Simón Bolívar

“ In 1826 Simon Bolivar stood at the zenith of his glory and power. No adherents of the Spanish regime were left in South America to menace the freedom of its independent states. In January a resistance kept up for nine years by a handful of royalists lodged on the remote island of Chiloe, off the southern coast of Chile, had been broken, and the garrison at the fortress of Callao had laid down its arms after a valiant struggle. Among Spanish Americans no one was comparable to the marvelous man who had founded three great republics stretching from the Caribbean Sea to the Tropic of Capricorn. ”

“ General Bambos lifted himself to his feet and swung across the cabin several times, finally crashing back to his former seat on the vexed lounge.
“You have heard of General Simon Bolivar?” was his unexpected question.
“Who has not? He was the great Liberator, born in Venezuela in 1783, who freed Peru, which then became Bolivia, and was rejected by Colombia, because she did not know how to appreciate his greatness. His was the finest character ever produced by South America.” ”

“ His remains sleep at Caracas, the place of his birth. His soul is with God. Monuments have been erected to his memory, one at Caracas and another at Lima. But his life-work has erected a monument in the hearts of his countrymen that will never perish. He sowed the seed for the harvest of a better government and higher civilization for all Spanish America. The influence of his example is not confined to his own country, but is felt throughout the civilized world. To-day, among the brightest and best of the world's good and great men, may justly be placed the name of Simon Bolivar. ”

“ The conspicuous part which Bolivar has acted throughout the revolution in Colombia, and at the close of that in Peru, renders it imperative on us to give some account of a character, identified with so many great and extraordinary events.
Simon Bolivar was born at Caracas on the 25th of July, 1783. He lost his parents at an early age; and, in his sixteenth year, was sent to Europe to finish his education. He made the tour of France and Italy. Having married at Madrid, he embarked for Venezuela, where his wife died a few months after her arrival. ”

“ He did not begrudge praise given Bolívar, whose superiority he acknowledged by withdrawing in time from the scene in America. Because of this acknowledgment, San Martín grew greater than he had been before their interview in Guayaquil. To endeavor to establish invidious comparisons between him and Bolívar does harm to both heroes and good to no one. Let both stay where they belong, in the hearts of their fellow-citizens, and in the minds of lovers of freedom. ”

“ The peoples of America have been marching steadily, though at times haltingly, but always in a progressive way, towards the ideals of Bolívar. The Congress of Angostura carried into effect many of these sublime principles.
[Footnote 1: Larrazábal—Vida de Simón Bolívar. Vol. 2, p. 177.]
"An assembly of tried and illustrious men, the Congress of Angostura, responded to the important requirements of the revolution, and when it gave birth to Colombia, powerful and splendid, it realized no longer a task Venezuelan in character, but rather an American mission." ”

“ Bolívar, during several periods of the war, had no resources at all, nor did he know where to get them; his indestructible love for his country, the sense of honor active in his breast, the fertile imagination, the supreme will, the prodigious activities which formed his character, inspired in him wisdom to turn the impossibility into a reality.... North America was rich, civilized and powerful even before its emancipation from Mother England; if the colonists had not had their leader, one hundred Washingtons would have presented themselves to fill the place, and not at a disadvantage. ”

“ The American people, made free by Washington, do not begrudge the legitimate glory of other illustrious men, and if they have not rendered up to this time the homage due to Simón Bolívar, it has been mainly through lack of accurate knowledge of his wonderful work. The city of New York, the greatest community in the world, is now honoring his memory by placing in a conspicuous section of its most beautiful park a statue which the Government of Venezuela has given it ”

“ The Spanish authorities wanted to have recognized the supremacy of the junta assembled in Seville, Spain, which had assumed the name of Supreme Junta of Spain and her Colonies. The Venezuelans insisted that they should have a junta in Caracas, and in order to foster this idea the most prominent leaders of public thought met secretly at the house of Simón Bolívar. Most of the conspirators were young men, united by strong ties of friendship or family. Among them were the Marquis of Toro and don José Félix Ribas, a relative of Bolívar, two very distinguished men. ”

“ Bolívar did not fail properly to praise the conqueror. He announced the triumph to Caracas and to the world, and in paying tribute to the living hero, he did not forget to pay homage to those who had fallen on the field of battle. On that occasion, he uttered one of those brilliant expressions so common in his writings: "Ribas, against whom adversity is powerless." ... He never felt that his own glory had to suffer from the unstinted praise he bestowed on his followers. ”

“ On that same day, eleven years before, in Angostura, Colombia had been created by his genius. He died at the age of forty-seven and one-half years.
"Few men have lived such a beautiful life in the whirlpool of action; nobody has died a more noble death in the peace of his bed." [1]
[Footnote 1: Bolívar—J.E. Rodó.]
His death was the end of Colombia.
For twelve years his remains rested in Santa Marta, and then they were carried to Caracas, where they now lie in the Pantheon, between two empty coffins, that of Miranda on his right and that destined for Sucre on his left. ”

“ There the Venezuelans honor him as the protecting genius of their country. They have blotted from the memory of man the ingratitude of their forefathers. They live in constant veneration of the great man, and consider him as the creator and protector of their country, and the greatest source of inspiration to live austerely and united within Venezuela, since they cannot form a part of that greater country, the dream of which went with Bolívar to his tomb. ”

“ Meanwhile, new commissioners came from Spain to undertake peace negotiations. On that occasion Bolívar wrote a very courteous letter to Latorre; and in a private communication he sent these friendly words to him:
"I feel happy, my dear General, at seeing you at the head of my enemies, for nobody can do less harm and more good than you. You are destined to heal the wounds of your new country. You came to fight against it, and you are going to protect it. You have always shown yourself as a noble foe; be also the most faithful friend." ”

