. | 1 |
