Name ___________________ Date ______ Per ___Leaders of New World Independence

Movements

Guiding Question: Do the leaders or the people shape a revolution?

Individual jobs: Read through the biography of your leader and write down the
answer for your specific question(s) in the space provided.

Person 1: What characteristics of Simon Bolivar made him a successful leader? In

what ways did he shape the revolution?

Person 2: What characteristics of Jose de San Martin made him a successful

leader? Why did he have conflict with Bolivar?

Person 3: Describe 4-5 major events in the South American Revolution.

Person 4: In your opinion, who was more important in shaping the South American
Revolution: Simon Bolivar or the people?

Person 5: What problems did South America face after independence? How did
these create modern problems today?

TASK 2:
• When you are done with your individual roles, decide the order of who is
presenting which information
• Complete the graphic organizer as a group what is most important to
represent in a 5-10 minute presentation to the class
 SIMON BOLIVAR & His Dream
Adopted from World Leaders: People Who Shaped the World;
Editors Rob Nagel and Anne Commire and Simon Bolivar by
Denis Wepman

Simon Bolivar was born in 1783 in Caracas, Venezuela, to Don Juan Vincente,
a landowning-aristocrat, and Dona Maria de la Concepcion Palacios y Blanco. By the
time he was nine, both of his parents died. Still, he lived the life of a wealthy
Creole as his uncle took custody and provided him with a tutor, Simon Rodriguez.
Rodriguez was a scholar of the Enlightenment and taught Bolivar about
Montesquieu and Rousseau. He frequently taught in the nude outside Bolivar’s
mansion (remember, nude is natural and therefore good!) When he was 16, Bolivar
went to Spain to travel and to complete his education. While in Madrid, Spain,
Bolivar met and married Maria Teresa Rodriguez del Toro, the daughter of a Spanish
nobleman. They returned to Caracas, but within a year she died of yellow fever.
Heartbroken, Bolivar went back to Europe, traveling through the continent and
learning to speak French, Italian, German, and English. He increased his studies of
the Enlightenment philosophy and filled his mind with the ideas of freedom, liberty,
and human rights. Upon returning to Venezuela in 1807, Bolivar freed all the slaves
working on his estate.
South American independence began in Caracas in April 1810 as they began
to believe the Spanish King ousted by Napoleon would never return. Creoles led
this revolt, hoping for greater power in government. They also hoped they would
have greater access to wealth when they kicked out the peninsulares. It was led by
this group because they were the group most influenced by the Enlightenment.
Simon Bolivar, for instance, was enthralled that he may have a chance to help the
revolution spread ideas of equality and fraternity. He went to England to purchase
military supplies; however, the revolution fell and he was forced to flee to present-
day Columbia. He hoped to raise a new army there and take over Venezuela.
While he was absent, the Venezuelan cities were plundered, women were
brutalized, and prisoners were mercilessly killed by the Spanish. This increased the
number of people who joined the revolutionary forces. Before this event, many
people in South America did not have a sense of Venezuelan nationalism. They
thought of themselves as Spaniards who supported the Spanish king. However, this
event convinced many more people that the people of Venezuela were different
than Spaniards: they spoke differently, had different culture, and were clearly
treated differently. Bolivar was able to gather a new army and march in Venezuela
in 1813. In just 90 days, he and his army destroyed five hostile forces. When he
freed the city of Caracas on August 6, he was given the title of “Liberator” and
appointed himself military dictator. His hold on the city did not last. He was forced
to flee and exiled to Jamaica.
 In his exile, he reflected on what type of government he believed South
America should have. He called for republican governments, like that of England, to
be set up throughout South America. For the next two years, supported by the
government in Haiti, Bolivar led several invasions of Venezuela, but most failed.
Finally, he was able to obtain independence for Venezuela in 1819 by making a
surprise attack over the Andes Mountains and attacking from behind. In December
he was made president of Gran Columbia (present-day Columbia, Venezuela,
Panama, and Ecuador). At first, this Gran Columbia existed only on paper, but
Bolivar soon made it real as it liberated neighboring countries.
Just because these places were free did not mean they wanted to be part of
Bolivar’s Grand Republic. In many ways, Bolivar’s dream was impractical. South
America was home of many different languages and cultures. It was difficult to
travel or communicate across South America because of mountains, rain forests,
and river systems. Many of his own staff did not listen to his commands. Instead
Despite Bolivar’s dream, many countries continued to make their own laws and act
as separate countries.
As Bolivar was trying unite the North part of South America, Jose de San
Martin was trying to free the South of South America. He had already liberated
Argentina and Chile, yet he was stuck fighting Spanish forces in Peru. San Martin
requested a meeting with Bolivar for assistance, but Bolivar refused to help San
Martin. They had different political beliefs. Bolivar wanted a federation of united
republics, San Martin wanted a new monarchy. San Martin believed people of the
New World were incapable of setting up strong stable government after centuries of
Spanish misrule. They had never had the opportunity to self-govern; giving the
people a republic would be too much too soon and create civil war and anarchy.
Frustrated by Bolivar’s refusal to compromise, San Martin retired from service
and refused to help the revolution any further. The tough, practical general found
Bolivar superficial, impractical, and vain. Only after this did Bolivar lead troops to
Peru and help it gain independence. Soon, all the nations in South America were
free from Spain .
Although Bolivar was considered president/dictator of many South American
countries, they were not working under one federal government. In 1826, Bolivar
tried to bring together in Panama representatives from all the nations in the
Americas. There was considerable hatred between the countries who were
fighting over land and territory. An English observer wrote, “Although Bolivar is
extremely popular…in Peru, still there is such jealously, if not hatred, between
Peruvians and Columbians there can be no real cordiality between the two peoples.
Only Columbia, Peru, Central America, and Mexico attended and signed a
treaty of alliances. The dream of a Gran Columbia fell apart into separate warring
countries. Bolivar stepped down from power. Soon, caudillo strongmen, often
officers from the liberation armies, managed to seize power in each country
because they had control of the weapons and the support of their military
subordinates. These new dictators failed to alter the fundamental structures of
inequality and underdevelopment. The feudal structure that existed before the
revolution stayed essential the same, only creoles replaced peninsulares at the top
of the pyramid and caudillos replaced the monarchy.
In some ways, South America was worse off than before the revolution.
Although the creoles had newfound rights that did not spread to the mestizos,
mulattoes, and in most countries, slavery still existed. South America was divided
into frequent warfare. Economically, they inherited the fragile single-crop based
economy of that was designed to benefit Europe, yet many of the most wealthy
peninsulares had fled the country with precious gold and silver. Simon Bolivar
died, viewing his own life as a failure, in December 17, 1830.