Simón Bolívar (1783 - 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who played a central role in the wars of independence that ended Spanish rule across much of South America. [1] Known as El Libertador ("the Liberator"), he led campaigns that secured the independence of the territories that became Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Bolivia. [2] He served as president of the union of Gran Colombia and of Peru, and the nation of Bolivia was named in his honour. [1]
Early life and education
Simón Bolívar was born on 24 July 1783 in Caracas, in the Captaincy General of Venezuela, into a wealthy Creole family of Spanish descent. [1] Orphaned as a child, he was raised by relatives and enslaved servants and educated by private tutors, among them the reformer Simón Rodríguez and the scholar Andrés Bello, who introduced him to Enlightenment thought. [2] As a young man he travelled in Europe, where the political ideas of the age and the example of revolutionary France shaped his conviction that Spanish America should govern itself. [1]
Wars of independence
Bolívar joined the independence movement that emerged after the collapse of the Spanish monarchy under Napoleon. [2] Following early defeats, he launched the Admirable Campaign of 1813, which restored patriot control of Caracas and earned him the title El Libertador. [1] After further setbacks he regrouped, and in 1819 his army crossed the Andes to win the Battle of Boyacá, liberating New Granada. [3] Victory at Carabobo in 1821 secured Venezuela, and campaigns led by Bolívar and his lieutenant Antonio José de Sucre carried the revolution into Ecuador, Peru and Upper Peru over the following years. [2]
Gran Colombia and later years
Bolívar promoted the creation of Gran Colombia, a union of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama, and became its president. [1] The new republic of Bolivia, established in 1825, was named after him, and he drafted a constitution for it. [3] His hope of a stable federation of former Spanish colonies met growing regional rivalries and political division. Facing an assassination attempt in 1828 and mounting opposition, he assumed dictatorial powers in an effort to hold the union together, but Gran Colombia began to fragment. [2]
Death and legacy
Disillusioned and in failing health, Bolívar resigned the presidency in 1830 and died of tuberculosis on 17 December 1830 at the Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, near Santa Marta. [1] He is remembered as the pre-eminent figure of Latin American independence, and his political thought, often termed Bolivarianism, has been invoked across the region ever since. [3] His name endures in the nation of Bolivia, in Venezuela's currency and official name, and in monuments and institutions throughout the Americas. [2]
