[490] las dos grandes revoluciones, i.e., in North and in South America.
[491] a que se lanzara Francia, upon which France had embarked.
[492] un gobierno propio, a government of their own.
[493] imperio militar, i.e., of Napoleon Bonaparte.
[494] Año Terrible. The period in French history from May 31, 1793, (that is, from the fall of the Girondins), to July 27, 1794, (date of the fall of Robespierre), is known as the “Reign of Terror”.
[495] antes bien, emphatic form of antes, rather.
[496] a la del Sur, i.e., por lo que toca a la América del Sur, as regards South America.
[497] una como presunción, a certain superior assumption.
[498] se aguardan. V. 2, 9.
[499] se apresura, is anxious.