ABSTRACT
Since the second half of the 18th century, fundamental changes have taken place in the Americas. To understand these changes, several developments in the European empires must be taken into account which have had strong repercussions in the Americas. Transregional cooperation in Latin America usually lasted as long as an outer threat existed. When the bastions of royalism were defeated, the common base for cooperation disappeared. Distinct economic interests, political and administrative structures, and ethnic compositions rather promoted regional loyalties. With regard to the Spanish American wars of independence, the United States initially remained neutral as the acquisition of Florida was more important. In colonial Iberian America, political power was much more centrally organized and more authoritarian. Free trade appeared as one of the great promises for a prosperous future of independent Latin America. Differentiations between different states, nations, and/or regions must be made to detect the many variations of difference as well as similarity.
