 Within a few decades of Christopher Columbus 's landing on the coast of what is now Venezuela in <unk> , South America had been effectively conquered by Spain and Portugal . By the beginning of the 19th century , several factors affected Spain 's control over its colonies : Napoleon 's invasion of Spain in 1808 , the abdication of Charles IV , Ferdinand VII 's <unk> of his right to succeed , and the placement of Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne . The colonies were virtually cut off from Spain , and the American and French <unk> inspired many <unk> — American @-@ born descendants of Spanish settlers — to take advantage of Spanish weakness . As a result , Latin America was run by independent <unk> and colonial self @-@ governments . 
