Priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla calls on the people of Dolores to rise against Spanish rule, starting Mexico's War of Independence.
The British fleet under Admiral Nelson defeats the combined French and Spanish fleets, securing British naval supremacy; Nelson is killed in the battle.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaims Haiti's independence, making it the second independent nation in the Americas and the first republic founded by formerly enslaved people.
The Congress of Tucumán declares the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata independent from Spain.
Toussaint Louverture, leader of the Haitian Revolution, dies while imprisoned at Fort de Joux in France.
Simón Bolívar's forces defeat the Spanish at Boyacá, securing the liberation of New Granada (present-day Colombia).
The Army of the Three Guarantees enters Mexico City, ending over a decade of war and three centuries of Spanish rule.