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SIMÓN BOLÍVAR
SIMÓN BOLÍVAR
Patriot, Warrior, Statesman Father of Five Nations [Illustration: STATUE OF THE LIBERATOR at the head of the Avenue of the Americas, New York City.] Patriot, Warrior, Statesman Father of Five Nations Guillermo A. Sherwell (1878-1926) was the recipient of Doctorate Degrees from the National University of Mexico and from the University of Georgetown. Among the posts which he filled was that of Rector of the National University of Mexico, Legal Counsellor of the Inter-American Committee in Washingt
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SIMÓN BOLÍVAR
SIMÓN BOLÍVAR
Patriot, Warrior, Statesman Father of Five Nations...
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CHAPTER I
CHAPTER I
The Spanish Colonies in America Everybody knows that America was discovered by Christopher Columbus, who served under the King and Queen of Spain, and who made four trips, in which he discovered most of the islands now known as the West Indies and part of the central and southern regions of the American continent. Long before the English speaking colonies which now constitute the United States of America were established, the Spaniards were living from Florida and the Mississippi River to the So
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CHAPTER II
CHAPTER II
Bolívar's Early Life. Venezuela's First Attempt to Obtain Self-Government (1783-1810) Simón Bolívar was born in the city of Caracas on the twenty-fourth day of July, 1783; his father was don Juan Vicente Bolívar, and his mother, doña María de la Concepción Palacios y Blanco. His father died when Simón was still very young, and his mother took excellent care of his education. His teacher, afterwards his intimate friend, was don Simón Rodríguez, a man of strange ideas and habits, but constant in h
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CHAPTER III
CHAPTER III
The Declaration of Independence, July 5, 1811. Miranda's Failure (1811-1812) The first acts of the Junta were acts of moderation and wisdom. Emparan and other Spanish authorities were expelled from the country. The Spaniards were assured that they would be treated as brothers, with the same consideration as all Americans. The Junta sent notice of this movement to the other countries of the continent in the following lofty words: "Venezuela has placed herself in the number of free nations, and ha
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CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER IV
Bolívar's First Expedition. The Cruelty of War (1812-1813) After the entrance of Monteverde in Caracas and the ensuing persecutions, all Venezuela could be considered as reconquered for Spain, and it seemed that all was lost for the cause of independence. The disobedience of Monteverde, who, as we have remarked before, had no instructions to continue the campaign, had been forgiven and rewarded, for it had been sanctioned by success. Until the end of 1812, Caracas was treated high-handedly and w
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CHAPTER V
CHAPTER V
Bolívar's First Victories (1813) The Congress of Nueva Granada had ordered Bolívar to take Trujillo and there to await new instructions. It was reluctant to permit him to advance, because the patriots in Nueva Granada found themselves in a difficult position. Bolívar wrote them, showing the necessity of his advancing immediately, in order to prevent the enemy from discovering the reduced size of his army and destroying it. His plan was to advance steadily against the royalists, to destroy them,
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CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VI
Araure. Ribas Triumphs in La Victoria. A Wholesale Execution (1813-1814) The Governor of Coro had come out of the city with 1,300 men and had destroyed an independent army. He now threatened the possession of Valencia and the security of the troops engaged in the siege of Puerto Cabello. Yáñez, at the head of 2,500 llaneros , had destroyed another patriot army and had seized the city of Barinas, leaving his path strewn with corpses and stained with the blood of his victims. Urdaneta sent news of
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CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VII
The Heroic Death of Ricaurte. Victory of Carabobo and Defeat of La Puerta (1814) Boves had retreated from La Victoria, but after reorganizing his army he was again ready to attack. Bolívar had very few men, for the country was nearly exhausted. With them he waited the dreaded royalist in a place called San Mateo, where he was attacked by an army at least four times as large as his. He had but one advantage, having selected a hilly ground where the cavalry of the enemy could not easily maneuver.
