Simon Bolivar’s Legacy

Simon Bolivar: El Liberator

Simon Bolivar was one of South Americas greatest generals. His victories over the Spaniards won independence for Bolivia, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. He is called El Liberator, and is also known as the George Washington of South America. Bolivar was born in Venezuela, where his parents died. He inherited a fortune then began his travels all around Europe. Bolivar returned to Venezuela in 1810, where he joined a group of patriots that seized Caracas and proclaimed independence from Spain. He later went to Great Britain in search of aid, but could only get a promise of British neutrality. Bolivar then returned to Venezuela and took command of a patriot army. He and the army recaptured Caracas from the Spaniards in 1813. The Spaniards forced Bolivar to retreat from Venezuela to New Granada, who was at war with Spain at the time. Bolivar took command of a Colombian force and captured Bogota in 1814. However, the patriots were running low on men as well as supplies. This was enough to force Bolivar to flee to Jamaica. While in Jamaica, Bolivar wrote a letter titled the letter from Jamaica. In this letter Bolivar was stressing the importance and need for an organized government.

The letter was a scheme for the reconstitution of Latin America. He proposed a series of constitutional republics, an elected lower house, and a president that would remain for life. This letter accounts for the adolotry tone of so much of the Latin American Boliveran literature. At this time Simon Bolivar had joined the revolution. His reason in ones opinion may be because of the invasion Napoleon threatened Spain with. At the end of this invasion, however, Venezuela had become an independent country. After Bolivar had written the letter from Jamaica, he gathered a force in Haiti that ended up in Venezuela in 1816, and took Angostra. There, Simon Bolivar had become a true dictator. Bolivar took his army and headed to New Granada in 1819. There he defeated the Spaniards in Boyar, therefore creating the territory of Colombia to be independent. Bolivar then returned to Angostura and led the congress that organized the original republic of Colombia . On December 17, 1819, Simon Bolivar became the first president. Hence, giving him his other name, the George Washington of South America. Bolivar defeated the Spanish army at Carabobo in Venezuela on June 24, 1821. He then led his army into Educador and added it to the new Colombian republic. A year later Bolivar became dictator of Peru. Upper Peru became its own separate state, which was called Bolivia, in honar of Simon Bolivar.

Simon Bolivar left behind a legacy that made him famous all over the world Bolivar was excellent at organizing governments and taking control. Although Bolivar was a dictator, he was a fair dictator. Bolivar changed the way countries and states were ran all over the world. Many dictators modeled their countries or states after Bolivar. I would agree with most of the historians on the writings of Simon Bolivar. In particular, I agree with Harvey L. Johnson and his statement, The constitution, which he drew up for Bolivia, is one of his most important political pronouncements.