ABSTRACT
The Latin American state, as a recognised component of the inter-state system, was a product of the struggles for independence in the early nineteenth century. Based on the European model that had influenced the leaders of the independence movements, these nascent states exhibited all the institutions and characteristics of the European nation-states at the turn of the nineteenth century, but it was the post-revolutionary state in France that provided the most influential example for post-revolutionary Latin America. Under the continuing firm control of the military leaders of the anti-Iberian struggle, the notions of freedom, brotherhood and equality became strong components within the constitutional and nationalist makeups of the new states, although the extent to which these were realistically pursued is debatable. As in France, the independence day celebrations of Latin American countries remain the key dates in the calendar. Furthermore, the significance of the independence struggles are recorded in the names of the arterial avenues of the largest cities and by the principal public statues commemorating independence heroes. As a basis of nationalist sentiment and aspiration, independence and historical events por la patria remain as the building blocks of national identity.
