British sea power behind the 1823 declaration

The United States and Britain both opposed renewed European control in newly independent Latin America, though for different strategic and commercial reasons. Britain had helped anti-Spanish movements with ammunition, arms, skilled personnel, and organizations comparable to later special-operations machinery. This support helped Britain build an informal commercial empire without administering colonies. The United States imagined a hemisphere largely free of European rivals after the War of 1812, but its repeatedly reduced army and navy could not enforce that ambition. British naval strength could stop rival European expeditions from crossing the Atlantic, so practical enforcement depended on British choices.