“ Morillo was born of humble parentage, and from the lowest rung of the ladder he climbed to the highest place in the army, always in defense of the monarchy, until he received the titles of Count of Cartagena and Marquis of La Puerta; Bolívar, born in wealth, destined to become a millionaire and to be the recipient of every honor if he remained on the side of the oppressors of his country, sacrificed everything, lost his personal property to the last penny, and shared privations of every kind with his soldiers. ”

“ IV. GUERRA Á LA MUERTE! Yet, towards the close of 1813, the star of liberty glimmered once more from the summits of the Western Cordillera. During and after the memorable earthquake, the city of Puerto Cabello, at that time held by the Patriots, was under the command of a young colonel in the Republican service, who had devoted a portion of his immense patrimonial wealth to the culture of his intellectual powers in European travel, (not, however, without subsequently applying a large share to the necessities of his country,) and whose name was Simon Bolívar. ”

“ My religious and filial devotion to General Washington could not be better recognized by his family than by honoring me with the commission they have entrusted to me.... Of all men living, and even of all men in history, Bolívar is the very one to whom my paternal friend w have preferred to send this present. What else can I say to the great citizen whom South America has honored with the name of Liberator, confirmed in him by two worlds, a man endowed with an influence equal to his self-denial, who carries in his heart the sole love of freedom and of the republic? ”

“ Two thousand men were awaiting Bolívar in the city of Pasto, men who knew the country and who had the support of the inhabitants in their war against the independents. The commander of Pasto was a Spanish colonel named D. Basilio García.
The two armies met in a place called Bomboná, where all the advantages were on the side of the royalists. Bolívar found himself about to attack an army made almost invulnerable by nature; forests, roads, ravines—all protected it. In such a position, Bolívar merely said these words: "We must conquer and we will conquer!" ”

“ Do not betray their confidence, do not be heedless of the lamentations of your brothers. Be eager to avenge the dead, to bring back to life the dying, to relieve the oppressed and to give liberty to all."
This noteworthy document was published in Cartagena, on December 15, 1812, and presents Bolívar as he was in the maturity of his life, as a thinker, apostle, general, and practical statesman; it shows him as the man destined to give liberty to five countries. This proclamation is the first full display of Bolívar's genius. ”

“ We have mentioned very often the resignation of the Liberator from his command, and the invariable nonacceptance of it. Some enemies of Bolívar have declared that he never resigned in earnest, and have gone so far as to pronounce him an ambitious man who wanted all glory and power in Colombia and South America. The declarations made by Bolívar were made before the whole world. He had gained sufficient glory to be termed a great man, even though he left the army. ”

“ Soon after this, Bolívar was again in La Victoria, between Valencia and Caracas, having occupied the rich valley of Aragua, in which he had lived as a young man of wealth, and had passed years of suffering. He immediately sent proclamations ordering all men able to fight to present themselves with arms and horses for the service of the Republic. He called on those who had been slaves to defend their own freedom, and urged the manufacture and repair of arms. His position was by no means secure. Morillo was in Valencia, and don Miguel de Latorre, the victor of La Hogaza, was in Caracas. ”

“ Morillo, master of Nueva Granada, had come from Santa Fé and destroyed most of the insurgent forces existing in the western part of Venezuela. He had received more reinforcements from Spain. Bolívar, nevertheless, continued his work with his all powerful faith, trying to have his dreams proved true by the effort of his will. "We shall conquer them and we shall free America," he used to say. The greatest support that Bolívar found at that time was that of General Piar's troops. ”

“ A young man named don Diego Mariño, after having made preparations in the Island of Trinidad to fight against the Spanish domination in his country, entered Venezuela and advanced to the city of Cumaná. There is a striking similarity in the lives and labors of Bolívar and Mariño. Both were young, both were animated by the same hatred of tyranny and the same love for independence; both knew how to arouse enthusiasm in their followers and both displayed the greatest devotion to their friends ”

“ CHAPTER XX Friends and Foes. Sucre's Assassination. The Lees of Bitterness. An Upright Man's Death
(1830)
Bolívar prepared to go to Cartagena, where he intended to sail for Jamaica or Europe. His melancholy was relieved by a message from Quito, in which the most prominent citizens asked him to select as his residence that city, where he was respected and admired. "Come," they said, "to live in our hearts and to receive the homage of gratitude and respect due to the genius of America, the Liberator of a world." ”

“ A man who writes of Bolívar's life, actions and sorrows, can hardly retain the serenity of the historian, but surrenders to that deep emotion composed of profound awe and human love, and, though his work may have been begun impersonally, it ends with the creation in his heart of those deep feelings which at times have no better expression than tears. ”

“ The latter agreed to fight in combination with Bolívar on condition that he would be absolutely independent and have full power in the territory under his command. Páez was one of the most remarkable characters of the revolution of independence and the early years of Venezuela. He was a young man when he came in touch with Bolívar,—strong, attractive, every inch a warrior, who lived with his plainsmen just as they lived, living with, and caring for, his horse as the others did, eating the same food as they did, and fighting whenever a chance presented itself. ”

“ A battalion composed of the best elements of the youth of Caracas was entirely destroyed. Bolívar retreated to Barcelona, and Morales entered the town of Aragua, where he massacred more than 3,500 men, women and children, for the sole crime of being Americans. Realizing that he could not hold the city of Barcelona, Bolívar went to the city of Cumaná with generals Ribas and Manuel Piar, the latter famous for his military skill, his daring, his restlessness and his ultimate sad death, of which we shall speak later. ”