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CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER VIII
Bolívar in Exile and Morillo in Power. The "Jamaica Letter" (1814-1815) At that time Napoleon's luck was beginning to turn in Europe. He had been forced to free Fernando VII, who had been imprisoned since 1808. Fernando VII started to govern his country as a despot, disregarding the national constitution and the public clamor for greater freedom, and soon decided to assert his power in the New World. For that purpose he organized a powerful army, the total strength of which, exclusive of sailors
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CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER IX
Bolívar's Expedition and New Exile. He Goes to Guayana (1815-1817) While in Jamaica, Bolívar was as active as he had been in Venezuela. While he used his pen to teach the world the meaning of the South American Revolution, and to try and obtain friends for the cause of freedom, he worked actively in the Island and in other parts of the West Indies to organize an expedition to the continent. In this work he was very greatly helped by Luis Brion,—a wealthy merchant of Curaçao,—who sacrificed pract
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CHAPTER X
CHAPTER X
Piar's Death. Victory of Calabozo. Second Defeat at La Puerta. Submission of Páez (1817-1818) Morillo, who had lost a great part of his army and his prestige trying to conquer the Island of Margarita, was obliged to withdraw when he discovered that Bolívar had become master of Guayana. The two leaders were soon again confronting each other on the mainland. Bolívar, who had always been conciliatory towards his personal enemies and who had tried to make friends with all the chieftains, had been co
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CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XI
The Congress of Angostura. A Great Address. Campaigning in the Plains (1819) Congress did not meet until February 15, 1819, on account of the late arrival of some representatives. There again Bolívar spoke, and on this occasion he excelled himself in expressing his ideas regarding freedom.[1] [Footnote 1: Bolívar has been accused of verbosity. Of all the accusations, this is one of the most stupid. Bolívar's style is the style of his epoch. The Spanish and French writers of that period wrote exa
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CHAPTER XII
CHAPTER XII
Bolívar Pays His Debt to Nueva Granada. Boyacá, A Dream Comes True (1819) Páez was commissioned to get fresh horses with which to advance against Barinas, when Bolívar got in communication with the province of Nueva Granada—where Santander, a very able general, had organized an army, which was fighting successfully against the royalists. Bolívar perhaps recalled his promise made to Nueva Granada before leaving Angostura, or perhaps he obeyed a long prepared plan. The fact is that he decided to d
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CHAPTER XIII
CHAPTER XIII
Humanizing War. Morillo's Withdrawal (1820) Meanwhile, in Spain, a great expedition was being prepared to come to America, an expedition which was intended to surpass even the army of Morillo. Fernando VII was determined to reëstablish his absolute power, not only in Spain but in the colonies. Morillo, in Venezuela, was asking for reinforcements. In his pleas for more men he stated that he wanted them to conquer Bolívar, "an indomitable soul, whom a single victory, the smallest, is enough to mak
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CHAPTER XIV
CHAPTER XIV
The Second Battle of Carabobo. Ambitions and Rewards. Bolívar's Disinterestedness. American Unity (1821) Sucre had been placed by Bolívar in command of the army of the South, with instructions to go to Guayaquil,—a section which was not covered by the armistice,—in order to negotiate its incorporation with Colombia. San Martín desired to have the province of Quito form part of Perú, and there is no ground for believing that he did so without sound and patriotic reasons. Bolívar, on his part, ins
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CHAPTER XV
CHAPTER XV
Bomboná and Pichincha. The Birth of Ecuador. Bolívar and San Martin Face to Face (1822) In January, 1822, Bolívar was in Cali, assembling his army to invade Quito by land. This campaign proved to be the most difficult he had undertaken with respect to natural obstacles. Between Quito and his army, the Andes form a nucleus of mountains called the Nudo de Pasto. All the difficulties with which he had had to contend in the campaigns of Venezuela and Nueva Granada,—such as the flooded plains, the de
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CHAPTER XVI
CHAPTER XVI
Junín, a Battle of Centaurs. The Continent's Freedom Sealed in Ayacucho (1822-1824) After the victories of Bomboná and Pichincha Bolívar again evidenced his disinterestedness and his generosity in praising his officers. He reiterated his desire to resign his power. He expressed in a letter the need he felt for rest, and a belief that a period of repose might restore his former energy, which he felt slipping away from him. Writing to a friend about Iturbide, he said: "You must be aware that Iturb
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CHAPTER XVII
CHAPTER XVII
Bolivia's Birth. Bolívar's Triumph. The Monarchical Idea. From Honors to Bitterness (1825-1827) Immediately after Ayacucho, Bolívar ordered the cessation of conscription and called a constitutional convention for February 8, 1825. "The deplorable circumstances which forced Congress to create the extraordinary office of dictatorship have disappeared," he said, "and the Republic is now able to constitute and organize itself as it will." Passing from national interests to his great idea of American
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CHAPTER XVIII
CHAPTER XVIII
The Convention of Ocaña. Full Powers. An Attempt at Murder (1828) It was Bolívar's fortune to dispel the effect of evil with his presence, but in his absence evil was certain to raise its head. While he triumphed in Caracas, he was being severely criticised in Bogotá, even by Santander. His generosity with regard to Páez irritated the people of Nueva Granada to the extreme. When Congress convened, Bolívar tendered his resignation, as usual, but this time he insisted still more. "For fourteen yea
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CHAPTER XIX
CHAPTER XIX
Difficulties with Perú. Slander and Honors. On the Road to Calvary (1829-1830) The wound received by Bolívar's heart had no possible cure. His physical condition was getting worse and worse from day to day, but he had to remain in power. Serious dangers threatened the country. In Bolivia, Sucre, a victim of the conspiracy of Perúvians, had been wounded and forced to leave the country where he had been in command, but not without showing his generosity in a message to the Bolivian Congress, in wh
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CHAPTER XX
CHAPTER XX
Friends and Foes. Sucre's Assassination. The Lees of Bitterness. An Upright Man's Death (1830) Bolívar prepared to go to Cartagena, where he intended to sail for Jamaica or Europe. His melancholy was relieved by a message from Quito, in which the most prominent citizens asked him to select as his residence that city, where he was respected and admired. "Come," they said, "to live in our hearts and to receive the homage of gratitude and respect due to the genius of America, the Liberator of a wor
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CHAPTER XXI
CHAPTER XXI
The Man and His Work Bolívar was of rather less than medium height, thin and agile. In all his actions he showed quickness and alertness. He had large, black, piercing eyes, his eyebrows were curved and thick; his nose straight and long; his cheeks somewhat sunken; his mouth, not particularly well formed but expressive and graceful. From early youth his forehead was deeply lined. His neck was erect; his chest, narrow. At one period of his life he wore a mustache and sidewhiskers, but he resumed
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