The European empires in the New World lasted in most cases for a little more than 300 years. By the early nineteenth century most European colonies had frown off their Old World masters and had became independent nations. All that remained of the great New World empires were Britain’s colony in Canada and a scattering of island colonies in the Caribbean Sea.
The first revolution by the thirteen British colonies resulted in the eventual formation of the United States. These colonies were chafing under rule by the Parliament in Britain with no American representation. They felt handicapped by British prohibitions on expanding west into Native American territories, and they disliked laws that gave advantages to British traders and shippers at the colonists’ expense. When revolution broke out, lead by General George Washington, the British were unable to win the war militarily, and made peace with France, Spain, and the Netherlands sided with the colonists.
The French occupation of Spain and Portugal in the early nineteenth century cut off those countries from their colonies in South America and set off the wars of independence. The success of these revolutions was assured when the United States stated its Monroe Doctrine, forbidding any power from further conquests or colony placement in the Americas, and Great Britain made it clear that it’s navy would not allow such action either.
