Essay on The Rise of Simón Bolívar to Power in Venezuela

With other Latin American uprisings occurring Simon Bolivar led the South American independence. Bolivar was a wealthy Creole born in Venezuela but educated in Spain. Influenced by Enlightenment ideas, Bolivar called for independence for all South Americans. He gained firm control of his native Venezuela in 1819. His armies then turned toward Columbia and Ecuador. In the south Jose de San Martin rallied Argentinean forces against Spain. Bolivar and San Martin met in Peru, which became independent along with Upper Peru (Bolivia) in 1824. Although Bolivar was unsuccessful in uniting South Americans into a single nation, he is known as the continent's "liberator."

One reason Cesar Chavez was an effective leader was because he created a union known as the United Farm Workers. Chavez’s goal was to organize the farmers to receive better pay and better working conditions. He was not the first to attempt, others have tried but failed due to the power of growers. He was different, he gained support through encouragement. His exact words were “si se puede”(Doc A) meaning “it can be done”. He encouraged his supporters to seek their rights as farmers. “ The strongest act of manliness, is to sacrifice ourselves for other in a totally nonviolent struggle for justice”(Doc C). Chavez along

After the age of enlightenment, colonies and nations around the world began questioning their rulers and ruling nations. Liberal and nationalist ideas spread across Europe and the world, especially after the French Revolution. When these beliefs spread to the colonies of America, independence movements and revolts occurred. The Latin American revolution and Haitian revolution were both significant events during the 19th century that affected both their respective nations and the world. While both revolutions resulted similarly such that a social hierarchy based on race existed after independence, they differ in that while the Latin American revolutions placed an emphasis on ending the Spanish casta system, Haitian revolution was based on freeing slaves.

Where on the other hand, Simon Bolivar was the kind of guy that would save the day and do bold and unexpected things.

In his letters, Bolívar championed criollo-led centralized authority rather than decentralized federalism, which he assailed as the cause of the first Venezuelan Republic’s demise

This exposure to new ideas played a crucially important role in the independence movement for Latin America, in that Simón used these ideas he was taught to influence the people of his country. Without Simón Bolívar’s avocation of these enlightment ideas to the people of Latin America, independence for these states may not have been possible. Since Simón Bolívar could be seen as responsible of the one advocating how important it is for citizens to fight for their rights and freedoms, and these ideas where the reason that ignited the movement towards independence. During the nineteenth century, many people needed some kind of guidance about how they should act and think in regards to being inferior to Spanish rule that had a hold on their country like Latin America experienced throughout Spanish colonial rule. Simón Bolívar and his enlightment ideas were just what the citizens needed in leading them towards independence, since it seemed like they were lost without his guidance. Perhaps Simón Bolívar was just the right intellectual at the right time, since it seemed that people during this time needed someone to guide or speak for them, and that they ultimately couldn’t think or act for themselves so Simón guided them. It was said that Simón Bolívar was considered an intellectual and that people followed his ideas and visions because his campaigns were so

Cesar Chavez was an American labor leader and leader of the civil rights movements. Chavez was in search of justice for his people, especially Mexicans and Latinos. He stands up for these people because he saw how their bosses were with those people. Their bosses were treating them like slaves and not paying them the amount of money they should be getting. Chavez was a victim of that and he saw that no one was making any changes and he took the chance and do justice.

What once was a relatively free and peaceful place started to feel the wrath of the cruel invaders. After decades of the Spanish rule, the Latin American colonies decided to finally take back what once was theirs. Latin America, under the rule of Spanish forces, faced problems. The revolutions that took place during this time were influenced by the ideas from the Age of Enlightenment.

