Simón Bolívar shaped the movement for the liberation of South America from Spanish rule. Born in 1783, Bolívar belonged to a wealthy family in Caracas, Venezuela, and during his youth he pursued higher education in Spain. Due to his political involvement, Bolívar seized many opportunities to meet leading intellectual and political revolutionaries in cities like Paris, Rome and London during his time in Europe. Following the death of his young wife, Bolívar decided to seek moral refuge in Europe where Napoleon Bonaparte influenced him. Shortly after having learned that Napoleon had named his cousin Joseph King of Spain and its colonies in 1808, Bolívar joined the independence movement in Venezuela. Simón Bolívar, also known as the Liberator, promoted various independence movements in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. The independence struggles started in 1810 and in 1815 Alexander Petion, Haiti’s president, provided important military support for Bolívar’s campaigns. By 1824, due to the combined efforts of many military, political and intellectual figures, Bolívar was able to gain independence for his people. Today, Simón Bolívar is remembered as “the revolutionary who freed six countries, an intellectual who argued the principles of national liberation, a general who fought a cruel colonial war” (Lynch 97).

 

Source: 

Lynch, John. Simón Bolívar. A Life. New Haven / London: Yale University Press, 2006.