Freemasonry in the Revolutions

Theory that all these revolutions were actually the work of the masons has long enjoyed a certain popula prominence. The membership roll of the grand reunion lodge included nearly every prominent south american revolutionary. Their shared brotherhood was one of the underlying connections that allowed for whatever limited coordination took place during the wars of independence. But really what's going on here is that these guys were revolutionaries who became masons, rather than masons who were then turned in to revolutionaries.