The documents that provide the most evidence for this topic include “The Americas: A Hemispheric History” and the “Venezuelan Declaration of Independence”. Document 3 portrays the outcomes of the Latin American Revolution on the natives, It talks about how people gained popular sovereignty, utilized virtues of republicanism and citizenship, used European Enlightenment Philosophies, and codified laws and the Constitution. This portrays how following the separation of Latin America, they were able to gain the necessary freedoms to establish their own rules and regulations, thereby forming nations/countries. Document 6 also provides a valuable source of information as it gives a passage from a country’s Declaration of Independence. It talks about their rights to freedom, and it explains the results and principles formed following the revolution. The author has written this document to justify and claim independence from Spain, and form an independent nation. During this time period, the Creole Revolutions were occurring in Latin America. The creole class, native-born with European ancestry, resented the power that the Spaniards provided to the Peninsulares. Through a series of revolts and battles, these coalesced into the Latin American Independence Movements. Following reformation movements and support from external sources (such as the Roman Catholic

In An Address of Bolivar at the Congress of Angostura by Simón Bolívar, it states “We are but mixed species of aborigines and Spaniards. Americans by birth and Europeans by law, we find ourselves engaged in a duel conflict…” (Doc. A) Since this is written in 1819 it is a primary source, it also has a negative view towards Europeans. This quote shows Simón Bolívar uniting his nation state. It is saying why they are different from Europeans and that they have to find their own position. The Europeans made a law that made people who were born in America still

One reason Creoles led the fight for Latin American independence was their desire for more political control. According to the document titled Latin American Politics and Development written in 2011, Creoles were “Denied political power to go along with their rising prominence” (doc B). According to Simon Bolivar, a Creole and revolutionary leader, the Creoles also faced problems understanding their positions: “Thus

Simon Bolivar, who had a reputation of being a liberator, took center stage. The common folk began to trust his words, as he talked about fighting for the resources that were theirs, ideals taken directly from the American Revolution itself. Also with the power struggle created by the Napoleonic wars, uprisings began. The most prominent of this movement was the uprising in Chuquisaca in 1809, which led to the formation of the Government Juntas. This group focused on taking the power from the Spanish and giving it to the people. Seeing the movement in Bolivia take shape, Latin Nations such as Peru began to provide military support to Bolivian liberators. Surprisingly, America didn’t live up to its reputation, having no negative impact on this revolution. Normally, America had been notorious for backing up the dictators or colonial powers and suppressing the Latin liberators. All in all, the combination of a power struggle brought upon by foreign wars, introduction of revolutionary independence ideals, proper leadership, and foreign aid, the Bolivian revolution was successful in liberating the nation from Spanish Colonial power after 16 years of conflict.

Venezuela, located in the Latin American region, is a country that has been characterized by its abundance of oil reserve. A natural resource that has shaped the history and development of the country, affecting its economic, social and most important is political spheres. For many years Venezuela was controlled by authoritarian regimes. The country, being very important in the sense of geo-politics due to its abundance of oil, has been a key player in the international arena and most important, to those that for many years kept the country under their regime. It was not until 1958 that Venezuela experienced the change to democracy and a stable democracy was kept between the two main political parties of the time, Accion Democratica (AD)

Bolivar was exiled in Columbia and Jamaica. In 1816 he launched an invasion against Venezuela with help from Haiti. He captured Boyota, the capital of New Granada, to secure a base for attack on Venezuela. This tactic worked, as Bolivar and San Martin captured Carcas and he was named president by the summer of 1821. In July of 1822, armies of Bolivar and San Martin moved to liberate Quito. They disagreed about the political structure of Latin America. San Martin wanted monarchies, but Bolivar advocated republicanism. San Martin went into exile in Europe and retired from the public life. Bolivar allowed the political situation in Peru to be confused, and he sent troops to establish his control. In December of 1824, the Spanish royalist forces suffered a defeat at the Battle of Ayacoucho at the hands of liberating army. This battle marked the conclusion of the Spanish effort to retain the American Empire.

Venezuela is located on the north coast of South America. It is a very interesting country, since it possesses many unique attributes and resources that other countries in the region do not. There are several different systems that represent these resources and attributes. Major Kris A. Arnold (2006) states “PMESII is (sic) military acronym listed in several joint and service publications, which evolved from a systems perspective, and equates to the political, military, economic, social, infrastructure, and information systems of states. The acronym provides a starting point for identifying key interrelated systems of an adversary and facilitates analysis and kinetic and non-kinetic targeting”. Venezuela is an especially interesting case due to the political system in place, in addition to the unique economic power that the nation has.