Simon Bolivar is one of the most famous leaders of the war for the independence of the Spanish colonies in America. It is considered a national hero of Venezuela. He was a general. He is credited with liberating from Spanish rule not only Venezuela, but also the territories on which modern Ecuador, Panama, Colombia and Peru are located. In the territories of the so-called Upper Peru, he founded the Republic of Bolivia, which was named in his honor.
Childhood and youth
Simon Bolivar was born in 1783. He was born on July 24. The hometown of Simon Bolivar is Caracas, which at that time was part of the Spanish Empire. He grew up in a noble Creole Basque family. His father came from Spain, taking part in the public life of Venezuela. Both of his parents died early. The education of Simon Bolivar was carried out by the famous enlighteners of that time, Simon Rodriguez, a famous Venezuelan philosopher.
In 1799, Simon's relatives decided to take him from the restless Caracas back to Spain. Bolivar also appeared there, who began to study law. After he went on a trip to Europe to get to know the world better. He visited Germany, Italy, France, England, Switzerland. In Paris, attended courses at the Higher and Polytechnic schools.
It is known that during this trip to Europe he became a freemason. In 1824 he established a lodge in Peru.
In 1805, Simon Bolivar arrived in the United States, where he developed a plan to free South America from Spanish rule.
Republic of Venezuela
First, Simon Bolivar was one of the most active participants in the overthrow of Spanish rule in Venezuela. In fact, a coup d'etat there took place in 1810, and the next year the creation of an independent republic was officially announced.
In the same year, the revolutionary junta decided to send Bolivar to London to seek support from the British government. True, the British did not want to openly spoil relations with Spain, deciding to remain neutral. Bolivar nevertheless left his agent Louis Lopez Mendes in London to further conclude agreements on the recruitment of soldiers and loans for Venezuela, and he returned to the South American republic with a whole transport of weapons.
Spain did not intend to quickly surrender to the rebels. General Monteverde makes an alliance with the semi-wild inhabitants of the Venezuelan steppes, the warlike Llaneros. This irregular military unit is led by Jose Thomas Bovez, nicknamed "Bovez-Screamer." After this, the war takes on a particularly fierce character.
Simon Bolivar, whose biography is given in this article, takes tough retaliatory measures, ordering the destruction of all prisoners. However, nothing helps, in 1812 his army suffered a crushing defeat from the Spaniards in New Granada on the territory of modern Colombia. Bolivar himself writes the “Cartagena Manifesto,” which describes what happened and then returns to his homeland.
By the end of the summer of 1813, his troops liberated Caracas, Bolivar officially proclaimed "liberator of Venezuela." The Second Venezuelan Republic is being created, headed by the hero of our article. The National Congress confirms the awarding of the title of Liberator.
However, Bolivar failed to stay in power for a long time. He turns out to be an indecisive politician, does not carry out reforms in the interests of the poorest segments of the population. Not having secured their support, he is defeated already in 1814. The Spanish army forces Bolivar to leave the Venezuelan capital. In fact, he is forced to flee and seek refuge in Jamaica. In 1815, he published an open letter from there in which he announced the liberation of Spanish America in the near future.
Great columbia
Realizing his mistakes, he takes up the matter with renewed energy. Bolivar understands that his strategic miscalculation was the rejection of social problems and the liberation of the Arabs. The hero of our article convinces Haitian President Alexander Petion to help the rebels with weapons, in 1816 he landed on the shore of Venezuela.
The decrees on the abolition of slavery and the decree granting land allotments to the soldiers of the liberation army allow him to significantly expand his social base and enlist the support of a large number of new supporters. In particular, the Llaneros, led by their compatriot Jose Antonio Paez after the death of Bovez in 1814, goes over to the side of Bolivar.
Bolivar seeks to unite all revolutionary forces and their leaders around him in order to act together, but he does not succeed. However, the Dutch merchant Brion helped him occupy the Angostura in 1817, and then raised all of Guiana against Spain. Inside the revolutionary army, not everything is smooth. Bolivar orders the arrest of two of his former associates - Marino and Piar, the latter was executed already in October of the 17th year.
The following winter, a party of mercenary soldiers from London arrives to help the hero of our article, from which he manages to form a new army. Following the successes in Venezuela, they liberate New Granada in 1819, and in December they elect Bolivar as president of the Republic of Colombia. Such a decision is made by the first national congress, which is convened in Angostur. President Simon Bolivar goes down in history as the leader of Greater Colombia. At this stage, it includes New Granada and Venezuela.
In 1822, Colombians expelled the Spaniards already from the province of Quito, which joins Greater Colombia. Now it is an independent state of Ecuador.
War of liberation
It is noteworthy that Bolivar does not calm down on this. In 1821, his volunteer army defeated the Spanish royal troops in the area of the settlement of Carabobo.
