<Li> Viceroyalty of New Granada (1717--1819) </Li> <Li> Captaincy General of Venezuela </Li> <Li> Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (1776--1814) </Li> <P> During the Napoleonic Peninsular War in Europe between France and Spain, assemblies called juntas were established to rule in the name of Ferdinand VII of Spain . The Libertadores (Spanish and Portuguese for "Liberators") were the principal leaders of the Spanish American wars of independence . They were predominantly criollos (Americas - born people of European ancestry, mostly Spanish or Portuguese), bourgeois and influenced by liberalism and in some cases with military training in the mother country . </P>

Where did the spanish first settle in america