"Independence of Latin America" In the 1800's, Latin American countries won independence, but many new independent countries had trouble creating strong, stable governments. The Creoles played an important role in the independent movements. These countries won their independence through strong leaders and many other factors. As soon as these countries won their independence from Spain and Portugal, they did not want to return the way they did. Many countries revolted, we even find out that the United States had something to do with it. Behind many of these countries' independence, stands and list of cau