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The list of countries obtaining independence from Spain is a list of countries that broke away from Spain for independence, or occasionally incorporation into another country, as depicted in the map below. These processes came about at different periods and world regions starting in the 17th century (Portugal).
Since its beginnings in the 16th century, the Spanish empire conquered new areas starting out from its Castilian core kingdom. In 1597, the Spanish (Castilian) crown lost the Netherlands (Holland). In 1640, Portugal split away after Philip II had incorporated it to its domains in 1581. A second independence tide came about following the Independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America and the Battle of Trafalgar that heralded the end of the Spanish Atlantic hegemony. Venezuela (1811), under the influence of the Basque Enlightenment, sparked the independence movements of Central and Southern America, spearheaded by Simon Bolivar. [1] [2]
During the Spanish Restoration in the late 19th century, the last major colonies Cuba, Puerto Rico and Philippines detached from the metropolis with the support of the United States. Since the 1950s, Spain lost the last continental lands in Africa, Spanish protectorate in Morocco, Ifni, Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara. [2] [1]
| No | Country | Modern state | Pre-independence name (if different) | Date | year | note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Dutch Republic |  Netherlands |  Spanish Netherlands part of  Holy Roman Empire | 30 January | 1648 | Peace of Münster [3] |
| 2 |  Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves |  Portugal | Iberian Union | 1 December | 1640 | Treaty of Lisbon |
| 3 |  Dutch Formosa |  Taiwan | Spanish Formosa | ? | 1642 | It was ceded to the Dutch Republic during the Eighty Years' War. |
| 4 |  Sardinia |  Sardinia part of  Italy | Kingdom of Sardinia part of Spanish Empire | 8 August | 1720 | Philip V's viceroy handed Sardinia over to an Austrian representative, who in turn transferred it to the viceroy of Victor Amadeus |
| 5 |  Austrian Netherlands part of Holy Roman Empire |  Luxembourg | Spanish Netherlands part of Holy Roman Empire | 7 March | 1714 | Treaty of Rastatt |
| 6 | Austrian Netherlands part of Holy Roman Empire |  Belgium | Spanish Netherlands part of Holy Roman Empire | 7 March | 1714 | Treaty of Rastatt |
| 7 | Kingdom of Naples (Ruled by the Austrian monarchy) |  Kingdom of Naples
| 7 March | 1714 | Treaty of Rastatt | |
| 8 |  Saint-Domingue |  Haiti | Captaincy General of Santo Domingo | ? | 1795 | Peace of Basel, ceded eastern portion to France |
| 9 | 21 March | 1801 | Treaty of Aranjuez | |||
| 10 |  Republic of West Florida | 26 September | 1810 | officially the State of Florida, was a short-lived republic in the western region of Spanish West Florida in 1810. It was annexed and occupied by the United States later in 1810 | ||
| 11 |  First Republic of Paraguay | Paraguay |  Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata | 14 May | 1811 | May Revolution part of Spanish American wars of independence |
| 12 |  First Republic of Venezuela |  Venezuela | Captaincy General of Venezuela | 5 July | 1811 | Venezuelan wars of independence |
| 13 |  Uruguay | Uruguay | Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata | ? | 1811 | Uruguay gained independence from Spain, was annexed by the Empire of Brazil, then regained independence in 1825. |
| 14 |  United Provinces of the Río de la Plata |  Argentina | Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata | 9 July | 1816 | Argentine wars of independence |
| 15 |  State of Chile |  Chile | Captaincy General of Chile | 12 February | 1818 | Chilean wars of independence |
| 16 |  Gran Colombia |  Colombia | Viceroyalty of New Granada | 17 December | 1819 | Bolívar's campaign to liberate New Granada |
| 17 |  Protectorate of Peru |  Peru | Viceroyalty of Peru | 28 July | 1821 | Peruvian War of Independence |
| 18 |  First Mexican Empire |  Mexico | New Spain | 15 September | 1821 | Mexican War of Independence |
| 19 |
|  Costa Rica | 15 September | 1821 | Costa Rica part of 1st Mexican Empire. Then later got independence and creation of Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. Then later dissolved in 1841 creation of Costra Rica. | |
| 20 |
|  El Salvador | 15 September | 1821 | El Salvador part of 1st Mexican Empire. Then later got independence and creation of Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. Then later dissolved in 1841 creation of El Salvador. | |
| 21 |
