The
integration of Latin America has a history going back to
Spanish American and
Brazilian independence, when there was discussion of creating a regional
state or
confederation of
Latin American nations to protect the area's newly won autonomy. After several projects failed, the issue was not taken up again until the late nineteenth century, but now centered on the issue of
international trade and with a sense of
Pan-Americanism due to the United States of America taking a leading role in the project. The idea of granting these organizations a primarily
political purpose did not become prominent again until the post-World War II period, which saw both the start of the
Cold War and a climate of international cooperation that led to the creation of institutions such as the
United Nations. It would not be until the mid-twentieth century that uniquely Latin American organizations were created.