THE MOST IMPORTANT BATTLES OF SIMÓN BOLÍVAR - HISTORY - 2024

The most important battles of Simón Bolívar are that of Boyacá, Cúcuta and Taguanes, among others that you will see later. Simón Bolívar, or as he is known in Latin America, “El Libertador”, was born on July 24, 1783. The son of Venezuelan aristocrats with Spanish ancestry, Bolívar was a child with a golden cradle and a very high social position.

Bolívar's father died when he was just 3 years old and his mother died when he was just 6 years old (Biography.com Editors, 2016). After the death of his parents, Simón Bolívar's uncle took his custody and assigned him guardians so that he could have the best education possible.

Cannon of the monument to the battle of Cúcuta.

One of them was Simón Rodríguez, who, with much influence from Jean-Jacques Rousseau, taught him the liberalist thought of the 18th century.

However, it was not until the age of 16 that Bolívar was sent to Europe to continue his studies in Spain, where he concentrated on the texts of important philosophers such as John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, among others (Straussmann Masur, 2016).

Some time after Bolívar married the daughter of a Spanish nobleman and returned to Caracas, Napoleon attacked the Spanish Empire seeking the support of the Spanish colonies in America to destroy their power. It wasn't until Bolívar's wife died that he decided to take an active political life.

Simón Bolívar and his political activity prior to the battles

Despite the vital importance that Bolívar has for the independence and liberation of the Latin American countries, it was not until the year 1811 in the declaration of Independence by the Venezuelan Congress that it took the lead in the revolutionary battles against Venezuela. the Spanish.

After the declaration of Independence declared by the Venezuelan Congress in Caracas, Simón Bolívar left the country heading to Cartagena, where he published his famous “Cartagena Manifesto” after the fall of the First Republic in Venezuela.

In the Cartagena Manifesto, Bolívar mentioned the mismanagement of public inputs by the Republican government and the 1812 Caracas earthquake that made both the economic and political situation worse.

In what battles did Simón Bolívar participate?

1- Battle of Cúcuta of 1813

This battle that took place in Cúcuta, Colombia, after the Cartagena Manifesto, made Bolívar gain a lot of fame with the people and among military forces, causing him to immediately set off for Caracas, Venezuela where later this became known as the “Admirable Campaign ”.

Simón Bolívar did not participate in all the battles of the Admirable Campaign, however he did help direct the battles from a military point of view. (Minster, 2015)

2- Battle of Taguanes

This battle, which also took place in 1813, was another of the battles of the Admirable Campaign in which Bolívar participated.

In this battle they achieved victory and the assassination of Colonel Julián Izquierdo, in addition to taking the city of Valencia 3 days later to continue on their way to the capture of Caracas on August 3, 1813.

3- Battle of Araure

This battle took place in December 1813, being part of the so-called “western operations”. Bolívar won this battle, however the only thing it meant was a little air for the so-called "Second Republic."

At the end of this duel, Bolívar was left with few men and without any alternative to replace the casualties obtained in previous battles, facing the threat of José Tomás Boves and the peasant uprisings in favor of the King.

4- The second battle of the door

With this battle, what was called the Second Republic ends. After Tomás Boves takes Caracas and Bolívar goes to the East in a long march called: "Emigration to the East."

5- The Battle of the Vargas Swamp

It was one of the bloodiest and most radical battles that developed in Colombia in the liberation of New Granada (today Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador). Thanks to this the army arrived in Tunja on August 4, 1819 and La Gran Colombia was able to shout freedom on August 7 of the same year.

This battle was also one of the most important, because it managed to raise the spirits of the Republicans to drive the Spanish back and begin to lose faith in their own cause.

6- Battle of Boyacá

Undoubtedly, one of the most important battles in the wars for freedom in America, as it managed to guarantee the success of the New Granada Liberation Campaign, also marking the culmination of the 77-day campaign started by Simón Bolívar.

The direct consequence was that of all the battles, this achieved the strongest blow to the Spanish army, not causing them to completely withdraw from Spanish territory, but making way for the union of Venezuela, which would be called La Gran Colombia. (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007)

7- Battle of Carabobo

Despite the fact that in what is now known as Colombia, much had been achieved with the Battle of Boyacá, in Venezuela a little work was still needed to finish expelling the Spanish troops from Caracas and the rest of Venezuelan territory.

For this reason, in the battle of Carabobo that took place in 1821, Bolívar destroyed what was left of the Spanish military company and expelled them from Caracas, the expulsion of the Spanish troops being final in the subsequent naval battle of Lake Maracaibo (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007).

8- Battle of Bomboná

After the Battle of Carabobo, Bolívar left determined to conquer Pasto and Quito for the subsequent liberation of what we now know as Ecuador in what was called “The Campaign of the South”. This battle, however, ended in a technical draw causing both sides to withdraw.

9- Battle of Pichincha

This battle that took place in Quito in 1822, on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano, was the one that led to the liberation of Quito and the proclamation of Simón Bolívar as Liberator, also annexing the territory to Gran Colombia.

Bolivar did not participate directly in it.

10- Battle of Junín

Some time later, in 1824, "La Campaña del Sur" headed to Peru in what was one of the last confrontations for the liberation of the South American country. This battle also meant the final independence victory for the liberation of Peru by Simón Bolívar.

11- Battle of Ayacucho

It was the last battle in the Spanish American wars of independence and it signified the end of Spanish rule in South America. It took place in Peru.

With the end of this battle, Bolívar's dream is consolidated and the promise he made on Monte Sacro in Italy with his teacher Simón Rodríguez, achieving the republican dream and then forming Gran Colombia.

Bolívar was the President of Gran Colombia until the day of his death on December 17, 1830 in Santa Marta, Colombia (Latin American Studies, nd).

Even so, the dream of the union of America, just as the United States of America had done, could not be fulfilled since only one year after his death in 1831 the abolition of Gran Colombia was decided.

However, already in 1826 with a movement known as "La Cosiata", José Antonio Páez launched a separatist movement against the centralists and Simón Bolívar.

Páez, achieved after the death of the Liberator, the total separation of Venezuela and Quito and the temporary separation of Panama, causing the countries that are known today as: Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador to be established.

References

1. Biography.com Editors. (March 11, 2016). Simón Bolívar Biography. Retrieved from Biography website: biography.com.
2. Latin American Studies. (sf). Simón Bolívar: The Liberator. Retrieved from Latin American Studies website: latinamericanstudies.org.
3. Minster, C. (February 2, 2015). The Admirable Campaign. Retrieved from ThoughtCo website: thoughtco.com.
4. Straussmann Masur, G. (July 21, 2016). Simon Bolivar. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica website: britannica.com.
5. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (March 22, 2007). Battle of Boyacá. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica website: britannica.com.
6. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (March 22, 2007). Battle of Carabobo. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica website: britannica.com.
7. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (May 28, 2009). Battle of Pichincha. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica website: britannica.com.