Pedro Domingo Murillo leads another revolt by criollos and mestizos (those of mixed European and Indian ancestry) in La Paz and on July 16, 1809, proclaims an independent state in Upper Peru in the name of Ferdinand VII.

The loyalty to Ferdinand is a pretense used to legitimize the independence movement.

By November 1809, Cochabamba, Oruro, and Potosi have joined Murillo.

Although the revolt is put down by royalist forces sent to La Paz by the viceroy of Peru and to Chuquisaca by the viceroy of Rio de La Plata, Upper Peru is never again completely controlled by Spain.

During the following seven years, Upper Peru becomes the battleground for forces of the independent Argentine Republic and royalist troops from Peru.

Although the royalists repulse four Argentine invasions, guerrillas control most of the countryside, where they form six major republiquetas, or zones of insurrection.

In these zones, local patriotism will eventually develop into the fight for independence.

The invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 1807-08 by Napoleon's forces proves critical to the independence struggle in South America.

The overthrow of the Bourbon Dynasty and the placement of Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne tests the loyalty of the local elites in Upper Peru, who are suddenly confronted with several conflicting authorities.

Most remain loyal to Spain.

Taking a wait-and-see attitude, they suppor the Junta Central (Central Junta) in Spain, a government in the name of the abdicated Ferdinand VII.

Some liberals eagerly welcome the reforms of colonial rule promised by Joseph Bonaparte.

Others support the claims of Carlota, Ferdinand's sister, who governs Brazil with her husband, Prince Regent John of Portugal.

Finally, a number of radical criollos want independence for Upper Peru.

This conflict of authority results in a local power struggle in Upper Peru between 1808 and 1810 and constitutes the first phase of the efforts to achieve independence.

In 1808 the president of the audiencia, Ramon Garcia Leon de Pizarro, demands affiliation with the Junta Central.

The conservative judges of the audiencia are influenced, however, by their autocratic royalist philosophy and refuse to recognize the authority of the junta because they see it as a product of a popular rebellion.

Tensions grow when radical criollos, also refusing to recognize the junta because they want independence, take to the streets on May 25, 1809.

This revolt, one of the first in Latin America, is soon put down by the authorities.

The Flight of the Portuguese Royal Family to Brazil (November 29, 1807)

As Junot’s army neared Lisbon, Prince Regent João of Braganza hesitated between complete submission to the French and escaping to Brazil. The indecision continued until a dramatic revelation changed the course of history.

The Final Decision – Napoleon’s Declaration of Deposition

• The British Admiral Sidney Smith, assisting in Portugal’s evacuation, produced a Paris Moniteur newspaper from October 13, 1807.
• The publication declared that the House of Braganza had been deposed—even though Junot had not yet entered Lisbon.
• This false but alarming claim convinced João that staying in Portugal was no longer an option.

The Chaotic Evacuation

• João ordered his family, courtiers, state papers, and royal treasury to be loaded onto ships.
• Many nobles, merchants, and officials joined the flight, fearing Napoleon’s rule.
• On November 29, 1807, a fleet of 15 warships and over 20 transports set sail for Brazil, Portugal’s largest colony.

A Desperate Escape

• The departure was so rushed that 14 carts filled with treasure were abandoned on the docks.
• The royal succession was placed at great risk—João, Queen Maria, Prince Pedro (future Pedro I of Brazil and Pedro IV of Portugal), and Infante Miguel (future Miguel I of Portugal) all traveled on a single ship.
• Carlota Joaquina and the infantas were placed on two other ships, further separating the royal family.

How Many People Fled?

The exact number of people who emigrated with João is debated:

• 19th-century sources estimated up to 30,000 refugees, though this figure is likely exaggerated.
• More recent estimates range between 500 and 15,000 passengers, with 15,000 being close to the maximum capacity of the fleet's 15 warships (including their crews).
• Many families were separated, and even high officials were left behind, unable to secure places on the ships.

