The Battles of Simón Bolívar Most important are Boyacá, Cucuta and Taguanes, among others that you will see later.
Simon Bolivar , Or as he is known in Latin America,"El Libertador", was born on July 24, 1783. The son of Venezuelan aristocrats of Spanish descent, Bolivar was a child with a golden cradle and a very high social position.
Canyon of the monument to the battle of Cúcuta.
Bolivar's father died when he was only 3 years old and his mother died when he was only 6 years old (Biography.com Editors, 2016).
After the death of his parents, the uncle of Simón Bolívar took his custody and assigned tutors so that he could have the best education possible.
One of them was Simón Rodríguez , Who with much influence of Jean-Jacques Rousseau taught him the liberal thought of the eighteenth century.
However, it was not until the age of 16 when Bolivar was sent to Europe to continue his studies in Spain, where he concentrated on the texts of important philosophers such as John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, among others. Straussmann Masur, 2016).
Long after Bolivar married the daughter of a Spanish nobleman and returned to Caracas, Napoleon attacked the Spanish Empire seeking the support of the Spanish colonies in America to destroy its power. It was not until Bolivar's wife died that he decided to take an active political life.
Simón Bolívar and his political activity before the battles
In spite of the vital importance that Bolívar has for the independence and liberation of the countries of Latin America, it was not until the year 1811 in the declaration of the Independence by the congress of Venezuela That this took the baton in the revolutionary battles against the Spaniards.
Following the declaration of independence declared by the Venezuelan congress in Caracas, Simón Bolívar left the country to Cartagena, where he published his famous"Manifesto of Cartagena"after the fall of the First Republic in Venezuela.
In the Cartagena Manifesto, Bolivar mentioned the poor administration of public inputs by the republican government and the Caracas earthquake of 1812, which caused both the economic and political situation to worsen.
In what battles did Simón Bolivar participate?
1- Battle of Cúcuta of 1813
This battle that took place in Cúcuta, Colombia, after the Manifesto of Cartagena, obtained that Bolivar gained much fame with the town and between military forces, causing that it immediately left towards Caracas, Venezuela where soon this was known like the"Admirable Campaign ".
Simón Bolívar did not participate in all the battles of the Admirable Campaign, however it did help to direct the battles from a military point of view. (Minster, 2015)
2- Battle of Taguanes
This battle, which also took place in the year 1813, was another of the contests of the Admirable Campaign in which Bolivar participated.
In this battle they obtained the victory and the murder of Colonel Julian Izquierdo besides taking the city of Valencia 3 days later to follow its course to the taking of Caracas the 3 of August of the year 1813.
3- Battle of Araure
This battle took place in December of 1813, being part of the denominated"operations of the occident". Bolivar won this battle, however the only thing that meant was a little air for the denominated"Second Republic".
At the end of this duel, Bolivar remained with few men and no alternative to replace the casualties obtained in previous battles, facing the threat of José Tomás Boves and the peasant uprisings in favor of the King.
4- The second battle of the door
With this battle ends what was denominated the Second Republic. After Tomás Boves takes Caracas and Bolivar goes towards the East in a long march denominated:"Emigration to the East".
5- The Battle of the Vargas Swamp
It was one of the most bloody and radical contests that took place in Colombia in the liberation of New Granada (now Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador). Thanks to this, the army arrived in Tunja on August 4, 1819 and La Gran Colombia was able to shout for freedom on August 7 of that year.
This battle was also one of the most important, because it managed to raise the spirits to the republicans to make back the Spaniards and that they began to lose faith in its own cause.
6- Battle of Boyacá
Undoubtedly, one of the most important battles in the wars for freedom in America, because this managed to ensure the success of the Campaign for the Liberation of New Granada, also marking the culmination of 77 days of campaign initiated by Simon Bolivar.
The direct consequence was that of all the battles, this one obtained the strongest blow to the Spanish army, not causing that they retired completely of the Spanish territory, but making way to the union of Venezuela what would be denominated The Great Colombia . (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007)
7- Battle of Carabobo
Although in what today is known as Colombia had been achieved a lot with the battle of Boyacá, in Venezuela it was still a little work to finish expelling Spanish troops from Caracas and the rest of Venezuelan territory.
For this reason, in the battle of Carabobo that took place in 1821, Bolivar destroyed what remained of Spanish military company and expelled them from Caracas, being definitively the expulsion of the Spanish troops in the later naval battle of Lake of Maracaibo (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007).
8- Battle of Bomboná
After the Battle of Carabobo, Bolivar came out determined to conquer Pasto and Quito for the later liberation of what we now know as Ecuador in what was called"The Southern Campaign." This battle, however, ended in a technical tie causing both sides to withdraw.
9- Battle of Pichincha
This battle that occurred in Quito in 1822, in the foothills of the Pichincha volcano, led to the liberation of Quito and the proclamation of Liberator to Simón Bolívar, also annexing the territory to Gran Colombia. (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009)
10- Battle of Junín
Later, in 1824,"La Campaña del Sur"went to Peru in what was one of the last confrontations for the liberation of the South American country. This battle also meant the final independence victory for the liberation of Peru by Simon Bolivar.
11- Battle of Ayacucho
It was the last battle in the Spanish-American wars of independence and meant the end of Spanish rule in South America. It took place in Peru.
With the end of this battle the dream of Bolivar and the promise that made in the Monte Sacro in Italy next to its professor Simón Rodriguez consolidates, obtaining the republican dream and forming then Great Colombia.
Bolivar was the President of Gran Colombia until the day of his death on December 17, 1830 in Santa Marta, Colombia (Latin American Studies, s.f.).
Even so, the dream of the union of America, as the United States of America had done, could not be fulfilled since only one year after his death in 1831, the abolition of Great Colombia was decided.
However, already in 1826 with a movement known as"La Cosiata", Jose Antonio Páez launched a separatist movement against the centralistas and Simón Bolívar.
Paez, achieved after the death of the Liberator, the total separation of Venezuela and Quito and the Panama storm, making the countries that are now known as Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador.
References
- Biography.com Editors. (March 11, 2016). Simón Bolívar Biography . Retrieved from Biography website: biography.com.
- Latin American Studies. (S.f.). Simón Bolívar: The Liberator . Retrieved from the Latin American Studies website: latinamericanstudies.org.
- Minster, C. (February 2, 2015). The Admirable Campaign . Retrieved from ThoughtCo's website: thoughtco.com.
- Straussmann Masur, G. (July 21, 2016). Simon Bolivar . Retrieved from the website of Encyclopædia Britannica: britannica.com.
- The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (March 22, 2007). Battle of Boyacá . Retrieved from the Encyclopædia Britannica website: britannica.com.
- The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (March 22, 2007). Battle of Carabobo . Retrieved from the Encyclopædia Britannica website: britannica.com.
- The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (May 28, 2009). Battle of Pichincha . Retrieved from the Encyclopædia Britannica website: britannica.com.