Reconquista (Spanish America)

In the struggle for the independence of Spanish America, the Reconquista refers to the period of Colombian and Chilean history, following the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, during which royalist armies were able to gain the upper hand in the Spanish American wars of independence. The term used in the past century by some Colombian and Chilean historians makes an analogy to the medieval Reconquista, in which Christian forces retook the Iberian Peninsula from the Caliphate.

During Napoleon's invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, a number of Spanish colonies in the Americas moved for greater autonomy or outright independence due to the political instability in Spain, which was eventually (1810) governed by the Cortes of Cádiz – which served as a democratic Regency after Ferdinand VII was deposed.

By 1815 the general outlines of which areas were controlled by royalists and pro-independence forces had been established and the situation had reached a stalemate. With the exception of rural areas controlled by guerrillas, New Spain and Peru was under the control of royalists, and in South America only the Río de la Plata and New Granada remained outside of royalist control. After French forces left Spain in 1814, the restored Ferdinand VII, declared these developments in the Americas illegal, abolished the Spanish Constitution of 1812 passed by the Cortes of Cádiz, then sent expeditionary armies to quell the remaining rebellions. The impact of these expeditions was most notable in Pablo Morillo's expedition against New Granada, and Venezuela. The restoration of royal rule was short lived, reversed in these three countries.