Junta (Spanish American Independence)

Junta (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxunta]) during Spanish American independence was the type of government formed as a patriotic alternative to the Spanish colonial government during the first phase of Spanish American wars of independence (1808-1810). The formation of juntas was usually an urban movement. Most juntas were created out of the already-existing ayuntamientos (municipal councils) with the addition of other prominent members of society.

Juntas emerged in Spanish America as a result of Spain facing a political crisis due to the abdication of Ferdinand VII and Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion. Spanish Americans reacted in much the same way the Peninsular Spanish did, legitimizing their actions through traditional law, which held that there was a retroversion of the sovereignty to the people in the absence of a legitimate king. The majority of Spanish Americans continued to support the idea of maintaining a monarchy under Ferdinand VII, but did not support retaining absolutism.

Spanish Americans wanted self government. The juntas in the Americas did not accept the governments of the Europeans, neither the government set up for Spain by the French nor the various Spanish governments set up in response to the French invasion. The juntas did not accept the Spanish regency, which was under siege in the city of Cadiz. They also rejected the Spanish Constitution of 1812. The triumph of the republican ideas (from the American and French revolutions), transformed the juntas into true independence movements.

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