On July 24, 1783 The “Libertador” was born in Caracas in a colonial house located west of Plaza San Jacinto. With the name of Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios Ponte y Blanco, son of Juan Vicente Bolívar and María Concepción Palacios.
Simón Bolívar is one of the most prominent figures in South America. A descendant of Spaniards, Bolivar was responsible for the creation of what we know today as Bolivia and Gran Colombia, which managed to free them from Spanish colonisers. In addition, his role was very active in the independence of Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru. Being one of the most prominent figures of the 19th century.
One of his most memorable events that is worth remembering occurred in Paris where he met his friend and teacher Simón Rodríguez, where he would come into contact with political figures as prominent as Napoleon Bonaparte in France. Marked by the early French Revolution, he traveled through Italy and arrived at Rome. On the Monte Sacro he swore an oath that would mark him forever: free his homeland from Spanish rule.
I swear before you, I swear by the God of my parents, I swear by them, I swear by my honor, I swear by the Homeland, that I will not rest on my arm, nor rest my soul until the chains of Spanish power that oppress us have been broken – Sealing the ideal of independence in the sacred mountain in front of his teacher.
Despite not having any military training, the ideas of liberation that Bolivar promulgated in his country were soon assimilated by the people who made him the leader of a revolution.
It was 1810 and the Spanish colonies were increasingly neglected by the king, as a result of the tensions between Spain and Napoleon’s France. This year, Bolivar joined the revolution in Venezuela, but the failure of the first expedition made him leave his country.
In 1819 he developed a constitution for La Gran Colombia. This republic conformed by the current Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama.The idea of forming a confederation of free South American countries, inspired by the form of government of the United States, began to emerge in the revolutionary
Although he tried on several occasions, it was not until 1821 when Bolivar achieved the independence of Venezuela after the Battle of Carabobo. Between 1824 and 1825 Simón Bolívar achieved the independence of two important nations for Spain: Peru and Bolivia. Before, in 22 he had already managed to participate in the one in Ecuador.
Bolivar contributed enormously to the liberation of all the countries conquered by the Spanish, but once the war ended, disputes began between the friends who had helped achieve the revolutionary movements. Simón Bolívar had developed an excessive desire for power and there were many friends, who later revoked his power in other areas such as New Granada. It was then that the South American countries began to be controlled by dictatorial bosses, turning the great nation that Bolivar intended to create into independent countries in the hands of a few.
Bolívar died of tuberculosis on December 17, 1830, at age 47. Despite the negatives in the revolutionary process, his path marked a milestone in the history of America. Based on the practical and critical philosophy of his military and political life, the courageous and brave man who did not stop at nothing until he achieved the freedom of the peoples of South America. This is how the figure of: «Libertador» was born.