As the 18th century came to a close, the relationships between the
Spanish and Portuguese monarchies and their respective colonies in the
Americas had become strained by modernizing reforms, rebellion, and wars
in Europe. The liberalization of the trade monopoly had created prosperity
in most of the colonies, but the people living in those colonies did not
benefit much from the prosperity. Instead, the money went to the
Iberian monarchies and the wealthy Spanish landowners. Creoles in
Latin America were also frustrated by their subordination to the Spaniards.