Features of the liberation struggle of the colonies of Spanish America and the formation of independent latin American countries
The history of the formation of the statehood of individual Latin American countries in Russian historiography has rarely been studied outside of the general history of the liberation struggle in Latin America in 1795-1826. The article focuses on the peculiarities of the socio-political structure of Venezuelan society and certain territories of Venezuela at the initial stage of the anti-colonial struggle against Spanish rule. It shows the economic and socio-humanitarian prerequisites for participation in anti-Spanish speeches of the most diverse strata of Latin American society, from large landowners to slaves exported from Africa and local Indian tribes. Contradictions are noted in the perception of the idea of «liberation» in the circles of the Latin American intelligentsia, guided by the theory and demagogy of the period of the French Revolution, and the practical embodiment of economic and cultural freedom from subordination to Spain in a real Latin American society, where wealth was based mainly on slave labor and various forms of the «shadow» economy.