Simón Bolivar

Hailey Kinerson, Eastern Washington University

Abstract

Simón Bolívar was a significant contributor to the fight for independence of many South American countries and helped encourage the unity between the criollos and the indigenous people. Throughout his time, Bolívar fought with the idea of belonging and the identity of his people. He advocated for the development of a centralist government system in the early 19th century and was an avid freedom fighter. Particularly influenced by Andrés Bello in childhood and his early secondary education, Bolívar was very politically influential in his time as shown in the Jamaica Letter and his address delivered at the Inauguration of the Second National Congress Of Venezuela at Angostura. Bolívar was born in 1783 to a wealthy family in Caracas, Venezuela. Orphaned at age 9, Bolívar was sent to be raised by his maternal grandparents where he received a traditional European education nourished by private tutors and other important philosophical and political figures of that time, including Andrés Bello. Bello throughout his life, not only acquired his own impressive political achievements, but had influences on many important figures, including Simón Bolívar. Iván Jaksic said “[Bello’s] main concern became providing the new republican systems with enough authority and legitimacy to become self-sustaining. It is for this reason that he contributed to the writing of the constitution of 1833, a highly centralist constitution with strong executive powers, and then he devoted over twenty years to reforming civil legislation to provide a stable environment for the rule of law to prosper.” Centralist legislation typically advocates the control of different activities and organizations under a single sovereign authority. Bello assisted in teaching the fundamentals and importance of the French enlightenment.

 
May 10th, 12:25 PM May 10th, 12:45 PM

Simón Bolivar

PUB

Simón Bolívar was a significant contributor to the fight for independence of many South American countries and helped encourage the unity between the criollos and the indigenous people. Throughout his time, Bolívar fought with the idea of belonging and the identity of his people. He advocated for the development of a centralist government system in the early 19th century and was an avid freedom fighter. Particularly influenced by Andrés Bello in childhood and his early secondary education, Bolívar was very politically influential in his time as shown in the Jamaica Letter and his address delivered at the Inauguration of the Second National Congress Of Venezuela at Angostura. Bolívar was born in 1783 to a wealthy family in Caracas, Venezuela. Orphaned at age 9, Bolívar was sent to be raised by his maternal grandparents where he received a traditional European education nourished by private tutors and other important philosophical and political figures of that time, including Andrés Bello. Bello throughout his life, not only acquired his own impressive political achievements, but had influences on many important figures, including Simón Bolívar. Iván Jaksic said “[Bello’s] main concern became providing the new republican systems with enough authority and legitimacy to become self-sustaining. It is for this reason that he contributed to the writing of the constitution of 1833, a highly centralist constitution with strong executive powers, and then he devoted over twenty years to reforming civil legislation to provide a stable environment for the rule of law to prosper.” Centralist legislation typically advocates the control of different activities and organizations under a single sovereign authority. Bello assisted in teaching the fundamentals and importance of the French enlightenment.