Simon Bolivar

Key Events• The key events of Simon Bolivar’s life:

Birth MarriagePledge in Rome Declaration President Liberation Death

July 1783 May 1802 Aug 1805 April 1810 1819 1817-1824 Dec 1830

He was Born in Caracas, Venezuela

He Married Maria Teresa

He Pledged to liberate South America

Declaration of Independence in Venezuela

Became first president of Colombia and later several other Countries

Liberated Columbia Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Bolivia

Died at the age of 47 of tuberculosis

Simon Bolivar

• Simon Bolivar was the son of a wealthy aristocrat and young man at the time that he joined the revolutionary movement

• A Creole who joined sides with the natives and the llaneros in order to win the revolution

• He was the greatest key figure in Latin American Independence

Leadership Traits• Bolivar was known to

gave been a charismatic leader

• He was an excellent horse man and this helped win the llaneros over to his side during the revolution

• He was also a superior general and strategist, being able to free most of Latin America from European control

• However San Martin described him as a finicky, arrogant man

Causes / Effects of Independence Movement

Causes• Napoleonic Wars overthrow

the king’s in Spain (Problem of Legitimacy)

• The trading restrictions cease to exist

• The class conflict between the upper class peninsulars and the middle class creoles

• Creole wanted to take away peninsulars power and the natives sided with them until them wanted power

Effects• Most of the European

controlled Latin American countries gained their independence

• Many new countries were formed within a generation out of the old provinces that the Europeans owned

• The countries experienced much turmoil after their independence and went through years of invasions and civil war

Important Events of Independence Movement

• Bolivar and Francisco de Miranda led the movement• The Spanish government crushed it and Bolivar sold out

Miranda for safe passage• Bolivar returned and defeated the Spanish in several battles• Republic of Venezuela established on 5 July 1811

Compared to George Washington:

Simon• Led armed forces in

revolutionary battles• Accepted a dictatorship role• Received good amount of

education as a child• Fought to change who

would have power over South America

• Extremely charismatic and regarded almost as a god and a hero

Compared to George Washington:

George• Led armed forces in

revolutionary battles• Previously fought for

European army• Put in leadership roles after

revolution• Accepted a presidential role• Did not have a lot of

education• Fought to change political

structure of America• Untouchable leader that

was respected as well as the other member of the revolution

American revolution compared to the Latin American rebellions

• Latin American countries weren't united together although they did support each other’s causes

• The Latin American rebellions were only a shift of power no ideals only those copied from the American revolution

• They had their elite the creoles who tried to control the rest of native population in order to maintain control

American revolution compared to the Latin American rebellions

• All the states in North America formed an alliance and in order to make one countries fight against Great Britain

• They fought in protest of politics and revolted to create a new from of government

• There was a colonial elite that benefitted economically from the war

Other key leaders associated with Simon

• Jose San Martin• Leader of the

Argentinean movement for independence

• Francisco de Miranda• A key figure in the

Venezuelan revolution

• José Antonio Páez• Leader of the llaneros

a group of horsemen and cowboys whose was an important players in the fight for independence

Bolivar’s Death

At the end Bolivar was Exiled for trying establish a totalitarian government which enraged many who believed that he was only trying to establish what they had fought so hard to get rid of he died in bed with tuberculosis but was stilled remembered as a hero to almost all the countries in Latin America