A Historic Exile – The Portuguese Court in Brazil

The departure of the Portuguese monarchy for Brazil was unprecedented—never before had an entire European royal family relocated to a colony. The event would have profound consequences for both Portugal and Brazil, setting the stage for:

• The transformation of Brazil into the center of the Portuguese Empire.
• The eventual independence of Brazil in 1822.
• The decline of Portugal’s influence as Brazil took on a more autonomous role.

Conclusion – The End of Portugal’s Independence in Europe

As the royal family fled across the Atlantic, Junot entered Lisbon unopposed on November 30, 1807, marking the beginning of the French occupation of Portugal. The Portuguese state survived—but only in exile, while Napoleon’s ambitions in Iberia were about to trigger the Peninsular War.

At the start of 1808, the Captaincy General of Chile—one of the smallest and poorest colonies in the Spanish Empire—is under the administration of Luis Muñoz de Guzmán, an able, respected and well-liked Royal Governor.

In May 1808 the overthrow of Charles IV and Ferdinand VII, their replacement by Joseph Bonaparte and the start of the Peninsular War plunges the empire into a state of agitation.

In the meantime, Chile is facing its own internal political problems.

Governor Guzmán had suddenly died in February of this year and the crown had not been able to appoint a new governor before the invasion.

After a brief interim regency by Juan Rodríguez Ballesteros, and according to the succession law in place at the time, the position is laid claim to and assumed by the most senior military commander, who happens to be Brigadier Francisco García Carrasco.

García Carrasco takes over the post of Governor of Chile in April and in August the news of the Napoleonic invasion of Spain and of the formation of a Supreme Central Junta to govern the Empire in the absence of a legitimate king reaches the country.

In the meantime, Carlota Joaquina, sister of Ferdinand and wife of the King of Portugal, who is living in Brazil, also makes attempts to obtain the administration of the Spanish dominions in Latin America.

Since her father and brother are being held prisoners in France, she regards herself as the heiress of her captured family.

Allegedly among her plan is to send armies to occupy Buenos Aires and northern Argentina and to style herself as Queen of La Plata.

Brigadier García Carrasco is a man of crude and authoritarian manners, who manages in a very short time to alienate the criollo elites under his command.

Already in Chile, as in most of Latin America, there had been some independence agitation but minimal and concentrated in the very ineffectual Conspiracy of the Tres Antonios back in 1781.

The majority of the people are fervent royalists but are divided into two groups: those who favor the status quo and the divine right of Ferdinand VII (known as absolutists) and those who want to proclaim Charlotte Joaquina as Queen (known as carlotists).

A third group is composed of those who propose the replacement of the Spanish authorities with a local junta of notable citizens, which would conform a provisional government to rule in the absence of the king and an independent Spain (known as juntistas).

Governor García Carrasco himself is implicated in a flagrant case of smuggling-related corruption (the Scorpion scandal) that in 1809, manages to destroy whatever remnants of moral authority he or his office has left.

From this moment on the pressure for his removal begins to build.

The military conflict in Spain has worsened by 1810.

The city of Seville has been invaded by French armies, which are already dominating most of the Iberian Peninsula.

The Junta of Seville has disestablished, and several members have fled to Cádiz, the last portion of Spain still resisting.

They have established a Council of Regency, with political tendencies closer to absolutism than the former Junta. This begins the May Revolution in Buenos Aires, as soon as the news is known.

The territory of modern Argentina is part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, with its capital city in Buenos Aires, seat of government of the Spanish viceroy.

Modern Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia are also part of the viceroyalty, and begin their push for autonomy during the conflict, becoming independent states afterwards.

The vast area of the territory and slow communications have led most populated areas to become isolated from each other.

The wealthiest regions of the viceroyalty are in Upper Peru, (modern-day Bolivia).

Salta and Córdoba have closer ties with Upper Peru than with Buenos Aires.

Similarly, Mendoza in the west has closer ties with the Captaincy General of Chile, although the Andes mountain range is a natural barrier.

