Three historical events are worth mentioning: the French Revolution of 1789, the Napoleonic Wars and the Spanish Constitution of 1812. All of them inspired the future heroes and fathers of Latin American independence.
Latin American patriots, well educated and knowledgeable about the Enlightenment ideas, found great inspiration in the noble ideals of liberty, fraternity and equality of the French Revolution. The wars fought by Napoleon in Europe that helped spread the revolutionary ideals in Europe also attracted much attention of Latin American independence supporters, some of which fought in Napoleonic armies. And the monarchical concessions and rights granted by the Spanish crown in the Cádiz Constitution of 1812 (a year before the end of French occupation in Spain) also fed the wishes for similar freedoms in the colonies.
