Question

What similarities and or differences do you see in the motivations for independence by Simon Bolivar compared with other revolutions we have examined? Also what form of government does he think works best? Cite specific examples.

Answer 1

Simon Bolivar was a South American soldier who was instrumental in the continent's revolutions against the Spanish empire. He was born into a wealthy family .Bolivar was sent to Spain for his education, soon deciding to immerse himself in the political sphere in Europe. Simon Bolivar lived a short but comprehensive life. He wasn't fighting for many different countries so much as he was fighting for one cause: independence from European colonial powers. And this was the very thing that made him different. Bolivar is often called “the George Washington of South America” and, while it’s a gross oversimplification, it fits—the difference in this case is the states he was fighting for were not united. Bolivar was directly influenced by Simon Rodriguez, who was his master as a child. Bolivar went through a bit of an evolution on his political beliefs as an adult, but ultimately his vision for Latin America was not much different to other revolutionaries of his time. He wanted the colonies to be a nation of free men and he wanted to unite them under one flag. One of the biggest differences between Bolivar and his contemporaries in the US, was that he was for the freedom of all men, including blacks and the indigenous. There’s a bit of a debate of when he came to this idea, some historians say it was when he first visited the US and was appalled that a country claiming to be free had slaves, others say it was when Jose Tomas Boves convinced him that men of all colours should be free once independence was gained, and others claim his exile in Haiti convinced him that men of all races should be free. He has the similarity with George Washington
They both enjoyed aristocracy privileges in their respective societies.
They commanded the armies that liberated their homelands from monarchy.
Simon Bolivar was the president of Gran Colombia, and George Washington was the president of USA. (They were both presidents).

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