Simon Bolivar and Latin American Revolutions

Simon Bolivar was born in Caracas, Venezuela. This is kind of weird because the country named after him, Bolivia, is smaller than Venezuela where he originated from. He was born on July 24 in 1783. Bolivar was a well educated person due to his excellent teachers. Thanks to them he learned facts about the enlightenment, which may have influenced his decisions made in the future. His life wasn't all too great at first since he lost both parents while he was still young, and had to reside with his uncle until he was 15. He was sent to continue his studies in Spain by his uncle. 

When he was 19 he got married but this marriage did not last long for his wife had died only after a year of their marriage upon his return back to Venezuela. He soon returned to Europe but this time his purpose was for travel especially in Italy and France. He used this time to study people like John Locke and even Napoleon. On the way back to Venezuela he stopped in the U.S.A. There he learned that they had just gained their independence from Great Britain. When he finally got back home he decided that it was South America’s turn to depart from Spain and gain their form of independence. He was going to lead them through it as well. 

This is where the title "the George Washington of South America" began. In 1810 he seized Caracas and had to recapture it after he had come back from Great Britain for help. When he returned empty handed from there Bolivar had command of patriot army. First they defeated the Spaniards from Caracas but soon after they forced him to go back to modern day Colombia. In 1814 he got control of Bogota with help from the Colombian armies. Though they had win their many other defeats to come due to lack of food and supplies. 

Bolivar had moved onto Jamaica. When he had reached Haiti, Bolivar was able to assemble another force this time to go to Venezuela and this time they had captured control of Angostura. In 1819, after ridding Colombia of Spaniards, Colombia had been liberated. On December 17 1819 he became president of the congress that had organized Colombia. Soon he took down the Spaniards that were in Venezuela in June 24 1821. Soon Ecuador became under his control rather than Spain’s. He soon became a dictator of Peru after meeting with another Liberator, Antonio Jose de Sucre. Together they led the final battles fought in this revolution and it had finally ended on December 9, 1824. The upper portion of Peru is now what is called Bolivia after what he had done for South America he deserved to have a country named after him.