BOLIVAR, SIMON(Bolívar, Simon) (1783–1830), statesman, one of the leaders of the War of Independence of the Spanish Colonies in South America. Born July 24, 1783 in Caracas in a noble family. In 1799 he went to Spain to complete his education; five years later I watched Napoleon's coronation ceremony in Paris. After leaving Paris, Bolivar traveled through Italy with his mentor Simon Rodriguez.

In 1810, after the occupation of Spain by Napoleonic troops, Bolivar returned to his homeland and, together with F. Miranda, formed armed detachments, which were soon defeated by the Spaniards. July 31, 1812 Miranda signed the act of surrender, after which he was imprisoned. Bolivar fled to New Granada (modern Colombia), which declared independence. A new military campaign in Venezuela ended on August 6, 1813 with a triumphant entry into Caracas. Popular among the people and in the circles of the Creole aristocracy, Bolivar was showered with honors and received the title of Liberator of Venezuela. In 1814, after the restoration of Ferdinand VII, the Spaniards regained power in Venezuela. Bolivar left the country, going first to Curaçao and then to New Granada. Here, on behalf of the Congress, he defeated the "unitary republic" of Cundinamarca and founded the Federalist Party. In May 1815 he resigned and settled in Jamaica.

Having formed a small detachment of volunteers in Haiti, Bolivar landed on the Venezuelan coast on January 1, 1817. This time he fought on the plains north of the Orinoco, where he was supported by the Llanero guerrillas. Having won a number of victories over the Spaniards, he was elected commander in chief of the liberation army. He reorganized the army, crossed the Andes to New Granada and defeated the Spaniards at the Battle of Boyac on August 7, 1819. The Congress of Patriotic Forces, convened in Angostura in December 1819, proclaimed the Republic of Great Colombia, which included Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador, and elected Bolivar president. The liberation of Venezuela was completed after the Battle of Carabobo in June 1821, and by July 1922 Bolivar and General Antonio José de Sucre had liberated Ecuador.

While Bolivar was liberating the north, the Argentine General José de San Martin fought the Spanish in the south. San Martin defeated the Spaniards in Chile and successfully advanced to the capital of Peru, Lima. On July 26 and 27, 1822, the famous "Guayaquil date" took place. After this meeting, San Martin left Peru and left political activity, and Bolivar got the honorable mission to complete the War of Independence. The armies of Bolívar and Sucre invaded Peru and in 1824 defeated the Spanish troops in the battles of Junin and Ayacucho. In 1825 Sucre completed the defeat of the Spaniards in Upper Peru (now Bolivia).

Bolívar's political views were embodied in the constitution of Upper Peru adopted on May 16, 1825, which was renamed the Republic of Bolivia in his honor. The constitution provided for the election of a president and four legislative chambers, and also introduced an electoral and administrative system that soon proved to be ineffective. On the initiative of Bolivar, the Continental Congress was convened in Panama (June 22 - July 25, 1826), which was attended only by representatives of Colombia, Peru, Mexico and Central America, and none of whose decisions was ratified by national parliaments. Soon feuds began in the government of Gran Colombia. In November 1826, Bolivar arrived in Bogota, and in early 1827, after a five-year absence, he returned to Caracas to put down an anti-government rebellion. In September 1828 he announced the holding of elections to the constituent assembly, which began work in April of the following year.

Bolívar's desire to approve constitutional amendments to strengthen and centralize power ran into fierce resistance from Colombian Vice President Francisco de Santander and his federalist supporters. Convinced of the impossibility of achieving the goal legally, Bolivar carried out a coup d'état, which, however, could no longer stop the collapse of Great Colombia. In January 1830, he resigned, a few months later, for a short time, he again took the presidency, and on April 27, 1830, he finally retired from political activity. Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador emerged as independent states. Bolivar went to Cartagena with the intention of emigrating to Jamaica or Europe. Bolivar died near Santa Marti (Colombia) on December 17, 1830.

Jose Gil de Castro. Bolivar.