In the summer of next year, he negotiates with José de San Martin, who is waging a similar war of liberation, having managed to free part of Peru already. But the two rebel leaders fail to find a common language. Moreover, in 1822, San Martin resigned, Bolivar sent Colombian units to Peru to continue the liberation movement. In the battles of Hunin and on the Ayacucho Plain, they win a landslide victory over the enemy, defeating the last Spanish troops that still remain on the continent.
In 1824, Venezuela was completely freed from the colonists. In 1824, Bolivar became a dictator in Peru, and also led the Republic of Bolivia, named after him.
Personal life
In 1822, Bolivar meets the Creole Manuela Saens in the city of Quito. From this moment, she becomes his inseparable companion and faithful girlfriend. She was 12 years younger than the hero of our article.
It is known that she was an illegitimate child. After the death of her mother, she learned to read and write in a monastery, at the age of 17 she left there and lived with her father for some time. He even married her to an English businessman. With her husband, she moved to Lima, where she first encountered the revolutionary movement.
In 1822, she left her husband, returned to Quito, where she met the hero of our article. Simon Bolivar and Manuela Saens remained together until the death of the revolutionary. When in 1828 she saved him from an attempt, she received the nickname "liberator of the liberator."
After his death, she moved to Paita, where she sold tobacco and sweets. In 1856, she died during a diphtheria epidemic.
Collapse of great columbia
Bolivar sought to form the Southern United States, which was supposed to include Peru, Colombia, Chile and La Plata. in 1826 he convenes Congress in Panama, but he fails. Moreover, they begin to accuse him of trying to create an empire in which he will play the role of Napoleon. Party strife begins in Colombia itself, some deputies, led by General Paes, proclaim autonomy.
Bolivar assumes dictatorial powers and convenes a national assembly. It discusses a change in the constitution, but after several meetings they cannot come to any decision.
In parallel, the Peruvians reject the Bolivian Code, depriving the hero of our article of the title of president for life. Having lost Bolivia and Peru, he establishes the residence of the ruler of Colombia in Bogota.
Attempt
In September 1828, an attempt was made on his life. Federalists rush into the palace, killing sentries. Bolivar manages to escape. On his side stands the majority of the population, with the help of which the rebellion can be suppressed. The head of the conspirators, Vice President Santander, is expelled from the country with closest supporters.
However, the very next year, anarchy intensifies. Caracas announces the secession of Venezuela. Bolivar loses power and influence, constantly complains about accusations against him from America and Europe.
Resign
At the very beginning of 1830, Bolivar resigned, and soon after that he died near the Colombian city of Santa Marta. He refuses houses, lands and even a pension. Spends the last days, admiring the landscapes of Sierra Nevada. The hero of the revolution was 47 years old.
In 2010, his body was exhumed by order of Colombian President Hugo Chavez in order to establish the true cause of his death. But this did not succeed. It was reburied in the center of Caracas in a specially built mausoleum.
Bolivarian
Simon Bolivar went down in history as a liberator, who delivered South America from Spanish rule. According to some reports, he won 472 battles.
In Latin America, it is still very popular. His name is immortalized in the name of Bolivia, many cities, provinces, several monetary units. Bolivia's multiple football champion is called Bolivar.
In fiction
That Bolivar is the prototype of the protagonist in the novel of the Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez "General in his maze." It describes the events of the last year of his life.
The biography of Bolivar was written by Ivan Franko, Emil Ludwig and many others. The Austrian playwright Ferdinand Bruckner has two plays dedicated to the revolutionary. This is "Fighting the Dragon" and "Fighting the Angel."
It is noteworthy that Karl Marx spoke negatively about Bolivar. In his work, he saw dictatorial and Bonapartist features. Because of this, in Soviet literature, the hero of our article was for a long time regarded exclusively as a dictator who spoke on the side of the landowners and the bourgeoisie.
Many Latin Americanists disputed this point of view. For example, the doctor of historical sciences Moses Samuilovich Alperovich. The Soviet illegal intelligence officer and Latin American Joseph Grigulevich even wrote a biography of Bolivar for the series “The Life of Wonderful People. For this he was awarded the Order of Miranda in Venezuela, and in Colombia he was accepted into the local writers association.
On the big screen
The 1969 film Simon Bolivar details the biography of a revolutionary. This is a joint production of Spain, Italy and Venezuela. The director of the film "Simon Bolivar" was the Italian Alessandro Blazetti. This was his last work.
The main roles in the film "Simon Bolivar" were played by Maximilian Shell, Rosanna Schiaffino, Francisco Rabal, Conrado San Martin, Fernando Sancho, Manuel Gil, Luis Davila, Angel del Pozo, Julio Peña and Sancho Gracia.