Simón Bolívar

Simón Bolívar was born on 24 July 1783 in Caracas, in the Captaincy General of Venezuela, into a wealthy Creole family with landholdings. His father Juan Vicente died in 1786 and his mother María de la Concepción in 1792; he grew up under the supervision of relatives and was partly cared for by enslaved household servants, among them Hipólita.

As a boy he was taught by, among others, Simón Rodríguez, who had been influenced by Enlightenment thinkers, and by Andrés Bello. In 1799 he went to Spain, where he studied in Madrid and married in 1802; his wife died in 1803. In 1804–1805 he travelled through Europe and, by his own later account, swore an oath in Rome to liberate his country.

In 1810 Bolívar joined the movement in Caracas that replaced the Spanish administration with a junta. He travelled to London as a diplomat and fought for the First (1811–1812) and Second Republic (1813–1814) of Venezuela. Both republics fell to royalist armies; the earthquake of 26 March 1812 had already greatly reduced support for the republic.

In the Admirable Campaign (1813) he advanced from New Granada to Caracas. On 15 June 1813 he issued the decree of war to the death at Trujillo: Spaniards who did not actively support independence were to be killed, Americans spared. Both sides committed violence against civilians and prisoners; in February 1814 Bolívar himself ordered Spanish prisoners executed in Caracas and La Guaira.

After exile in Jamaica and Haiti he returned in 1816. On the mainland he proclaimed freedom for enslaved people, with military service playing a role, and in 1819 he asked the Congress of Angostura to confirm it. Congress chose a gradual approach; a law of 1821 declared children of enslaved mothers free, with a labour obligation. Full abolition followed only in the 1850s.

In 1808 the Spanish government fell into crisis when Napoleon invaded Spain and Ferdinand VII was deposed. In the Americas cities formed juntas that at first governed in the king's name but soon demanded independence. Society was divided: Creoles, Spanish-born officials, pardos, Indigenous communities and enslaved people had different interests, so the war also took on the character of a civil war.

Intellectually, the Enlightenment, the American and French revolutions and the Haitian Revolution formed the background. Bolívar's writings, such as the Cartagena Manifesto (1812), the Jamaica Letter (1815) and the Angostura Address (1819), discuss republican forms of government, a strong executive and relations between population groups. British and Irish volunteers fought in his armies.

Under the command of Bolívar or his lieutenants, such as Antonio José de Sucre, large parts of northern and western South America broke away from Spain between 1819 and 1825. The Republic of Colombia comprised Venezuela, New Granada and, from 1822, Quito; Bolivia was named after him in 1825. The wars cost many lives and left economic damage.

Bolívar argued for a strong executive. His draft constitution for Bolivia (1826) provided for a president for life, and in 1828 he assumed dictatorial powers in Colombia. Opponents, among them vice-president Santander, saw a danger to the republic; in September 1828 an assassination attempt on Bolívar failed, after which Santander was exiled.

In 1830 Bolívar resigned as president of Colombia; Venezuela and Ecuador broke away from Gran Colombia, which thereby dissolved. He wanted to leave for Europe but died on 17 December 1830 near Santa Marta, aged 47, according to the usual account of tuberculosis. A commission set up by Hugo Chávez in 2008 examined the claim that he had been poisoned after an exhumation in 2010; the outcome (2011) was inconclusive.

In 1842 his remains were taken to Caracas; since 1876 they lie in the National Pantheon. In Latin America he is regarded as a national hero and many institutions bear his name. Historians assess him differently: admiration for his role in the liberation stands alongside criticism of his authoritarian rule, the war to the death and the limited progress on slavery. The 'cult of Bolívar' arose mainly after 1842.