Known as the
“Liberator” in Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, Simon
Bolivar is often considered the “George Washington of South America”. He
liberated all those countries from the Spanish Empire, and formulated a project
of national integration amongst the former Spanish colonies in the Americas.
Both as a statesman and a politician, Bolivar was a larger-than-life character.
Although he has been admired in the United States (to the point that some
illustrious soldiers were named after him, such as Simon Bolivar Buckner), the
details of his life are little known. Following is a list of some surprising
facts about his life.
1 He was
breastfed by a black slave
Simon Bolivar was born in Caracas on
July 24, 1783, to a noble criollo family (whites born in the American
continent). The Bolivars had come to Venezuela from the Basque region in Spain,
in the 16th Century (LINK 1). They were land tenants of large
property states, and immensely rich. However, one of Bolivar’s ancestors was
denied an aristocratic distinction by the Spanish crown because he could not
prove the “purity” of his blood. Thus, there has always been the suspicion that
Bolivar may have had either an African or Native American ancestor.
The Bolivars had numerous black
slaves, as was typical of criollo families in Caracas. Young Simon was
breastfed by a black slave, Hipolita (LINK 2). He grew to be fond of her. An
orphan by age nine, Bolivar considered her a close relative. Many years later,
in 1813, at a triumphal military procession in Caracas, he spotted her in the
crowd; Bolivar came down from his horse, and immediately went to hug her.
Although he always feared a Haiti-like massacre of whites in Spanish America,
Bolivar was never a racist, and he did his best to emancipate the slaves.
2 He was a
widower at age 19
As was usual for young noble
criollos in the Spanish colonies, Bolivar traveled to Spain at age 16 as part
of an educational voyage. While there, he met Maria Teresa del Toro, a young
Spaniard of Venezuelan origins. He fell in love and proposed to her. They got
married in Madrid in, 1801, and headed back to Venezuela. The couple was very
happy in Caracas, but then, after only nine months, tragedy struck: Maria
Teresa died of yellow fever (LINK 3). Bolivar loved Maria Teresa intensely, and
was deeply affected. He swore never to marry again, and he kept his promise.
Years later, he reflected that, had
he not been a widower, his life would have been very different, and he would
have never become the Liberator. Bolivar went on to have many lovers throughout
his life. The one who seemed to have captured his heart above all others, was
Manuela Sáenz, a native from Quito, and married to an English businessman (LINK
4). Manuela abandoned her husband and joined Bolivar in his military and
political life. She was crucial in saving his life from an assassination
attempt in Bogota, in 1828. For this heroic deed, Bolivar called her the
“liberator of the Liberator”.
3 His first
military assignment ended in defeat
On a second trip to Europe in 1804,
Bolivar was witness to Napoleon’s coronation ceremony in Paris. While in Rome,
in the company of some friends, he scaled Monte Sacro and pledged to liberate
Spanish colonies from the Spanish empire. For some years, he kept quiet about
this pledge. But, given Napoleon’s invasion of Spain in 1807, the Caracas city
council declared independence from Spain in 1811, and Venezuela’s First
Republic was established (LINK 5).
Bolivar volunteered to go on a
diplomatic mission to London, in order to seek international recognition for
the Venezuelan republic. He was only partially successful. Upon his return to
Venezuela, he realized that not everyone was happy with the political state of
affairs, and soon, a civil war ensued. Royalists loyal to the King of Spain
took arms, and initiated a campaign to depose the Republican government.
In 1812 (LINK 6), Bolivar was
assigned military command of the Puerto Cabello garrison, where royalist
prisoners were held. However, he could not contain a mutiny, and prisoners took
control of the garrison. Bolivar asked for reinforcements, but never received
them. He fled Puerto Cabello in defeat.
4 He betrayed his precursor, Francisco de Miranda
The loss of Puerto Cabello was a
pivotal moment for royalist forces, and it ultimately led to the fall of the
First Republic in Venezuela. Bolivar was deeply anxious about his role in this
catastrophic event, but he seems to have blamed General Francisco de Miranda.
