Simon Bolivar Article I Wrote
Simon Bolivar, “El Libertador”
In the 1800's many uprisings were sparked around the world that were inspired by the American and French Revolutions. This was especially true in Latin America, as angry Creoles, mulattos, mestizos and slaves rose up against their Spanish oppressors. Some revolutions failed, but strong leaders led many countries to their independence. Eventually, much of the former colonized world was independent. One leader, however, led six countries in Latin America to their independence, and even had one of them, Bolivia, named after him. This extraordinary liberator, thinker and general was named Simon Bolivar. These Latin American countries would not have become independent in the early 1800's without the leadership, skills and knowledge of Bolivar, who also was one of the first to dream of Latin American unity.
Bolivar was born as a rich Creole on July 24, 1783, but his parents died young (Muscato). He was tutored and educated well as a boy under the care of his uncle, and he moved to Paris when he was 16 to finish his education. There he witnessed Napoleon's coronation as Emperor of France and met his former tutor, Simon Rodriguez, “who guided him to the writings of European rationalist thinkers such as Locke, Hobbes, Buffon, d’Alembert, and Helvetius as well as Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau ” (Levy). Learning about these enlightenment thinkers and their ideas shaped Bolivar and made him a strong believer in democracy, liberty, and equality, which he brought to the countries he liberated. He also was against slavery and “was later to call for the abolition of slavery across the entire Western Hemisphere” (Smith). After he learned of these ideas, he realized that he wanted independence for Hispanic America and he made a promise to give independence to his birth county of Venezuela (Levy). Bolivar's knowledge of enlightenment ideas was crucial because it gave him his values and his drive to become a revolutionary hero.
Bolivar went back to Venezuela to join the independence movement that was eventually successful, and Venezuela became a republic. However, treason by another officer in the army led to Spain regaining control over the country. Bolivar and other leaders left the failed commander to Spanish mercy and fled. From exile in Jamaica, Bolivar wrote his most famous letter “which outlined his vision for independent South American nations that included governments with a parliament and a life-long president” (Muscato) Aided by Haitian troops, Bolivar invaded Venezuela, but civil war led him to go to Columbia. He took control of the Columbian army and invaded Venezuela succesfully. He became president of Venezuela, “and he decided to fight for the independence of all of New Granada, not just Venezuela” (Muscato). Through amazing military victories, including the Battles of Boyaca, Carabobo, Pichincha and Ayacucho (Levy), he had achieved this goal by 1825 (N.A.). He united Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama to form Gran Columbia (Levy). Bolivar's military success was crucial to insure the independence of much of Latin America because he had to drive out the Spanish by force.
Bolivar died in 1830 of what most people say was tuberculosis, but his legacy lives on. He is known as the George Washington of South America (Ashbrook). He organized a congress in Panama, aiming to unite Latin American countries, “but there were too many differences between the countries for this to happen” (ADE Content Specialists). Civil war in the countries he liberated and the death of his trained successor, Sucre, made Bolivar grief-stricken and he resigned from his posts only a little while before his death (Levy). He is largely responsible for the independence of Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama (which was part of Columbia in Bolivar's time) and Bolivia, and he is admired by people of these countries today. He has statues in many cities around the world. He was one of the first people who had the idea for Latin American unification, and his dream has partially come true through the formation of the Union of South American Nations. Bolivar had dreams of creating a giant Latin American country that would include all of Central and South America, and the Caribbean.
The creation of six Latin American nations and the idea of a unified Latin America would not have happened in the early 1800's without “El Libertador” (Levy). His values were good natured and ideal for a revolutionary. Bolivar had many military victories that was crucial to his overall goal of independence. His vision of Latin American unity didn't come true in his lifetime, but has now somewhat become a reality. The great Venezuelan soldier and statesmen (Levy) Simon Bolivar is a hero to many Latin Americans, and is an inspiration for modern revolutionaries. He certainly deserves this honor for his great achievements.
Works Cited
ADE Content Specialists. Web. 23 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.azed.gov/wpcontent/uploads/PDF/SimonBolivarLesson.pdf>.
Ashbrook, Tom. "The Legacy of Simon Bolivar." On Point with Tom Ashbrook RSS. Web. 23
Dec. 2014. <http://onpoint.wbur.org/2006/08/10/the-legacy-of-simon-bolivar>.
HistoryMole Timeline: Simon Bolivar (1783-1830). (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2014, from http://www.historymole.com/cgi-bin/main/results.pl?theme=10015964
Muscato, Christopher. Simon Bolivar: Biography, Facts & Accomplishments. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2014, from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/simon-bolivar-biography-facts-accomplishments.html
Smith, Scott. "Biography of Simon Bolivar." Biography of Simon Bolivar. Web. 23 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.militaryheritage.com/bolivar.htm>.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). Simon Bolivar (Venezuelan soldier and
statesman). Retrieved December 10, 2014, from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/72067/Simon-Bolivar