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Simon Bolivar

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  Quote Jalisco Lancer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Simon Bolivar
    Posted: 03-Feb-2005 at 11:26
source: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7609/eng/bio.html



Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios was born in Caracas on July 24, 1783, to don Juan Vicente Bolívar y Ponte and doña Maria de la Concepción Palacios y Blanco. An aristocrat by birth, Simón Bolívar received an excellent education from his tutors, especially Simón Rodríguez. Thanks to his tutors, Bolívar became familiar with the works of the Enlightenment as well as those of classical Greece and Rome.
By the age of nine, however, Bolívar lost both his parents and was left in the care of his uncle, don Carlos Palacios. At the age of fifteen, don Carlos Palacios sent him to Spain to continue his education.

Bolívar left for Spain in 1799 with his friend, Esteban Escobar. En route, he stopped in Mexico City where he met with the viceroy of New Spain who was was alarmed with the young Bolívar argued with confidence on behalf of Spanish American independence. Bolívar arrived in Madrid on June of that same year and stayed with his uncle, Esteban Palacios.

In Spain, Bolívar met Maria Teresa Rodríguez del Toro y Alaysa whom he married soon afterwards in 1802. Shortly after returning to Venezuela, in 1803, Maria Teresa died of yellow fever. Her death greatly affected Bolívar and he vowed never to marry again. A vow which he kept for the rest of his life.

After losing his wife, Bolívar returned to Spain with his tutor and friend, Simón Rodríguez, in 1804. While in Europe he witnessed the proclamation of Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor of France and later the coronation of Napoleon as King of Italy in Milan. Bolívar lost respect for Napoleon whom he considered to have betrayed the republican ideals. But it was in while in Italy that Bolívar made his famous vow atop Mount Aventin of Rome to never rest until America was free.

Bolívar returned to Venezuela in 1807 after a brief visit to the United States. In 1808 Napoleon installed his brother, Joseph, as King of Spain. This launched a great popular revolt in Spain known as the Peninsular War. In America, as in Spain, regional juntas were formed to resist the new king. Unlike the Spanish junts, however, the American juntas fought against the power of the Spanish king, not only the person of Joseph Bonaparte.

That year, the Caracas junta declared its independence from Spain and Bolívar was sent to England along with Andrés Bello and Luis López Mendez on a diplomatic mission. Bolívar returned to Venezuela on June 3, 1811, and delivered his discourse in favor of independence to the Patriotic Society. On August 13 patriot forces under the command of Francisco de Miranda won a victory in Valencia.

On July 24, 1812, Miranda surrendered after several military setbacks and Bolívar soon had to flee to Cartagena. From there, Bolívar wrote his famous Cartagena Manifesto in which he argued that New Granda should help liberate Venezuela because their cause was the same and Venezuela's freedom would secure that of New Granada. Bolívar received assistance from New Granada and in 1813 he invaded Venezuela. He entered Merida on May 23 and was proclaimed "Libertador" by the people. On June 8 Bolívar proclaimed the "war to the death" in favor of liberty. Bolívar captured Caracas on August 6 and two days later proclaimed the second Venezuelan republic.

After several battles, Bolívar had to flee once more and in 1815 he took refuge in Jamaica from where he wrote his Jamaica Letter. That same year, Bolívar traveled to Haiti and petitioned its president, Alexander Sabes Petión, to help the Spanish American cause. In 1817, with Haitian help, Bolívar returned to the continent to continue fighting.

The Battle of Boyaca of August 7, 1819 resulted in a great victory for Bolívar and the army of the revolution. That year, Bolívar created the Angostura Congress which founded Gran Colombia (a federation of present-day Venezueal, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador) which named Bolívar president. Royalist opposition was eliminated during the following years. After the victory of Antonio José de Sucre over the Spanish forces at the Battle of Pichincha on May 23, 1822, all of northern South America was liberated. With that great victory, Bolívar prepared to march with his army across the Andes and liberate Peru.

On July 26, 1822, Bolívar met with José de San Martín at Guayaquil to discuss the strategy for the liberation of Peru. No one knows what took place in the secret meeting between the two South American heroes, but San Martín returned to Argentina while Bolívar prepared to fight against last Spanish bastion in South America.

