Short Term Causes
Some of the major changes from the Bourbon Reforms resulted in the creation of unrest and instability that caused the colonists to realize they needed change some of those being the intendency, military revenues, and free trade. First of all the reforms, the military revenues. Spain had essentially created an army that would eventually revolt against it. They created a Creole militia that turned into patriot armies. Many of the creole officers wanted independence and when the time came to revolt the Creoles had an army to fight with. Then there was free trade. The Spanish introduced economic reforms to strengthen mercantilism the problem was that the colonists needed free trade less than they needed a political economy attentive to national requirements and it just so happens that an independence would create that. Economics showed an obvious need for an economic policy of their own design to move toward independence. The intendancy created separation between powers in a time where to succeed there needed to be unity. The Intendency or intendants were, typically Peninsular, men who ruled over regions added to the separation in the caste system which was what the Creoles used as justification after they gained independence.