Miranda had been a revolutionary who, in 1806, attempted to launch a liberation
movement in Venezuela (LINK 7). It ended in failure, and Miranda exiled in
London. When Bolivar visited London, he proposed Miranda to return to Venezuela
and take command of the armed forces. However, very soon, relations between
both soldiers deteriorated, and the fall of Puerto Cabello further drove them
apart.
In 1812, as royalist forces
approached Caracas, Miranda judged that there was no point in prolonging the
war. He thus made arrangements to surrender, board a ship, and abandon
Venezuela, in order to prepare a new revolutionary movement. However, Bolivar
quickly moved and, with the help of other conspirators, arrested Miranda and
handed him to royalist commander Domingo Monteverde, as he entered Caracas.
Monteverde sent Miranda to a prison in Cadiz, where he died in 1816. This
particular event cast a long shadow over Bolivar’s reputation. He always tried
to excuse himself by arguing that Miranda was a traitor to the Venezuelan Republican
cause. Yet, to this day, many historians wonder whether the real traitor was
Bolivar.
5 He decreed
war to the death to Spaniards
Bolivar marched to exile in 1812.
Yet, by 1813, he was in New Granada (modern-day Colombia), once again as a
military commander, engaging in combat against Spanish forces. He was nominally
under command of the Cartagena government. But, without his superiors’ consent,
he crossed the Venezuelan border and began a march to Caracas.
This campaign, known as “La campaña
admirable” (the admirable campaign) gave Bolivar many military triumphs. When
his forces entered Caracas in 1813, he was enthusiastically greeted by the
locals, and given the title of “Liberator” (LINK 8).
By now, the war had become
particularly vicious. There were reports of atrocities on the Spanish side, and
Bolivar decided to retaliate. On June 5th, 1813, in the town of
Trujillo (at the start of his campaign on his way to Caracas), Bolívar signed
the decree of war to the death. He warned that any Spaniard, who refused to
serve under his command for the liberation of Venezuela, would be summarily
executed (LINK 9). The decree had more of a psychological impact, as few executions
took place. However, out of frustration for a failed prisoner exchange with the
Spanish, and fearing a prisoner uprising, Bolivar ordered the execution of 900
prisoners of war held in La Guaira (LINK 10).
The viciousness of the war
eventually allowed for the rise of an even more ruthless warlord on the
royalist side, Jose Tomas Boves. His private army, known as the “legions of
hell”, devastated the Venezuelan countryside, and entered Caracas in 1814, once
again sending Bolivar into exile.
6 He
proclaimed freedom for slaves, to no effect
After his second exile, Bolivar
settled first in Jamaica, and then in Haiti, where he was welcomed by president
Alexandre Petion. Haiti was then a republic governed by former black slaves who
had rebelled and killed their white masters. President Pieton offered Bolivar
economic and logistical help in his attempt to, once again, invade Venezuela.
But, he specifically asked Bolivar to decree the emancipation of the slaves in
all those territories he would liberate from the Spanish empire (LINK 11).
At first, Bolivar did not seem to be
fond of the idea, but perhaps out of pragmatism, he acceded to Pieton’s
petition. However, Bolivar soon came to understand that he needed the support
of blacks and pardos (mixed race people). Boves had been able to overthrow
Bolivar’s government because he enlisted blacks and pardos by offering booty
and promises of freedom to whomever joined his ranks.
As Bolivar again invaded Venezuela
in 1816, he proclaimed the abolition of slavery, and he personally freed his
own slaves. However, his proclamations were to no effect. Bolivar was not in a
real position of power to ensure abolition. And, when he did finally accede to
power once Spanish forces were finally expelled from South America, he had to
do political maneuvers to stay in power, and this prevented him from abolishing
slavery altogether.
