Simón Bolívar

Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (July 24, 1783 – December 17, 1830) was a South American revolutionary leader. Credited with leading the fight for independence in what are now the nations of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, today's Panama and Bolivia, he is revered as a hero in these countries and throughout much of the rest of Latin America.

Family Heritage and Early life

The Bolívar aristocratic bloodline derives from La Puebla de Bolibar (or Bolíbar), a small village in Basque country of Biscay, the origin of their surname. A portion of their wealth by the 1600s came from the Aroa River gold and copper mines in Venezuela. By the 1500s, vague information about existence of gold was rumored around the rivers Yaracuy, Santa Cruz, and Aroa. In 1605, less precise locations of ores became known, particularly in a small valley lateral to the Aroa River next to La Quebrada de Las Minas. In 1632, gold was first mined, leading to further discoveries of extensive copper deposits. Towards the later 1600s, copper was exploited with the name "Cobre Caracas". These mines became property of Simon Bolivar's family. Later in his revolutionary life, Bolivar used part of the mineral income to finance the South American revolutionary wars. However, their family's prominence seems important before their wealth: for example, the Cathedral of Caracas, founded in 1575, has a side chapel dedicated to Simon Bolivar's family. http://www.xs4all.nl/~jorbons/souterrains/art/venezcol.html

Related Topics:
La Puebla de Bolibar - Basque - Biscay - Aroa - Venezuela - Yaracuy - Santa Cruz - La Quebrada de Las Minas - 1632 - Cathedral of Caracas

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Into this context, Simon Bolívar was born in Caracas, in modern-day Venezuela, into an aristocratic family, educated by different tutors after his parents died. Among his tutors was Simón Rodríguez, whose ideas and educational style heavily influenced the young man.

Related Topics:
Caracas - Venezuela - Aristocratic - Simón Rodríguez

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Following the death of his parents, he went to Spain in 1799 to complete his education. There he married María Teresa Rodríguez del Toro y Alaysa in 1802, but on a brief return visit to Venezuela in 1803, she succumbed to yellow fever. Bolívar returned to Europe in 1804 and for a time was part of Napoleon's retinue.

Related Topics:
Spain - 1799 - María Teresa Rodríguez del Toro y Alaysa - 1802 - 1803 - Yellow fever - 1804 - Napoleon

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