From the Tupac Amaru uprising in other revolts in the 1780s, to the revolutionary process that started throughout Spanish America in 1809, the Spanish Empire was shaken by the Age of Revolutions. An important feature was the entrance into politics of the popular classes: peasants, indigenous groups, slaves, artisans, soldiers and sailors, and urban plebeians (blacks, mestizos, poor whites). Their participation remained a key of the new republics until the mid-nineteenth century. This presentation analyzes the main aspects of that popular participation in Hispanic South American through this period, with data taken from a vast bibliography, including the lecturer’s research on Argentina.

Gabriel Di Meglio is a professor of history at the University of Buenos Aires and an associate researcher for the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), the main organization promoting science and technology in Argentina. Di Meglio is the author of several articles and books and was content compiler, writer, and host of several television shows.