拉丁美洲指以西班牙語、葡萄牙語和法語為官方語言的中南美洲暨加勒比海地區國家。哥倫布在1492 年抵達加勒比海開啟了歐洲國家在此區域的征服與殖民歷史，本文主要從西班牙、葡萄牙和法國等三個歐洲殖民國家的殖民地政治、經濟和社會管理過程，觀察美洲殖民地的發展，分別就西屬、葡屬和法屬美洲殖民地如何從殖民反抗到建立獨立國家進行整理分析。

Latin America refers to those countries in Central, South American and Caribbean where Spanish, Portuguese and French are their official languages. Columbus arrived in the Caribbean in 1492, and opened the European countries conquest and colonial history in this area. This article observed from the colonial political, economic and social management process, the resistance to the establishment of an independent State, and the influence of the sovereign national, European and international events on the American colonies.