This brief text outlines the complex processes through which Latin America became independent of Spain and Portugal in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The author argues that three major forces shaped the contours of independence: 1) the rise of a single world economy driven especially by the rise of industrial capitalism in England, 2) the response of the Latin American elites as they sought to gain advantage from these changes, and 3) the constant pressure exerted upon the elites by Indians, mestizos, blacks, slaves, and the poor generally. This edition uses a conceptual framework which places emphasis on the social pressures for independence mounted by non-elites.