why did european countries not develop new colonies in latin america?

Answer 1

If you mean when the continent was discovered, it was because Portugal and Spain managed to get the Pope to declare all that land beside a certain line was theirs. So they go the whole continent for themselves. And at the time Spain was powerful enough to enforce this with soldiers.

Answer 2

The main reason was NOT the US's monroe doctrine; the US was far too weak through most of the 19th century, especially in the years before and after the US Civil War. After the US rebelled, the French had their own revolution; the English and most other Europeans were trying to deal with the effects of that; so it wasn't until after the congress of Vienna in 1815 that they started looking elsewhere. Spain had already taken central and south america, so Africa was the continent which they would start to carve up; and it was mostly the French and English since the Spanish were busy, the Germans & Italians were busy unifying themselves; the Portuguese had Brazil to contend with....and the list goes on. But Central and South America posed their own problems, it was far too hot & humid for most Europeans' taste; not to mention the diseases the Europeans had brought over from Africa like malaria {which kept the french and almost the US from making the panama canal}. It wasn't until the late 19th century that the US was starting to poke out into central and south america, that the US became a world power that the Europeans would take seriously. {it was pretty much the Spanish-American war over Cuba that did it for us, and did in the Spanish as a major power at the same time}

Answer 3

The entire continent of South America was divided, by the mediation of the Pope, between Portugal (Brazil) and Spain (everything else). So these two countries created all the colonies from Mexico to Tierra del Fuego.

The sea power of Spain kept out any other European invaders. When the colonies revolted, the US helped keep anyone from Europe from establishing a new colony, since it was safer for the US to have weak, local neighbors, than weak colonies backed by major powers.

Answer 4

Partly because of the USA, the Monroe Doctrine.

*edit*
I laugh when people use today's views to look back on history, it doesn't work. The USA was a very different country back in the 1800s when the Monroe Doctrine was first drafted. The real reason was the US didn't want any European countries with colonies in their backyard that might cause trouble later on (see Asia and Africa). Overall people in South America might not like the country that the USA is today, but they owe a lot to the USA of the past to who they are today.

Answer 5

**** YOU AMERICANS. Nothing to do with the US. They didn't because they couldn't. And behind the XIXth Imperialism there was a excuse of "civilizing" the people, as Latin America was all christian there was no need to "civilize" it. That's why Ethiopia wasn't colonized.

It's funny, how much Latin American blood was spent so that Latin America could become independent than comes those pathetic Americans that never helpedd in any moment during the independence struggle to say that we're free because of them.

**** YOU.

Answer 6

the Great Age of colonial expansion in Africa and Asia was, say, 1800 onwards......by then most of what had been Spanish America was now independent countries...Columbia, Bolivia Venezuela and others.........and as was said, the Monroe Doctrine, the first great American foreign policy statement, said 'whatever happens on this side of the Atlantic is the concern of the countries involved, and the United States, and European powers are to keep the heck out of our backyard....or else.'

The 'or else' only had to be backed up with the threat of force a few times; with all of Africa and Asia open for colonization, it wasn't worth it to the the Europeans to get into a slanging match......in our own backyard....with the US.....