Simon Bolivar's Struggle For Independence

In the late 1700s to the early 1800s, the people of South and Central American colonies began to rebel against the oppressive Spanish regime. Most of the revolutions were successful, and thus began the freedom of many nations and equality for their people. But without the intelligent and powerful revolutionary leaders, the colonies wouldn’t have had the same success. One of the most well known leaders, Simon Bolivar emerged triumphant from his movement for freedom, granting independence to those who fought with him. But his successes and motivations didn’t develop overnight. They were fueled by many different aspects of Bolivar’s life, stemming from type of people that he met and heard about, to his need for glory. Simon Bolivar was born into a life of privilege and wealth. He came from an important family, one who was considered one of the backbones to …show more content…
Humboldt had just returned from his trip to Latin America, and shared with Bolivar his firm belief that colonies were ready for independence. This idea was ingrained into Bolivar’s mind, and when Bolivar & Rodriguez traveled to Rome together, Bolivar vowed that he would be the one to liberate his country. Also catching Simon Bolivar’s attention was Napoleon’s coronation as the emperor of France in 1804. Bolivar was torn by feelings of respect and appreciation for Napoleon’s impressive achievements, and feelings of disapproval for Napoleon’s betrayal of France and its ideals. The need for glory was believed to be a part of Bolivar’s personality, (Encyclopedia.com) and it’s quite likely that Napoleon’s success managed to help push Bolivar into motion. Bolivar craved at least some recognition, and thanks to his books, Rodriguez, and Humboldt he had a good reason to go after it. Bolivar was a man who made great advances for Venezuela and he had his heart in the right place. All he needed was a the correct nudge to get him to