Although the various nations and regions in Latin America struggled for independence from Spain or Portugal in unique ways, there are several trends that all held in common. To begin with, Napoleon's conquest of Spain created a situation in which local cortés in Iberia and the Americas ruled in the name of deposed King Fernando VII--referred to as "el deseado" (the desired one). While those loyal to Fernando took up arms against the French usurpation in the Iberian Peninsula in support of the liberal ideals of the cortés that gathered at Cádiz, similar aspirations centered on cabildos (town councils) in major Spanish American cities, such as Buenos Aires, Santiago, and Caracas. In general, the cabildos had been the last stronghold of criollo politicians after the Bourbon Reforms of the previous generation transferred much of their former power to peninsular newcomers. Such administrative changes sought to solidify the power of the monarchy in the Americas and increase revenue and trade across the Atlantic. Although the Bourbon Reforms succeeded in those areas, they sharpened rifts between criollos and peninsulares that surfaced once again when Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, ruled in Spain.
Not long after the defeat of Fernando VII in 1808, cabildos in Latin America altered their goals to include much more than simply holding power in the name of the king until Joseph Bonaparte could be removed.
In 2010, the Mexican government produced a series of short YouTube videos to tell the story of the nation's independence movement. Access them here.