In 1823 Bolívar took command of the invasion of Peru and in September arrived in Lima with Sucre to plan the attack. On August 6, 1824, Bolívar and Sucre jointly defeated the Spanish army in the Battle of Junín. On December 9 Sucre destroyed the last remnant of the Spanish army in the Battle of Ayacucho, eliminating Spain's presence in South America.

On August 6, 1825, Sucre called the Congress of Upper Peru which created the Republic of Bolivia in honor of Bolívar. The Bolivian Constitution of 1826, while never enacted, was personally written by Bolívar. Also in 1826, Bolívar called the Congress of Panama, the first hemispheric conference.

But by 1827, due to personal rivalries among the generals of the revolution, civil wars exploded which destroyed the South American unity for which Bolívar had fought. Surrounded by factional fighting and suffering from tuberculosis, El Libertador Simón Bolívar died on December 17, 1830.


Edited by Jalisco Lancer
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  Quote Infidel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04-Feb-2005 at 11:34
We had a statue of Bolívar in the city garden where I lived. That's because of the large emmigration Madeira had to Venezuela.
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  Quote Temujin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-Feb-2005 at 16:39
 great stuff, I had no idea he was that idealsitic (no marriage after the death of his wife). the period of latin-Americas independence in the early 19th century is very interesting...do you also have soemthing on San Martin?
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  Quote Jalisco Lancer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15-Feb-2005 at 18:14


Hola Temu:
For your request:

Jose de San Martin
25 February 1778 Jose de San Martin was born at Yapeyu, Argentina
1786 Jose returned with his parents to Spain
1789 Jose joined the army.
1808-1811 San Martin helped defend Spain against the invading French forces of Napoleon.
1811 San Martin resigned his commission. He returned to Argentina to help them with their fight for independence.
9 March 1812 San Martin was given command of a military unit in Buenos Aires.
3 February 1813 San Martin had his first victory.
Janaury 1814 San Martin took control of the North Army.
1816 Argentina declared their independence from Spain under the leadership of San Martin.
1816 San Martin joined forces with Bernardo O'Higgins, a Chilean patriot.
January 1817 O'Higgins and San Martin led an army over a pass nearly 4,600 meters high in the Andes Mountains.
12 February 1817 San Martin and O'Higgins shocked the Spaniards in Chile when they appeared. They won the Battle of Chacabucco near Santiago.
18 February 1817 San Martin was designated the supreme dictator. He resigned the title.
April 1818 The army of San Martin and O'Higgins won another battle near the Maipo River. These victories led to Chile's independence.
1820 San Martin led an army to Peru
1821 San Martin declared Peru's independence.
1821 San Martin met Simon Bolivar. San Martin left the task of winning formal recognition of Peru's independence to Bolivar.
1821 San Martin returned to Argentina.
1823 San Martin's wife died.
1824 San Martin retuned to Europe. He was discouraged by the political disputes in Argentina. He lived in France the remainder of his days.
17 August 1850 San Martin died.
http://gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/southamerica/a/JSanMartin .htm

Santo de la Espada, Knight of the Andes

The fifth child of Spaniards Juan de San Martín and Gregoria Matorras, he was born on February 25, 1778 in Yapeyu, a scenic area near present-day Paso de los Libres, in Corrientes province, Argentina.

His father was a professional soldier and the government administrator of Yapeyu, formerly a Jesuit mission station in Guaraní Indian territory, then part of the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata.
In 1784, when San Martin was six years old, the family returned to Spain, and he was enrolled in the Real Seminario de Nobles in Madrid from 1785 until 1789. He met and formed a friendship with Bernardo O'Higgins, a lonely boy from Chile, several months his junior, with whom he would later make history.

