Simon Bolivar
The General's Disunited States of South America "Let us hasten to break the chains of those who groan in the dungeons waiting forsalvation from you. Do not betray their trust. Do not be deaf to the cries of your brothers. Avengethe dead, save the dying, relieve the oppressed, and bring freedom to all!" Those were the powerful words written by Simon Bolivar, which persuaded the people of Colombia to support him with the liberation of foreign states. Never before has South America seen a leader as determined as Bolivar, a man willing to sacrifice his life for the rights and freedom of the people by any means necessary. He was an excellent horseback rider, a man who killed a monk with his sword, an excellent strategist in the battleground, a general who enlisted the help of cannibals in his army, a man who escaped several assassination attempts, and a boy who played badminton with a young Spanish prince Ferdinand in his palace. They fit the description of Simon Bolivar; a man who accomplished more during his forty-seven years of lifetime, than forty seven men could hope to achieve in a hundred years. The Latin American Wars of Independence do not form an easy to tell narrative; there were different levels of violenc
The leaders of the countries that owed their independence to Bolivar were not anxious to recognize their debt. In his visit to Vatican City, during his travels throughout Europe, Bolivar refused to kneel down and kiss the cross on the Pope's shoe, so the Pope allowed the young Bolivar to kiss his ring instead. The time came when General Simon Bolivar met with General Jose de San Martin, liberator of Argentina and Chile, to discuss the invasion of Peru and the future of Latin America. Following the defeat of the Spaniards at the colonies of Venezuela, New Granada, and Ecuador, they were annexed into one single entity named Gran Colombia. Every president, congressman, or delegate had his own individual ambitions, which often collided with the ambitions of others. In the famous Jamaica letter, Bolivar observed that "it is not the Spaniards but our own lack of unity that has brought us again to slavery". In 1824, the region of upper Peru declared its own sovereignty and named its new nation Bolivia, in honor of its liberator. The Royal forces answered quickly, and because of the lack of cooperation among Bolivar's soldiers and the Venezuelans, they were able to overthrow the rebellious occupation army. On July 5th, 1811, Simon Bolivar's allies peacefully took control of Caracas, and declared the independence of Venezuela. Nevertheless, he held the presidency of Venezuela for several times, various seats in the congress of Colombia, and the dictatorship of Peru. When the Royal army was finally destroyed, Bolivar's military allies proved more dangerous than Spain itself, because it was their corruptive minds and lack of cooperation which made it so difficult, and often impossible, for Bolivar to reach his goal of unification. Because of the disappointing meeting at the Congress of Panama in 1824, Bolivar realized that his dream about a strong confederation among the former Spanish colonies was never going to happen, but he still urged the people of South America to remain unified and to continue their sacrifices until the well being of the scattered republics could be reached. Today many Spanish Americans consider Bolivar one of the leading heroes of the independence movement and one of the early supporters of republican government in Spanish America. Bolivar's lasting achievement was the liberation of six separate nations: Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The government of Venezuela even refused to allow his body onto Venezuelan soil, and he was buried in Colombia.
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