President Monroe's warning statement, known as the Monroe Doctrine, was issued in response to the European powers attempting to colonize the Americas. After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo, the European powers created the Holy Alliance, whose objective was to restore the old order in Europe and prevent the spread of revolutionary ideas. This worried the United States, as the Holy Alliance was formed without United States knowledge and it feared the coalition aimed to support Spain and Portugal in their efforts to regain control of American territories.