"Your name - a diamond - is not subject to the waves of time, washing out the names of all kings from memory" - these lines were dedicated by the Cuban romantic poet Jose Maria Heredia to his older contemporary Simon Bolivar. The poetic prophecy, as often happens, came true. The waves of time not only did not carry the name of the great Liberator of Latin America into the bottomless Leta, but gave it even greater radiance, revealing to posterity new, hitherto unknown facets of his talent.

Simon Jose Antonio Bolivar was born on June 24, 1783 in the city of Caracas into an aristocratic Creole family, whose ancestors settled in Venezuela as early as the 16th century. Nobility and material wealth seemed to guarantee him a cloudless life. However, a series of losses soon followed: in 1786, the father died, in 1792, the mother, and a year later, the grandfather who took care of Simon.

Even in his youth, having lost his parents, the boy grew up faster than his peers. He received a good education at home, his teachers were Andre Bello - a poet, philologist, lawyer and Simon Rodriguez - the author of philosophical and pedagogical works. Years later, Bolivar wrote about Rodriguez: "To him I owe everything ... He shaped my heart for freedom, for justice, for the great, for the beautiful."

The teacher and student repeatedly visited Europe. In 1806, in Rome, on the Sacred Mountain, Bolivar, turning to Rodriguez, solemnly said: “I swear before you and before the God of my parents, I swear by them, I swear by my honor, I swear by the Motherland that my my hand and my soul will not be tired until the chains of Spanish slavery that oppress us are broken."

For more than three centuries, most of the peoples of the New World were ruled by Spain. During this time, irresolvable contradictions arose between the mother country and the colonies. Creoles - immigrants from the Iberian Peninsula who settled in America - were especially annoyed by restrictions in the field of trade and in the political sphere. The first were limited to a ban on trade with other states, the second actually closed Creoles access to senior positions in the colonial administration. The Indian native population could not accept the encroachment on their land and freedom; Negro slaves - with cruel treatment and exploitation. Equally hateful for Latin Americans were numerous prohibitions in cultural life. After the start of the French Revolution, almost everything French was banned in Spain and its colonies: from the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen" to vests in the latest Parisian fashion, not to mention books and newspapers.

Simon Bolivar and other leaders of the war behind Independence (Francisco de Miranda, Antonio Nariño, José de San Martin, Bernard doO "Higgins, Antonio José Sucre) were convinced that the successful outcome of the struggle of the peoples of Spanish America for liberation was unthinkable without their solidarity and unity. Already in 1812 Bolivar said that Venezuela and "all America" ​​are fighting for a common cause.

In a letter from Jamaica dated September 6, 1815, which became one of the program documents of the war of independence, Bolivar stated long before its outcome: "The fate of America was finally determined. The ties that connected it with Spain were broken."

Both Bolivar and many of his associates at the beginning of the 19th century. hoped for help from the United States - the first republic in the Western Hemisphere. "We are alone, we are forced to seek help from the North, primarily because they are our neighbors and brothers, and also due to the fact that we have neither the means nor the opportunities for contacts with other countries," Bolivar wrote. However, by declaring neutrality, "neighbors and brothers" actually sided with Spain.

Already in the 20s. 19th century Bolivar quite accurately predicted the main directions of US territorial expansion in the New World: "Look carefully at the map," he said to his adjutant, General 0 "Leary. - In the north you will see the USA, our mighty neighbor, whose friendship towards us is based on arithmetic: I give you so much, in return I want twice as much. The United States has taken over Florida... will be after Cuba and Puerto Rico. If the Mexicans allow it, they will take Texas, and perhaps all of Mexico."

"Motherland, independence, freedom!" - under these slogans passed the war years - 1810-1826. Victories and defeats, failures and successes alternated. In those days, Bolivar was truly omnipresent. "He lived, as it were, among flashes of flame and was himself a flame," José Marti wrote about him. 15 years of heroic service, 472 battles - such is the track record of Bolivar, a soldier and commander. The formation of a number of independent states of South America - Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador - is also associated with his name.

