Simón Bolívar, 1783-1830
http://victorian.fortunecity.com/dadd/453/
Simón Bolívar started out as the son of a wealthy family in Venezuela and grew up to be “the George Washington of South America.” In this site, as well as many others, Simón Bolívar is seen as the infallible hero. He was born into a wealthy family, but was orphaned at the age of nine. However, he was well educated, both at home and abroad in Europe. When he came home, he was full of the revolutionary ideas that dominated Europe at the time. When the Napoleonic wars began in the early 1800s, Bolívar, in addition to many other Central and South American leaders, saw a weakness that might allow them to break free of the oppressors from across the Atlantic. While he wasn’t successful in the first round of insurrections, Bolívar persevered. By 1825, the nations of north central South America, where his efforts were focused, was completely free of European control. His liberation of the countries of Venezuela, Perú, Colombia and others earned him not only a country named after him, Bolivia, but also the name “El Libertador.”
This particular website is a very good one. First of all, it has a rudimentary but viable map of South America, Simón Bolívar’s “office” so to speak. In addition, there is a rather detailed chronology of his life and work, from his birth to his exile to Jamaica in 1815. Chris Conway, the author of the site, also has and interpretive Q & A essay on Bolívar’s “Elite Style of Rebellion.” Over all this is a very well done site and is fairly recent; most of the work was done in 1998 and it was last updated on August 23, 2000. Also, if you have a comment n the legitimacy of the information or just want to talk with the author, the visitor can e-mail him.
Virtual Library of Simón Bolívar
http://www.oocities.org/Athens/Acropolis/7609/eng/toc.html
This site is rather academic in its set up. Despite this, the information is great. In just the “brief biography” there is a wealth of information. The visitor learns, for example, that before Napoleon took over Italy and France, Bolívar had respected him for his republican ideals. Also, although Bolívar was able to help free northern South America from European control, he could not unify the nations that he had helped to free. His idea for a “Gran Colombia” slowly fell to pieces as the heroic generals of the independence wars began to fight amongst themselves.
All of the above information came just from the biography. The visitor can get more insight into others’ opinions and analysis of Simón Bolívar’s actions and writings. There are also links to Bolívar’s works though most of them are in Spanish. The site itself is also available in Spanish. The editor is Miguel Cantellas and the work is ©1997 and 1998.
Don Simón Bolívar
http://www.oocities.org/losprimeros_fia31/sb.html
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar (I’d like to see that fit on a driver’s license), married a woman in Spain in 1802, only to have her die a year later upon their return to Venezuela. At that point in time, he vowed to never marry again. He remained faithful to that vow for the rest of his life. As to whether or not he remained faithful in bed is another question altogether.
In this site, there is basic information about Simón Bolívar, most of which can be obtained from one of the other two sites. The best thing about the site is that whenever one of Bolívar’s speeches or written works is mentioned, the word is a link to a transcript of the speech or work. Since Bolívar spoke Spanish, most are in Spanish. Having the ability to understand, or knowing someone who understands, the Spanish language and culture is very helpful in researching any Spanish figure. It can help you to better understand why they did what they did and, also, you have more resources. Your resources now include ones that are written in Spanish.
Component B
You know, I don’t think that people really appreciate what I did. I helped to bring about one of the few, if not the only, bloodless revolution in the Americas (not counting the United States of America). Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Perú, Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile. All these countries had multiple revolutions, most of which cost the lives of many people. My revolution was peaceful and simple.
I was, when I was alive, the leader of the only South American country with Portuguese influence: Brazil. During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon ousted my parents from power in Portugal. My father, King Joăo VI, and my mother came to Brazil, the only land they had left. When they came, I, Pedro I, handed power to my father. I father saw first hand how the restrictions, especially the tariffs, that he had placed on Brazil had stifled the economy, especially the coffee trade.
While he was here he took the opportunity to remove the restrictions and the Brazil’s economy flourished. Once Napoleon was defeated, my father returned to reclaim his throne. Once he returned, he tried to re-impose the restrictions that had once caused so much economic hardship for our nation. I simply could not allow him to do that. He couldn’t realize how much it meant for the people of Brazil to be a wealthy and flourishing nation. So I simply refused to go back to Portugal and to obey the restrictions. Portugal is very far from Brazil. In fact, I think it was the colony that was the farthest from its founding nation. My father was too far away to have any real control. When I refused, there wasn’t much resistance. I, Prince Pedro I, was delighted to declare Brazil independent on September 7, 1822.
Nothing’s perfect. My new parliament harassed me so much that I abdicated to my five-year-old son in 1831. They didn’t realized what a feat I had accomplished. While revolutionaries were engaged in bloodbaths in México, Perú, Colombia, and dozens of other countries, I, Pedro I, led my country to a bloodless revolution.
I am so under appreciated, don’t you think?