José de San Martín fought his first battle on South American soil in February 1813 when he rousted royalist forces at San Lorenzo on the banks of the Río Parana. He recognized that Argentina could not be free until the threat from the Viceroyalty of Peru, still staunchly Spanish royalist, ended. He then went to the northern provinces to bolster the anti-royalist movement. Illness forced him to live quietly during most of 1814, but he used the time to form his plans to overthrow the Viceroyalty of Peru. Crossing the Andes to Peru over what is modern-day Bolivia, would be a horrendous task.
At this time, José was reunited with his childhood friend, Bernardo O'Higgins who had been forced to flee Chile following the defeat of the Battle of Rancagua.

O'Higgins had with him thousands of men and the desire to go back to Chile, oust the royalists, and regain Chile's autonomous position. For the next three years, José developed strategy, laid his plans, recruited and trained an army composed of Chileans, Argentines, gauchos, mestizos, and slaves. His skills at strategy, his leadership, and his vision for a united force against Spain would earn him the title of Knight of the Andes.
At his own request, he was named governor of Cuyo, at the foot of the Andes in western Argentina. Men in government in Buenos Aires feared his growing army and popularity and remove him as governor. Provincial protests and a refusal to accept his successor got José de San Martín reinstated. He was then instrumental in getting representatives from all the provinces to meet in Tucuman in 1816, where they formed the Congreso de Tucuman. During the ensuing discussions, José de San Martín stressed the need for outright independence from Spain and the need for a liberal-constitutional monarchy. The Congress agreed and passed the declaration of independence in July of 1816.
His daughter Mercedes was born that year. José was offered a gift of land in her honor, but he declined, saying portions of it should be reserved for men who distinguished themselves in the battle for independence. His every action was focused on independence.
Next, José turned his attention to his longtime plans for Peru. Crossing the Andes was still necessary, but he now decided that he would cross into Chile, then go by sea to Peru. Along the way, he and Bernardo O'Higgins would retake Chile from the royalists.
In January 1817, after sending his wife and daughter to live with his in-laws in Buenos Aires, San Martin and O'Higgins led their combined armies over a pass nearly 15,000 feet (4,600 meters) high in the Andes Mountains. The march over the Andes has been compared to Hannibal's crossing the Alps. They met and defeated the royalists on February 12 at Casas de Chacabuco and took Santiago.
Following another victory at Maipo in north-central Chile in April 1818 which led to Chile's independence, José was offered the supreme dictatorship of Chile. He refused the honor, but did accept the title of Generalisimo of the Ejército Unido de los Andes y de Chile, the United Army of the Andes and Chile, and proceeded with his original plans. He initiated discussions with the royalists in Peru, suggesting they break away from Spain and form an independent monarchy. When these negotiations came to nothing, José de San Martín gathered his forces.
Bernardo O'Higgins with the help of Thomas Cochrane had created the Chilean navy and the accumulation of troop ships. Under San Martín's leadership, the Chilean navy sailed north from Valparaiso.
Cochrane had failed in an earlier attempt to take the port of Callao, Lima's access to the Pacific, and instead landed in Pisco, where José de San Martín and his army could take the overland route to Lima.

Protector del Peru
Though outmanned by the royalist forces under Viceroy Pezuela, San Martín opened negotiations for his surrender. The Viceroy countered and battles ensued. It wasn't until Admiral Cochrane blockaded port of Callao that the Viceroy acknowledged that without supplies, he had no chance of defeating the José de San Martín and the armies of independence. Pezuela and his forces retreated to the mountains, abandoning Lima in 1821.
José de San Martín and his forces took possession of the city. He proclaimed to the people of Peru:
El Perú es desde este momento libre e independiente por la voluntad de los pueblos y de la justicia de su causa que Dios defiende.
(Peru is from this moment free and independent by the wish of the people and the justness of the cause which God defends.)
In spite of the disapproval of his supporters in Argentina who had not wished him to take on Peru, San Martín became Protector del Peru and head of the new government which instituted vast social and political reforms, created a national library and a free press.

