Studio Aletheia · World Builders Academy
6.4.CCSC 6th Grade World Civilizations
Nationalism Crosses an Ocean
Lesson 5.22 · Latin American Independence, Nationalism Spreads Southward
The same nationalist sentiment reshaping Europe also swept through Spain's American colonies, led by leaders determined to break from European rule entirely.
Learning Targets and Success Criteria
Build the vocabulary and evidence needed to meet standard 6.4.CC.
What I will learn
- I can explain how Enlightenment and nationalist ideas influenced Latin American independence movements.
- I can describe Simon Bolivar's role in Gran Colombia's independence.
- I can describe Miguel Hidalgo's role in Mexico's independence movement.
- I can describe Jose Marti's role in Cuban independence.
What success looks like
- I explain at least one specific way Enlightenment or nationalist ideas influenced these movements.
- I describe at least one specific action taken by Simon Bolivar.
- I describe at least one specific action taken by Miguel Hidalgo.
- My exit ticket connects at least one Latin American independence movement to nationalism.
Analyze the progression of nationalism in the 19th century through the early 20th century.
Pulling twenty-four lessons into one argument.
These terms will be used throughout the mini-lesson, evidence lab, hands-on activity, journal, and exit challenge.
Gran Colombia
A large early-19th-century South American republic, including modern Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, that Simon Bolivar helped liberate and unite.
Creole
A person of European descent born in the Spanish colonies, often a leader in Latin American independence movements.
Liberator
A title given to leaders, such as Simon Bolivar, who led military campaigns to free colonies from foreign rule.
Spanish-American War
An 1898 conflict connected to Cuba's independence movement, in which the United States intervened against Spain.
Where this shows up in the real world.
History is not just something that happened. It is training for how you will read evidence, weigh sources, and make decisions in a career.
Tracing Independence Movements
Historians of Latin America study leaders like Bolivar, Hidalgo, and Marti as regional examples of the same nationalist wave reshaping Europe.
Covering Independence Struggles
Jose Marti himself worked as a journalist and writer to build support for Cuban independence, a role modern journalists covering independence movements still play.
One Wave, Many Shores
The same nationalist sentiment reshaping Europe also swept across the Atlantic, into Spain's American colonies.
Latin American independence movements drew on the same Enlightenment ideas of natural rights and self-determination that had fueled revolutions in America, France, and Haiti. Creole leaders, often educated in Enlightenment thought but denied full political power under Spanish colonial rule, led many of these movements.
Simon Bolivar, known as the Liberator, led military campaigns across South America, helping free and unite the territory that became Gran Colombia. Miguel Hidalgo led an early and influential uprising in Mexico, rallying ordinary people, including indigenous and mestizo populations, against Spanish colonial rule.
Nationalist independence movements continued into the late 19th century, including Jose Marti's leadership in the Cuban independence movement, which connected to the 1898 Spanish-American War. Across the region, nationalism gave colonized peoples a shared identity and cause powerful enough to challenge centuries of European colonial control.
Adapted from Studio Aletheia's World Builders Academy curriculum library, synthesizing Latin American history resources on Bolivar, Hidalgo, and Marti.
Materials for the continuities and changes lab.
- A. Your continue your nationalism timeline materials, provided
- B. Highlighters, 2 colors minimum
- C. Notebook or chart paper
- D. A pencil for annotating
- E. Your Evidence Log for this unit
Every session this unit: identify the evidence, cite where it came from, connect it to the day's vocabulary, write a one-paragraph explanation.
Trace the Shift
Practice connecting Latin American independence leaders to the nationalist and Enlightenment ideas driving their movements.
Continue Your Nationalism Timeline
Add Latin American independence movements to your timeline.
Evidence Log
Accountability Checklist
Exit Challenge
In two to three sentences, explain how one Latin American leader's actions connected to nationalist ideas, citing specific evidence.
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