I heard it said a couple of times before that Simon Bolivar (Simón Bolívar as it is written in Spanish) is the historical character with more statues in the world.
I don’t know if that’s true, but there are certainly statues of the Latin America liberator in places that have nothing to do with his story or achievements. I find that fact surprising and intriguing.
Perhaps knowing a bit about Simon Bolivar The Liberator will help us understand who is this guy that is so famous there are statues of him in Washington D.C., New York, San Francisco, Ottawa, Berlin, London, Cairo, Tehran (to name a few) and in almost every city in Latin America.
Who is this Simon Bolivar anyway?
Simón Bolívar (pronounced SEE-mohn boh-LEE-vahr) was a military and political leader, born in Venezuela at the end of the 18th century.
He earned his famous nickname The Liberator because he led the military campaigns that freed several Latin American countries from the Spanish Empire during the 19th century, though “El Libertador” was a formal title given to him in Mérida, Venezuela.
If you’ve ever been to any country in Latin America, chances are you have run into a statue of him. If you know any Latin people, they most certainly know who Simon Bolivar is because they were taught about him from day one at school.
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Blanco was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1783 and he had quite a name, didn’t he?
Son of a wealthy creole (People with Spanish parents but born in the Americas) family, Bolivar had a happy childhood, going to school in his native Caracas.
At age 15 he was sent to Madrid, Spain to continue his studies. In 1802 he gets married to María Teresa Rodríguez del Toro y Alaiza. He was 19.
The newlyweds return to Venezuela, but sadly, María Teresa died in 1803 presumably from malaria. He then swears never to be married again.
He went back to Europe where he continued studying and being exposed to the ideas of the Enlightenment.
In 1805 he makes a vow in Rome to free his country.
In 1806 he returns to Venezuela to manage some family business while joining the revolutionary cause.
It is said that it was actually Francisco de Miranda, another Venezuelan General, who initially instilled the idea of a free Venezuela in Simon Bolivar. Miranda had had his own go at the liberating cause, but with no success.
Spain is subjugated by Napoleon
In 1808 during the invasion of Napoleon to Spain, the hold that the Spanish Empire had in the Americas starts to falter, providing revolutionists with perfect opportunities to declare independence from Spain.
Two sides form, the Realistas (who wanted to be ruled by the King of Spain) and the Patriotas (who aimed at independence).
During this period several countries in Latin America started declaring their independence, though making it effective was a different matter altogether.
Simon Bolivar starts his military campaigns
After a series of failed battles, Bolivar begun thinking about how to accomplish independence in a permanent way.
He came to the conclusion that trying to defeat realist and Spanish army forces and preventing them from attempting a reconquista (re-conquest) was not enough.
The isolated and uncoordinated attempts at independence from different regional leaders needed to be united under a single leader and a new, big, strong, solid and powerful country would need to emerge in order to defy any pretense of imperial control.
This is ultimately what led Bolivar to free five countries (six today if you count Panamá) in what is called the Campaña Libertadora (The Liberation Campaign).
La Campaña Libertadora
The steady weakening of the Spanish hold on its conquered territories lead to revolts and independence attempts. By 1818 the Spanish troops in the American continent had been diminished.
It was during this time that he and Francisco de Paula Santander united efforts, Bolivar from Venezuela and Santander from La Nueva Granada (now Colombia and Panamá) against the Spanish troops.
Santander had recruited peasants from the grasslands of the east part of Colombia, as soldiers and between him and Bolivar created an army of guerrillas.
They also had some help from the British Legions who sent troops to their aid, battling against the Spanish.
Pablo Morillo, the General in charge of the Spanish troops knew about the British troops and decided to face them and the patriots on their way to Venezuela.
However, reaching the mountain chain with a terrible rain season, he slowed down and waited thinking that the Ejército Libertador (Liberating Army) would do the same.
However Bolivar and Santander played one of their most famous feats, the Paso de los Andes, going through the Andes mountains, a deed deemed impossible at the time.
Through the Páramo de Pisba Bolivar and Santander caught up with the Spanish Army and produced the Batalla del Pantano de Vargas (Vargas Swamp Battle) on July 25th, 2019. The first victory of the campaign.
Now when you think about the liberation of this five nations, you need to realize that it is a series of battles that were executed in a systematic way, driving the Spanish army away, little by little.
The next battle was the Battle of Boyacá on August 7th, 1819, which marked the independence of Colombia.
The independence of Quito came with the Battle of Pichincha on May 24th, 1822.
And later on the Perú was freed on August 6th, 1924 at the Battle of Junín.
And the last of the Spanish troops were defeated on December 9th, 1824 at the Battle of Ayacucho, finishing a brilliant campaign to free all the upper portion of South America.
On August 6th, 1825, Bolivia declared its independence after the Battle of Tumusla in April 2nd of the same year.
So what happened to Simon Bolivar afterwards?
Well, he went on to become president of La Gran Colombia, Venezuela, Perú and Bolivia, no less. He did have dictatorial ambition and he fulfilled it.
So where are these Simon Bolivar statues?
For starters nearly every city in Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Venezuela, Bolivia and Panamá has a Bolivar Square.
It is the main square in Bogotá (Capital of Colombia) and Caracas (Capital of Venezuela and in many other countries.
As for other countries, here we go:
In the USA:
In Latin America:
Well, there are so many, it’s not possible to fit them here. However, let’s look at some weird looking ones:
So you see, there are equestrian statues, busts and just plain standing statues of Bolivar in nearly every continent of the planet. Eat your heart out, Napoleon!
So why are there so many statues of the Latin American hero? I guess he represents freedom and struggle, the fight for ideals and liberty.
Here’s a crazy idea, how about a trip to visit all the statues of Bolivar in the world?
Did you know who Simon Bolivar was? Did you know he had so many statues he had?
Do you know of any other statue of Bolivar that’s curious and I didn’t mention?
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