In gratitude for his efforts, the people of Peru gave him the standard Francisco Pizarro had brought from Spain centuries earlier. Royalist supporters staged an offensive which fizzled and after securing the port of Callao, San Martín ordered Admiral Cochrane and the Chilean navy back to Chile. One captain stayed behind and captured the last two remaining Spanish ships, Prueba and Venganza in South American waters. The frigate Prueba was renamed Protector and became the first ship of the Peruvian navy.
Only two Spanish armies remained in South America, one surrounding Quito and the other in the southern regions of Peru. Simón Bolívar sent troops from Colombia to take Quito. They succeeded in May, 1822. Bolívar landed in Guayaquil in July and annexed the territory to Colombia.
Meanwhile, having alienated the royalist factions in Peru and some of the liberals with his intent to create a new monarchy, San Martín was losing political and military strength. He delegated his political power to Don José Bernardo de Tagle, marqués de Torre-Tagle and set his mind to military matters. With combined forces of Argentine, Chilean and Peruvian forces, he faced the Spanish south of Lima and following several battles, some of which he lost, he turned to Simón Bolívar for help.
He offered to become Bolívar's second in command to force Spain out of Peru and South America. Bolívar invited him to a meeting in Quayaquil.
When he arrived in Quayaquil on July 25, 1822, San Martín was feted and honored by the local citizens. He met with Simón Bolívar for about an hour. The next day, after conferring for several hours alone with Bolívar, and after a banquet and ball in his honor, San Martín left the city and returned to Peru.
There are no written records of their discussions, but it is known they discussed independence, the forms of government for the new countries and could not reach agreement. They disliked each other. Speculation has it that Bolívar refused to send his armies to Peru while San Martín was there. A clue to their personality conflict may be found in the toasts they offered at the ball:
Bolívar: Por los dos hombres más grandes de la América del Sud: el General San Martín y Yo.
To the two greatest men in South America: General San Martín and me
San Martín: Por la pronta conclusión de la guerra; por la organización de las diferentes Repúblicas del continente y por la salud del Libertador de Colombia.
To the prompt conclusion of the war, to the organization of the different republics of the continent and to the health of the Liberator of Colombia.
On his return to Peru, San Martín invoked the first Peruvian congress and at the first session, abdicated his powers in a farewell speech. The congress voted him a pension and named him Fundador de la Libertad del Perú. That same day he set sail for Chile and from there continued to Argentina, to his small farm in Mendoza.
Bolívar's forces, under the command of General Sucre, defeated the Spanish royalist forces at the battles of Junín and Ayacucho, completing the liberation of Peru.
In Mendoza, San Martín received news that Bernardo O'Higgins had been forced to resign as the Supreme Director of Chile, and a letter from his wife, Maria de los Remedios, asking him to come to Buenos Aires. They hadn't seen each other for four years, but San Martín delayed for some months before he did as she asked, and it was then too late. She died in August of 1823 of tuberculosis, then called consumption, at the age of twenty-five. During that illness, Remedios left much of the upbringing of her daughter to her parents and young Mercedes was known to be willful and spoiled.

Meeting with Simon Bolivar
Discouraged, grieving and determined to take no further part in politics, San Martín took his young daughter and went into voluntary exile in Europe. He could not return to Spain, so after a brief stay in Belgium, he went to France. A friend from Spanish army days, don Alejandro Aguado, marqués de las Marismas, gave him a small farm in Grand-Bourg along the Seine river.
There he attended to his daughter's education, stressing simplicity, honesty and respect. He wrote a number of maxims, based on his own philosophy of life, for her instruction:
Maximas Para Mi Hija:
• Inspirarle Amor A La Verdad Y Odio A La Mentira
Inspire in her a love of truth and hatred of lies
• Inspirarla A Una Gran Confianza Y Amistad Pero Uniendo El Respeto
Inspire in her confidence and friendship joined with respect
• Estimular En Mercedes La Caridad Con Los Pobres
Encourage in Mercedes charity for the poor
• Respeto Sobre La Propiedad Ajena
Self respect and decorum
• Acostumbrarla A Guardar Un Secreto
Train her to keep a secret
• Inspirarle Sentimientos De Indulgencia Hacia Todas Las Religiones
Inspire in her tolerance for all religions
• Dulzura Con Los Criados, Pobres Y Viejos
Gentleness with servants, the poor and the elderly
• Que Hable Poco Y Lo Preciso
To speak seldom and precisely
• Acostumbrarla A Estar Formal En La Mesa
Train her to use good table manners
• Amor Al Aseo Y Desprecio Al Lujo, Inspirarla Amor Por La Patria Y La Libertad
Love cleanliness and despise luxury; Inspire in her love of country and liberty
José returned once to Argentina, in 1829, and saddened by the discord between the South American nations, returned to Europe, where he lived quietly with his sole surviving grand-daughter until his death in in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France on August 17, 1850.
In his will, written six years before his death, José left everything to his daugher Mercedes, with the directive to pay his sister Maria Elena a pension.

