Angostura Address Of 1819 By Simon Bolivar Summary

Simon Bolivar, or as known to many in Latin America as “the Liberator,” was a brave, smart, courageous and independent revolutionary of his time. Bolivar was a man of action and incredible intellect. During the Second National Congress of Angostura on February 15, 1819 Bolivar stood and gave an address that would form its own place in history. His “Angostura Address of 1819” is much more than just a regular speech that any politician would make throughout the course of their career. The Address gives us much insight to the feelings and political happenings of Latin America, specifically Venezuela, during the early periods after their revolution. Bolivar gives a voice to his revolutionary community in the Address and talks directly to his

Simón José Antonio de la Santísma Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios, or for our purposes, Simon Bolivar, was born in modern day Caracas, Venezuela on July 24, 1783. Unlike what many would commonly think, Bolivar was born into a fairly wealthy family which found its riches in the gold and copper mines of Venezuela. After being left an orphan first by his father and then by his mother at age nine, Simon received a sized inheritance and was left to the care of his maternal uncle. While being properly educated in Spain, Bolivar met the love of his life. Soon they were married and as a couple returned to the Americas. Soon after arriving, his wife Maria Teresa Rodriguez del Toro y Alaysa was struck with yellow fever and

Throughout his life the Liberator set forth many different addresses, essays, letters and other written works in which he always expressed his admiration and aspiration for unity in Latin America. “Bolivar longed for political unity. His ultimate ambition was to have a single nation, a sort of United States, but in Latin America.” Simon Bolivar faced and encountered the many different negative aspects that the Spanish had on his land. The exploitation and overall inequitable form of government which allowed the Spanish to dominate the Americas prevented its inhabitants from defining their own identity and expressing their innermost desires for freedom. Perhaps inspired by the recent revolutions in North America and in France, Bolivar constructed and commanded the Venezuelan War of Independence which was won in 1819 and formally established the Great Colombia which included Venezuela and New Granada. Although Bolivar aspired for unity, what he encountered was tremendous disharmony and a lack of nutrients to support a democratic