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  • Essay / Analysis of the geopolitics of Latin American independence

    This source was produced by A. Walker and Fransisco Zea (of New Granda). It was printed in London in Spanish and English in 1822. The intended audience for this source was the general reader, the merchants and settlers of London as well as the Spanish population. The source tries to convince European states, notably Great Britain, to recognize the independence of Colombia. “If [Spain] were so reckless as to do so, then it would have to decide to lose both the sovereignty and commerce of South America by the same policy. By such a step, she could only harm herself. (Walker, 98 years old). This source uses geography as a means to persuade its intended readers, because recognizing independence is an important matter. Britain was Spain's ally and by raising Spanish voices themselves to say that independence was a good idea, it provided Britain with the security to accept independence from Colombia. The Haitian Declaration of Independence is related to this document because they are both documents that apply to states attempting to gain sovereignty after being colonized by Atlantic powers. This document relates to Scott's reading because it lightly covers the ideology of slavery, and the new enlightened West was anti-slavery; the same rules applied to Adélaïde Métayer in Cuba and New Orleans. They support the Blaufarb document because Colombia told Britain that it would benefit from trade if it accepted Colombia as an independent state. Blaufarb's argument parallels this in that he also mentions the outcome Britain would achieve if it began trading with Latin countries.