Buenos Aires and Montevideo, who have a local rivalry, located in the La Plata Basin, have naval communications allowing them to be more in contact with European ideas and economic advances than the inland populations.

Paraguay is isolated from all other regions.

In the political structure, most authoritative positions are filled by people designated by the Spanish monarchy, most of them Spanish people from Europe, also known as peninsulares, without strong compromises for American problems or interests.

This has reated a growing rivalry between the Criollos, white people born in Latin America, and the peninsulares, Spanish people who arrived from Europe (the term "Criollo" is usually translated to English as "Creole", despite being unrelated to most other Creole peoples).

Despite the fact that all of them are considered Spanish, and that there is no legal distinction between Criollos and Peninsulares, most Criollos think that Peninsulares have undue weight in political matters.

The ideas of the American and French Revolutions, and the Age of Enlightenment, promote desires of social change among the criollos.

The full prohibition imposed by Spain to trade with other nations is also seen as damaging to the viceroyalty's economy.

The population of Buenos Aires had been highly militarized during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata, part of the Anglo-Spanish War.

Buenos Aires had been captured in 1806, then liberated by Santiago de Liniers with forces from Montevideo.[

Fearing a counter-attack, all the population of Buenos Aires capable of bearing arms had been arranged in military bodies, including slaves.

A new British attack in 1807 had captured Montevideo, but was defeated in Buenos Aires, and forced to leave the viceroyalty.

The viceroy Rafael de Sobremonte had beenb successfully deposed by the criollos during the conflict, and the Regiment of Patricians has become a highly influential force in local politics, even after the end of the British threat.

The transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil has generated military concern.

It is feared that the British will launch a third attack, this time allied with Portugal.

However, no military conflict takes place, as when the Peninsular War started, Britain and Portugal had become allies of Spain against France.

When the Spanish king Ferdinand VII  is captured, his sister Carlota Joaquina seeks to rule in the Americas as regent, but nothing comes out of it because of the lack of support from both the Spanish Americans and the British.

Javier de Elío creates a Junta in Montevideo and Martín de Álzaga seeks to make a similar move by organizing a mutiny in Buenos Aires, but the local military forces intervene and thwart it.

Spain appoints a new viceroy, Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, and Liniers hands the government to him without resistance, despite the proposals of the military to reject him.

Several citizens think that Cisneros, appointed by the disestablished Junta, does not have the right to rule anymore, and requests the convening of an open cabildo to discuss the fate of the local government.

The military gives their support to the request, forcing Cisneros to accept.

The discussion rules the removal of viceroy Cisneros and his replacement with a government junta, but the cabildo attempts to keep Cisneros in power by appointing him president of such junta.

Further demonstrations ensue, and the Junta is forced to resign immediately.

It is replaced by a new one, the Primera Junta.

Buenos Aires requests the other cities in the viceroyalty to acknowledge the new Junta and send deputies.

The precise purpose of these deputies, join the Junta or create a congress, is unclear at the time and generated political disputes later.

The Junta is initially resisted by all the main locations around Buenos Aires: Córdoba, Montevideo, Paraguay and the Upper Peru.

Santiago de Liniers comes out of his retirement in Córdoba and organizes an army to capture Buenos Aires, Montevideo had naval supremacy over the city, and Vicente Nieto organizes the actions at the Upper Peru.

Nieto proposes to José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa, viceroy of the Viceroyalty of Peru at the North, to annex the Upper Peru to it.

He thinks that the revolution can be easily contained in Buenos Aires, before launching a definitive attack.

News arrivez from Buenos Aires in June 1810 that Napoleon Bonaparte's forces have conquered Andalusia and laid siege to Cádiz, the last redoubt against the French on Spanish soil.

Moreover, the Supreme Central Junta, which had governed the Empire for the past two years, has abolished itself in favor of a Regency Council.

García Carrasco, who is a supporter of the carlotist group, manages to magnify the political problems by taking arbitrary and harsh measures, such as the arrest and deportation to Lima without due process of well-known and socially prominent citizens under simple suspicions of having been sympathetic to the junta idea.