The fragile sovereignty of the young republics could at any moment fail to withstand the economic and political, and sometimes even military pressure of the most powerful European powers, which mainly supported Spain in its long-term campaign to retain the colonies. (Yes, and the United States did not stand aside.) In Europe, as you know, all issues relating to international relations were resolved in those years within the framework of the "Holy Alliance". Hence the desire of Bolívar to create a "Sacred Union of Nations", which could oppose the "Sacred Union" of monarchs.

Twice he tried to put into practice the idea of ​​Latin American unity. First of all, he wanted to achieve this by including in a broad confederation of Hispanic states

gifts of the Western Hemisphere. Its original model could be the so-called Great Columbia - the state created by the Angostura Congress in 1819, which included Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador on a voluntary basis. It existed from 1821 to 1830.

Weakness and prematurity this Associations emerged very quickly. Huge distances and the absence of a wide network of communications, economic ruin, the appearance of numerous caudillos on the ground who opposed the central government - all this led to fragmentation, strife, and ultimately to the collapse of Great Colombia.

Once again, Bolivar tried to breathe life into the idea of ​​Latin American unity in 1826 at the Panama Congress convened on his initiative. His plans included the establishment of a regularly convened congress of all the states of Latin America in Panama, that is, in the very center of the New World. In the event of a general danger, forces were to be concentrated there to neutralize it, and in peacetime the congress would play the role of mediator and arbitrator. If necessary, it was supposed to put the army and navy at his disposal. But these plans remained only in the field of projects. Only delegates from Colombia, Peru, Mexico and the Central American Federation were present at the congress, which ruined Bolívar's plans. He wrote sadly that at that moment he "looked like that crazy Greek who, sitting on a rock, tried to control the ships passing by."

"I will do everything in my power for America!" - this phrase, uttered by the Liberator on October 21, 1825, reflects the deep essence of his ebullient activity, but it was in the second half of the 20s. Bolivar's maximalism was the most tested. Many noble intentions could not be realized - it was not only the United States and Great Britain that interfered, but sharp internal political contradictions in Great Colombia itself were added to this. The strife, envy and vanity of some yesterday's friends and associates, the struggle for power and the slander spread by his opponents in the army - all this extremely complicated the situation in the country and undermined the forces of the Liberator.

He is accused of striving to establish a dictatorship, and in response to this, in 1829 - early 1830, he asked Congress three times to resign, “I am suspected of striving to establish tyranny. But if the fate of the state depends on one person, then this the state has no right to exist and will eventually perish," he wrote in his resignation letter. After his request was granted on March 1, 1830, Bolivar was going to go to Europe, but died on his native continent on December 17, 1830.

Simon Bolivar - the most prominent statesman of Latin America, a freemason, stood at the head of the movement of the Spanish colonies in the struggle for independence from the mother country. Bolivar was born in Caracas on July 24, 1783. The young man lost his parents early, and his older friend and teacher, the famous educator Simon Rodriguez, had a great influence on his upbringing.

The beginning of the military-political activity of Bolivar dates back to 1810. First, he joined Francisco de Miranda, who led the rebellion against the Spaniards, and then became the most authoritative of the leaders of the rebels. Venezuela was declared an independent republic on July 5, 1811, but some time later the royal troops prepared revenge for the poorly organized and poorly armed revolutionaries.

Simon Bolivar, aged 36, 1819

Simon Bolivar prepared the defense of Puerto Cabello, the country's most important port city. However, he failed to organize a clear rebuff to the Spaniards advancing under the command of General Juan Domingo Monteverde, since his closest subordinate turned out to be a traitor and sold the rebel defense plan to the Spaniards. The Bolivarians suffered a complete defeat, which forced Simon and his like-minded people to settle in New Grenada (modern Colombia) and already there prepare for the next stage of the struggle.

In 1813, in the spring, the army of Simon Bolivar again entered the territory of Venezuela, and he managed to win a number of important victories over the Spaniards: the Spaniards were beaten at San Mateo, La Victoria, Araura, in the state of Carabobo. After the occupation of Caracas, Bolivar solemnly announced the creation of the 2nd Venezuelan Republic. But already next year, the capital had to be defended from local opponents of the revolution, directed by the same Spaniards who did not want to lose the colony. This time, the forces of the opposing sides were unequal, and the Spanish General Boves defeated the Bolivarians in the battles near La Puerte. And after the defeat at Santa Marta, Simon Bolivar with several like-minded people had to leave Venezuela and take refuge in Haiti.