|  Guatemala | 15 September | 1821 | Guatemala part of 1st Mexican Empire. Then later got independence and creation of Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. Then later dissolved in 1841 creation of Guatemala. late British annexed north-east Guatemala and made colony of British Honduras | |
| 22 |
|  Honduras | 15 September | 1821 | Honduras part of 1st Mexican Empire. Then later got independence and creation of Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. Then later dissolved in 1841 creation of Honduras. | |
| 23 |
|  Nicaragua | 15 September | 1821 | Nicaragua part of 1st Mexican Empire. Then later got independence and creation of Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. Then later dissolved in 1841 creation of Nicaragua. | |
| 24 |  Panama | Panama | Viceroyalty of New Granada | 28 November | 1821 | Independence of Panama (Bloodless revolution) |
| 25 |  Ecuador |  Ecuador | Viceroyalty of New Granada | 24 May | 1822 | Ecuadorian War of Independence |
| 26 |  Bolivian Republic |  Bolivia | Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata | 6 August | 1825 | Bolivia war of independence |
| 27 |  Second Dominican Republic | Dominican Republic | Captaincy General of Santo Domingo | 15 July | 1865 | Spain ceded the island to France in the Peace of Basel. Spain recaptured the eastern portion of Santo Domingo 1809-1821 (the España Boba period). The Republic of Spanish Haiti gained independence from Spain in 1821, was occupied by Haiti, then gained independence as the First Dominican Republic; reoccupied by Spain 1861-1865, the Second Dominican Republic gained independence but was occupied by the United States 1916-1924. The Third Dominican Republic followed the U.S. occupation. |
| 28 |   Cuba |  Cuba | Captaincy General of Cuba | 10 October | 1898 | Prior to its independence from Spain, the United States occupied the island until the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1898), which ended the Spanish–American War). The U.S. Armed Forces left the island in 1902. |
| 29 |  First Philippine Republic |  Philippines | Captaincy General of Philippines | 12 June | 1898 | The Philippines got independence from Spain. But United States occupied Philippines (USA and Spain has sigin deal of Treaty of Paris (1898). Spain give Philippines to USA to end Spanish American war) . But Empire of japan occupied Philippines during WWII and Japan has Surrender due to after atomic bomb and USA take control Philippines .Then later the Philippines got independence from USA in 1946 and established Third Republic of the Philippines |
| 30 |  German New Guinea | Spanish East Indies | 11 February | 1899 | Spain sold other smaller islands to Germany in the German–Spanish Treaty | |
| 30 | 11 April | 1899 | Treaty of Paris (1898) | |||
| 31 |  Morocco |  Spanish protectorate in Morocco | 7 April | 1956 | Decolonisation of Africa | |
| 32 |  Equatorial Guinea |  Spanish Guinea | 12 October | 1968 | Decolonisation of Africa | |
| 33 | Ifni | 30 June | 1969 | Decolonisation of Africa | ||
| 34 |  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | Spanish Sahara | 26 February | 1976 | Decolonisation of Africa | |
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The Bolivian War of Independence began with the establishment of government juntas in Sucre and La Paz, after the Chuquisaca Revolution and La Paz revolution. These Juntas were defeated shortly after, and the cities fell again under Spanish control. The May Revolution of 1810 ousted the viceroy in Buenos Aires, which established its own junta. Buenos Aires sent three large military expeditions to Upper Peru, headed by Juan José Castelli, Manuel Belgrano and José Rondeau, but the royalists ultimately prevailed over each one. However, the conflict grew into a guerrilla war, the War of the Republiquetas, preventing the royalists from strengthening their presence. After Simón Bolívar and Antonio José de Sucre defeated the royalists in northern South America, Sucre led a campaign that was to defeat the royalists in Charcas for good when the last royalist general, Pedro Antonio Olañeta, suffered death and defeat at the hands of his own defected forces at the Battle of Tumusla. Bolivian independence was proclaimed on 6 August 1825.
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Britain's role in the Spanish American Wars of Independence combines the military, political and diplomatic routes adopted by them, as well as its merchants and private citizens during the course of the Spanish American wars of independence. Britain wanted to see an end to Spanish colonialism in the Americas but at the same time wanted to keep her as an ally in post-Napoleonic Europe. British support for the Spanish American revolutionaries was essentially a covert role with both private and state involvement.
