The press in the process of emancipation of Spanish America: Information, propaganda and training

Abstract

Spain and the starting of the emancipation processes in the American colonies. There were two groups, royalist and patriots, who share loyalty to the Spanish king but disagree on how to exercise power. The clash between these trends will lead to the independence wars. In those conflicts, both sides used the press to show their ideas, criticize their opponents and educate citizens. Despite the small number of available printers and the small percentage of population that could read, the interest of all of them to start their own publications shows the growing importance of words as war weapons.