There, the restless Bolivar again formed a small volunteer army and on January 1, 1817 landed with it on the coast of Venezuela. The battlefield of the Bolívar army and the colonial forces became the plains of the north of the country near the Orinoco Delta. After several victories over the Spaniards, Bolivar made the transition to New Grande through the Andes, where he defeated the Spanish army on August 7, 1819 at the battle of Boyaca. Convened at the beginning of the winter of 1819 in Angostura, the Congress of Patriotic Forces announced the proclamation of the Republic of Great Colombia, which included Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, electing Bolivar as president.

In June 1821, after the Battle of Carabobo, the liberation of Venezuela was completed, and in July 1822 Ecuador was liberated. At the same time, the Argentine general José de San Martin was fighting the Spanish in the south. He defeated them in Chile and successfully moved to Lima - the capital of Peru. And on July 26-27, 1822, the famous Guayaquil date took place. San Martin left Peru, and Bolivar got the mission to end the War of Independence. Bolivar entered Peru with his army and defeated the Spanish troops in the battles of Ayacucho and Junin in 1824. Sucre defeated the Spaniards in Upper Peru (Bolivia) in 1825.

The political views of Bolívar were embodied in the constitution of Upper Peru of May 16, 1825. In the same year, Upper Peru was renamed the Republic of Bolivia. Also, on the initiative of Bolivar, on June 22-July 25, 1826, the Continental Congress was convened in Panama, where representatives of Peru, Colombia, Mexico and the provinces of Central America arrived, but the national parliaments did not ratify a single decision. Soon, strife began in the government of Great Colombia, and in November 1826, Bolivar, trying to strengthen the stability of the young states, arrived in Bogota, and then, after 5 years of absence, returned to Caracas. September 1828 was marked by the holding of elections to the Constituent Assembly, which began to function in April of the following year.

Bolivar's desire to approve amendments to the constitution that would serve to centralize and strengthen power ran into fierce resistance from federalists - supporters of the Colombian vice president. After Bolivar was convinced that he would not succeed in achieving his political goals, he organized a new coup d'état, but this did not stop the collapse of Great Colombia. Bolívar was forced to resign in January 1830, but a couple of months later he again assumed the presidency for a short term. Nevertheless, Bolivar's political career was inexorably rolling towards its decline, and in the spring of 1830, Bolivar retired. Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela became independent states, and Bolivar went to Cartagena, intending to emigrate either to Europe or to Jamaica. However, the great leader of the Latin American anti-colonial movement was not destined to die outside his beloved America. Bolivar died in Colombia on December 17, 1830, presumably from tuberculosis. However, the reasons for the early death of Bolivar have not been clarified so far.

(Bolivar, 1783 - 1830) - the hero of the wars of independence with Spain in the countries of South America (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia are named after him); the founder of Pan-Americanism, planned the creation of Great Colombia.

Inspired by the views of European rationalists, Simon Bolivar vowed to free America from Spanish rule. Starting in 1812, Bolivar took part in the uprisings of the Republicans, and in 1819, having won a decisive victory at Boyac, he ensured the independence of New Granada (Colombia) from Spain. Two years later, he defeated the Spanish royalists at the Battle of Carabobo (June 1821), which brought independence to Venezuela.

Simon Bolivar then led his army into Ecuador and drove the Spaniards out of Quito. In 1822, in Guayaquil, he met José San Martin. The views of the leaders of the national liberation movement on the future of South America diverged, and as a result, San Martin resigned command of the troops; already under the command of Bolivar, the Republican army expelled the Spaniards from Peru (1824), the last stronghold of colonialism on the continent. Bolivar agreed to become president of the confederation of Gran Colombia (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Panama), however, unable to prevent the collapse of the confederation into three independent states in April 1830, he resigned.