Why were the creoles resentful of the Spanish born?

Answer 1

What do you mean by "creole"? In Cuba, for example, the term "criollo" (which sounds a bit similar to "creole") means a person born in Cuba. Usually both his/her parents were born in Spain or were of 100% Spanish (European) ancestry (not African, Asian, Native American, etc.). The Cuban criollos were faithful to Spain for a very long time but during the 19th century a lot of criollos became disillusioned with Spanish rule. They fought, together with their Black and Mulatto brothers, two long wars of independence. Jose Marti, the "Apostle of Cuban Independence" was himself a criollo (his father was from Valencia and his mother hailed from the Canary Islands). Marti loved Spain (as some of his poetry shows) but knew that it was necessary to cut off, once and for all, Cuba's political ties with Spain. In spite of all this, Cuban criollos are proud of their Spanish ancestors and culture and after the winds of war finally died down, cordiality between Spaniards and Cubans was re-established. Cuban criollos still call Spain "la Madre Patria" (the Motherland). In other Spanish-speaking countries (with a stronger Native American presence than Cuba), the relationship between the ones they call "criollos" and Spaniards, was rocky from the start and they became independent from Spanish rule almost a century before Cuba did.

Answer 2

Within the Spanish colonial Caste System, the criollos, to use the correct Spanish term ('creole' having many other applications), were considered socially inferior to the peninsulares - those born in Spain, although higher than the Amerindians and negroes. A common cause of discontent among 'colonials' elsewhere, also, the discontent this caused eventually proved one of the bases of the Spanish American countries' fight for independence from Spain.