He left his saber to Juan Manuel de Rosas for his efforts in preserving the honor of the republic. He expressly forbade a funeral and returned Pizarro's standard to Peru.
In 1880, his remains were brought to Argentina and interred in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires. A magnificent mausoleum reflects the love of the Argentine people for José de San Martín, the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru.
He knew how to win.
José de San Martín is recognized as the military strategist behind much of the South American struggle for independence. His bold plan to defeat the Viceroyalty of Peru, the last stronghold of Spanish power on the continent, was successful because of his comprehensive plans, his meticulous attention to the smallest detail, his patience and perseverance.
He was known to be austere in his personal habits. Years of soldiering created the order and routine of his life. He rose early, worked until noon, took a siesta through the worst heat of the day, rose and worked again through the evening until he retired at ten. He was used to living rough in the field. He ate lightly.
He was a leader of men, could train them and inspire them. He had a grand vision for South America.
This is known. What isn't as clear is the motivation for his actions. Historians and present-day analysts have studied his actions, his letters and papers. Certain elements have sought to de-mystify the man by pointing out his infirmities and his romantic liasons, even discussing the possibility that he had Guaraní blood. He was disparagingly called El tape de Yapeyú.
Man of Mystery
Yet the questions remain.
• Why did he resign his commission in the Spanish army and take up the struggle for South American independence?
History books for schoolchildren stress José de San Martín's love of country and patriotism. They praise his desire to liberate his country. However, San Martín went to Spain at the age of six, spent his formative years there, and gave twenty plus years of his life in service to the Spanish crown. He received honors, decorations and promotions for his service.
Speculation is that while he was held as a prisoner by the British, he began to doubt, or was encouraged to doubt, the rightness of the Spanish royalty. But Britain was also a monarchy. Another possibility was British economic gain if South America was open to trade.

