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The Revolutions in Latin America
The revolutions in Latin America were to have very important long-term consequences. When they broke out, the member states of the Holy Alliance, led by Russia, considered it their duty to protect the " legitimate " ruler (who was God's representative), by crushing the rebellions. In 1823 three of the five members of the Quintuple Alliance, Russia, Austria and Prussia even started to plan sending a multi-national across the Atlantic to defeat the rebellions, which were led by the legendary Simon Bolivar Although France was a member of the Holy Alliance, the government o Louis XVIII was very unhappy with the idea and refused to have anything to do with it. Britain's reaction was even more hostile. Britain issued a warning that if a fleet of ships carrying an army attempted to sail from Europe to South America it would be attacked by the Royal Navy and sunk. At this point the president of the United States, James Monroe intervened to support Britain. He declared, in the famous "Monroe Doctrine") of 1823, that any interference by European powers in the affairs of the American continent would be regarded "as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition to the United States", in other words, an act of war. The expedition was abandoned. Nationalist Revolutions after 1820
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© Shirley Burchill, Nigel Hughes, Richard Gale, Peter Price and Keith Woodall 2009 Footnote : As far as the Open Door team can ascertain the image shown on this page is in the Public Domain. |
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