BOL(VAR Y PONTE, Simon, South American liberator: b. Caracas, 24 July 1783; d. San Pedro Alejandrino, 10 Dec. 1830. He was educated in Spain and when but 18 years old married in Madrid. His wife died soon afterward. The sources of the inspira tion of his life's work were: (1) The spectacle of the French Revolution; (2) the example of the United States, which country he visited in 1809; (3) the personality of General Miranda, the leader of the revolutionary movement in Venezuela, who had openly and vigorously at tacked Spain's colonial government. Bolivar offered his services to the revolutionary junta a year before Venezuela declared its inde pendence, which was on 5 July 1811.
The revolutionists being at first over whelmed by the Spanish forces, Bolivar fled to Curacao. In September 1812 he was at Cartagena; next, we see him scoring against the Spaniards in New Granada; then marching back into Venezuela with only 500 men, but winning so many recruits among the inhabit ants that he could meet and defeat General Monteverde at Lastoguanes. He entered Ca racas in triumph, 4 Aug. 1813, but suffered de feat in July 1814, and Caracas was again a Spanish town. He then went back to New Granada, succeeding at Bogota; failing at Santa Marta; resigning his commission and sailing for Kingston, Jamaica, in May 1814. Next, from Aux Cayes, Haiti, he set out with a little force that President Petion equipped; but this expedition, landing in Venezuela in May 1816, was a failure. Again reinforced at Aux Cayes, he landed (December 1816) in Margarita, and (16 Feb. 1817) at Barcelona, for a three days' battle with General Morillo. The latter was defeated. Bolivar was made commander-in-chief, with headquarters at An gostura. Offering to resign his command to a migratory Congress (15 Feb. 1819), he was urged to continue the war; reorganized the army; crossed the Cordilleras; joined forces with Santander, republican leader in New Granada; caught the Spaniards unawares; entered Tunja July 1819, and on 7 August won the battle of Boyaci. On 17 Dec. 1819 Vene zuela and New Granada were merged in the new republic of Colombia, which included both and absorbed Ecuador after the victory in Bombona — the union continuing until the close of 1830. Spain made another effort, send ing General Torre to take command of her forces; but Torre was defeated on the field of Carabobo, in the central part of Venezuela, 25 June 1821. The Constitution of Colombia was adopted, 30 Aug. 1821, and its government in augurated with Bolivar as President and Gen. Francisco de Paula Santander as Vice-Presi dent.
But in that great region lying south of Co lombia and north of Chile and Argentina Spain was still strong. At the request of the Con
gress of Peru, Bolivar sent reinforcements under the command of Gen. Antonio Jose de Sucre, and went in person to the scene of ac tion. Quito was occupied in June 1822; next, the Liberator assumed the presidency at Lima; on 6 Aug. 1824 he triumphed at Junin. Before the end of that year Sucre gave the coup de grace to Spain's colonial system on the main land (though at widely separated points hope less resistance was offered a little longer), by capturing Viceroy Laserna, General-in-Chief Aymeric and other Spanish commanders and officers (see AYACUCHO). In June 1825 Boli var visited upper Peru, a region of vast ex tent, which, in his honor, received the name Bolivia (q.v.) when it was organized as a separate republic. In December 1826, return ing to Venezuela (where Gen. Jose An tonio Paez and Admiral Jose Padilla had destroyed the remnants of Spanish power on the northern coast), he was re-elected to the presidency, though manifesting great reluct ance to retain an office the powers of which were wholly inadequate to the task of holding together in a permanent union three states such as Venezuela, New Granada and Ecuador. Then two important steps were taken: (1) Leaders of the people assured him that he alone could avert disaster and disruption; (2) he himself assumed and attempted to exercise such powers as, in his opinion, were necessary to control the situation. At the height of his fame and strength (for he was in his 47th year), on the eve, however, of a great failure, — for the tendency to disunion in the country freed and consolidated by him had grown be yond control,— Bolivar resigned his command and died. He is often called the Washington of South America. The Congress of Colombia caused his ashes to be removed in 1842 to Car acas, where a monument was erected in his honor. Bogota erected a statue of him in 1846, and Peru an equestrian statue at Lima in 1858. A statue of Bolivar was erected in Central Park, New York, in 1884. Consult Ducoudrey Holstein, (Memoires de S. Bolivar) (London 1830) ; Mancini, Jules,