He became a Mason in Banff, Scotland, due to the influence of James Duff, 4th Earl of Fife, who had fought in Spain.
Other possibilities cited are San Martín's growing dislike of the inequalities of Spanish aristocracy and his possible ill-treatment for having Guaraní parentage. Others believe he went to London and then to Argentina as an agent for the British.
• Why did he alienate other leaders and supporters of the cause for independence with his insistence on a liberal monarchy rather than a republican dictatorship?
If San Martín was so disdainful of the Spanish monarchy, why did he wish to institute another form of monarchy in South America? Was it because he wasn't disdainful and was supported by Britain and other European countries interested in investments and ecomic influences? It is a fact that as Spanish and Portuguese influence declined, Europeans rushed in to establish trade, mining, agricultural and even the possibility of establishing a United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata with the unemployed poor from England and Ireland. Welsh colonists settled in Chubut province of Argentina.
• Why happened during that meeting with Simón Bolívar?
The agreed to meet on equal terms, as military leaders who had already accomplished much and who had only to agree on further action.
San Martín wrote to friends in later years saying that he realized that with the way Bolívar felt about him, he could accomplish nothing. Historians speculate that to save his vision, and to see South America liberated, he renounced his involvement. They also speculate that Bolívar, being ambitious and wanting to enlarge his annexations of the northern regions of South America, refused to help oust the Spanish from Peru as long as San Martín was involved.
The details of the meeting are unknown, but what is known is that San Martín left Guayaquil on very unequal terms.
• Why did he give everything up, retire from public life and go into voluntary exile?
San Martín could have gathered his forces, gathered more recruits and continued the battle for Peru on his own. With no supplies coming from Spain, it was only a matter of time until the royalist forces would be depleted. However, San Martín had lost support from Buenos Aires, his friend and ally, Bernardo O'Higgins had his own problems, a liberal faction in Peru wanted greater freedoms, including some astonishing freedoms for the clergy, always a conservative bastion and supported of the Spanish monarchy. His affair with a Peruvian woman was widely criticized.
In his early forties, he had accomplished a great deal, liberated two countries and was the Protector of Peru. San Martín was in ill-health. Perhaps he though he could retire to regain his strength, then return to complete the task. Perhaps when he returned to his small farm in Argentina, he saw how little support he had and lost hope.
Perhaps he saw the writing on the wall. For all the dashing glory of ousting the Spanish royalists, the new Latin American countries were economically weak. They had internal problems between the classes, fundamental issues with education, land reform, transportation and industrial development. The governments were unstable. Perhaps San Martín foresaw the anarchy that would develop in the coming decades and wanted no part of it. Yet, it is ironic that he willed his sword to Juan Miguel de Rosas who ruled Argentina as a bloody tyrant from 1835-1852.
• And why did he settle in France, after having fought against Napoleon?
He could not return to Spain after all his efforts in South America. If he had been an agent for Britain, he had not succeeded in all his activities. Napoleon was vanquished and a new monarchy in place. San Martín spoke fluent French and when given a small farm in France, had the means to raise his daughter.
These questions are still unanswered. Whatever his personal motivations, José de San Martín was the military tactician who helped liberate three countries. He is honored and revered as Knight of the Andes, Santo de la Espada: Argentina's greatest hero.
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  Quote TheDiplomat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17-May-2006 at 10:36
Simon Bolivar was the greatest revolutionary of Latin America,but as a president of Gran Columbia he dproved unpopular.
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  Quote Dampier Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17-May-2006 at 14:09
Thank you, Bolivar was a truly great man.
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  Quote Ponce de Leon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19-May-2006 at 20:29
It doesnt matter what Simon Bolivar did in the end. In the end these revolutions against Spain was fought just between rich aristocrats like Simon Bolivar. The poor peasants didnt care. They just traded one master for another.

But Simon did liberate Peru, that I can be thankful for..otherwise i wouldnt be born
     

Edited by Ponce de Leon - 19-May-2006 at 20:29
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  Quote Dampier Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20-May-2006 at 13:26
Almost all revolutions are based around the middle classes and aristocracies.
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  Quote Ponce de Leon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20-May-2006 at 22:46
True, almost all revolutions are set up by the middle class to the aristocrats. But some revolutions like the French revolutions also had much participation from the lower classes due because they had almost no food. They did not need any convincing from the burgeoiuse (sorry if i mispelled) because they were really ticked off about having almost none of the basic neccesities!

     On the other hand, the situation in Latin America during the early 1800's was different because as i see it there was almost no middle class. Also the peasants did not care who was governing them. They still lived the same way that they always did. But there was a huge gap between the rich land owners and the peaseants. And the few rich people were the ones that told the peaseants that they needed this revolution, to be free from the Spanish Crown. True now they have their own different countries but all in all what i said before was the same. "They simply switched from one master to another."
    
    

Edited by Ponce de Leon - 20-May-2006 at 22:48
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  Quote Dampier Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21-May-2006 at 13:01
Actually I'd disagree on the French revolution, it starts out as the Aristocratic revolution as they want a constitutional monarch in the English manner, then it switches to the Middle classes and finally to the Sans culotte. Peasents dont get a look in (unless you count the Vendee in which case they rebelled with their aristocratic masters over things like the Civil Constitution of the Clergy [mostly the oath] and federalisation). The sans culotte were led on by middle class orators and supported populist middle class candidates. Until they realised their power that is. In fact popularism is the only influence the sans culotte had, if you think about it there were very few important revolutionary figures who were actually sans culotte.
 
For Latin America I just think back to Joseph Conrads masterful "Nostromo".
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  Quote Ponce de Leon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21-May-2006 at 16:37
Can this topic be moved to Modern History?
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  Quote Dampier Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21-May-2006 at 18:51
Perhaps just move our debate, Bolivar fits the Imperial forum.
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