Inspired by the May Revolution in Argentina, the autonomy movement has also propagated through the criollo elite.

They resent the illegal arrests and, together with the news that Cádiz is all that is left of a free Spain, finally solidify in their opposition to the Governor.

Brigadier García Carrasco is suspended from office and forced to resign on July 16, 1810, to be in turn replaced by the next most senior soldier, Mateo de Toro Zambrano, Count of la Conquista, even though a legitimate Governor, Francisco Javier de Elío, has already been appointed by the Viceroy of Peru.

Count Toro Zambrano is, by all standards, a very unorthodox selection.

He is a very old man already (eighty-two years old) and moreover a criollo (someone born in the colonies) as opposed to a peninsulare (someone born in Spain).

Immediately after his appointment in July, the juntistas had begun to lobby him in order to obtain the formation of a junta.

In August the Royal Appeals Court (Spanish: Real Audiencia) had taken a public loyalty oath to the Regency Council in front of a massive audience, which has put added pressure on the Governor to define himself.

After vacillating for some time over which party to follow, Toro Zambrano finally agrees to hold an open Cabildo (city hall) meeting in Santiago to discuss the issue.

The date is set for September 18, 1810 at 11 AM.

The juntistas had taken the political initiative from the very beginning.

As soon as the cabildo was called, they had been able to place their members in the committee charged with sending the invitations, thus manipulating the attendance lists to their own advantage.

At the September 18 session, they grab center stage with shouts of "¡Junta queremos! ¡junta queremos!" ("We want a junta! We want a junta!").

Count Toro Zambrano, faced with this very public show of force, accedes to their demands by depositing his ceremonial baton on top of the main table and saying "Here is the baton, take it and rule."

The Government Junta of the Kingdom of Chile, also known as the First Junta, is organized with the same powers as a Royal Governor.

Their first measure is to take a loyalty oath to Ferdinand VII as legitimate King.

Count Toro Zambrano is elected President, and the rest of the positions are distributed equally among all parties, but the real power is left in the hands of the secretary, Juan Martínez de Rozas.

The Junta now proceeds to take some concrete measures that have been long-held aspirations of the colonials: it creates a militia for the defense of the kingdom, decrees freedom of trade with all nations that are allied to Spain or neutrals, a unique tariff of 134% for all imports (with the exception of printing presses, books and guns, which are liberated from all taxes) and in order to increase its representation, orders the convocation of a National Congress.

Immediately, political intrigue begins among the ruling elite, with news of the political turbulence and wars of Europe all the while coming in.

It is eventually decided that elections for the National Congress, to be composed of forty-two representatives, will be held in 1811.

Three political tendencies are starting to appear in Chile: the Extremists (Spanish: exaltados), the Moderates (Spanish: moderados) and the Royalists (Spanish: realistas).

These groups are all decidedly against independence from Spain and differentiate themselves only in the degree of political autonomy that they seek.

The Moderates, under the leadership of José Miguel Infante, are a majority, and want a very slow pace of reforms since they are afraid that once the King is back in power he will think that they had been seeking independence and will roll-back all changes.

The Extremists, the second most important group, advocate a larger degree of freedom from the Crown and a faster pace of reforms, stopping just short of full independence.

Their leader is Juan Martínez de Rozas.

The Royalists are against any reform at all and for the maintenance of the status quo.

By March 1811, thirty-six representatives have already been elected in all major cities with the exception of Santiago and Valparaíso.

The great political surprise up to this point had been the results from the other center of power, Concepción, in which Royalists had defeated the supporters of Juan Martínez de Rozas.

In the rest of Chile, the results are more or less equally divided: twelve pro-Rozas delegates, fourteen anti-Rozas and three Royalists.

The Santiago elections are therefore the key to Rozas' desire to remain in power.

This election is supposed to take place on April 10, but before they can be called the Figueroa mutiny breaks out.