7 He crossed
the Andes with his army
Having invaded Venezuela in 1816,
Bolivar could not make great advances. Caracas was still in the power of
royalist forces, and he was in no position to attack. He thus established his
headquarters in Angostura, on the banks of the Orinoco River. He began to
receive British mercenaries (LINK 12), and he managed to bring under his
command the llanero (Venezuelan cowboys) forces under the leadership of José
Antonio Páez. Bolivar’s combined forces achieved some military victories over
the Spaniards in the Venezuelan plains, but he still lacked the military
capacity to strike the well-garrisoned Caracas.
He then came up with a hugely
ambitious plan. Instead of attacking Caracas, he would take his army through
the Venezuelan plains, up the Andes Mountains, and descend into Bogota, coming
from an unprotected side, as Spanish commanders would never think the enemy could
take such a seemingly impossible route.
Without telling his forces what
route they were taking, Bolivar and his army of 2000 crossed the plains and
then the Andes, in a move comparable to Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps. Crossing
the plains, water was up to their waist, and in the mountains, they were only
able to eat raw meat, as there was no wood. Nearly half his army perished along
the way, before even the first military engagement. But, finally, his troops
defeated the Spaniards at Boyaca in 1819, and then took control of Bogota (LINK
13).
8 He
proposed a Constitution with a president for life
After his audacious crossing of the Andes, Bolivar found one military
success after another. By 1821, the whole of Venezuela and New Granada were
already freed from Spanish control. This time, however, Bolivar had learned the
lessons from the past. And, he wanted to ensure that his victory would be long
lasting. Therefore, once the Spanish authorities were expelled, Bolivar set out
to organize a strong government that would protect independence. He proposed to
unite Venezuela, New Granada and the province of Quito into one single nation,
which he called “Colombia” (ironically, the name was originally proposed by his
nemesis, Miranda).
He then traveled to Peru, to take
control of military forces there, to push for the final victory against the
Spanish Empire in South America. He sent a loyal general, Antonio Jose de
Sucre, to lead the campaign in Upper Peru (modern day Bolivia). Once liberated
from Spanish control, Bolivar wrote a Constitution for the new nation of
Bolivia. Given the weakened state of the emerging nations (and the threat of
reconquest by Europe’s Holy Alliance), the Constitution had a strong centralist
bent. But, perhaps the most controversial aspect was its provision for a
president for life, as many people feared that Bolivar was en route to becoming
a dictator (LINK 14).
Upon his return to Bogota, Bolivar
tried to convene Congress to accept this Constitution (or at least, one similar
to it). But, given that the Congress did not accept it, Bolivar abolished
Congress and declared himself dictator of Colombia.
9 He died
very poor
By 1828, Bolivar was deeply hated by
adversaries who resented his dictatorial powers. A conspiracy to assassinate
him was organized, but it ended in failure (LINK 15). Although formally a
dictators, his retribution was not draconian, and he pardoned his main rival
and suspected conspirator, Francisco de Paula Santander (nevertheless, some
other participants in the conspiracy were executed). However, Bolivar tightened
his grip on adversaries, hoping to find a consensus solution to the political
crisis.
By 1830, Bolivar realized that he
would not be able to find consensus. He thus decided to step down, and take
exile in Europe. He had become increasingly sick with tuberculosis. On his way
to Europe, he died in Santa Marta, on Dec 17th, 1830. He had been
abandoned by most friends, and his fortune was already gone. On his deathbed,
he had to borrow a shirt from a Spanish sympathizer, because he could not even
afford one.
10 He was a
Freemason
Although the extent of Masonic
influence has been exaggerated by conspiracy theories, it is true that many
leaders from the South American revolutionary wars of independence were
Freemasons. Miranda, Jose de San Martin, Bernardo O’Higgins, and Simon Bolivar,
were all members of Lautaro, a South American Masonic lodge (LINK 16). In 1820,
Bolivar had signed an armistice with royalist general Pablo Morillo, and it has
been speculated that he, too, was a Freemason, and for that reason, the
armistice talks went smoothly.
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