The full names of various countries are sometimes quite unusual. For example, Bolivia is officially called the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Mauritania and Iran emphasize that they are not simple republics, but Islamic. The Republic of Macedonia added "Former Yugoslavia" to its name - so as not to be confused with the Greek region of the same name, Mexico is actually the United Mexican States, and a small, in fact, Nepal, lost in the Himalayas between India and China, is not just democratic, but also a federal republic. As for the Republic of Venezuela, the first word in its name is Bolivarian.
In principle, it is not surprising that two South American countries at once immortalized in their name the memory of Simon Bolivar, who was awarded the unusual title of the Liberator (El Libertador) during his lifetime by the National Congress of Venezuela. After all, he really managed to become the creator of several modern states at once, which he literally snatched from the tyrannical power of the Spanish crown.
At the beginning of the 19th century, all of South America, with the exception of present-day Brazil, belonged to Spain and was ruled by the governors of the king. The metropolis lying across the ocean led as best it could, but it did not turn out very well. Real power belonged only to the white minority (while the bulk of the population was descended from mixed marriages), entrepreneurship faced numerous prohibitions, and high taxes led to the fact that all the juices were pumped out of the colonies.
This alone could be a significant cause for discontent, and it manifested itself, especially under the influence of the American War of Independence, the Great French Revolution and the slave uprising in Saint-Domingue. South Americans, using these examples, were personally convinced that they can successfully fight for their rights, and the monarchy is not so holy and unshakable. But the immediate reason was the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte's troops into Spain, which followed in 1808 and led, 2 years later, to the occupation of most of the country by France.
It is not surprising that Bolivar became one of the leaders of the “patriots,” as the supporters of independence called themselves. Unlike many of his compatriots who had never crossed the ocean, he personally got to know the life of the Old World.
Simon was born on July 24, 1783 in Caracas into a noble Creole family, was left without parents early and was raised by the famous educator Simon Rodriguez, who became for him not only a mentor, but also a friend. At the age of 16, at the initiative of his relatives, he went to Madrid, where he studied law, and then traveled to Italy, Switzerland, Germany, England and France, and also visited the United States of America, which had already been freed from the power of Great Britain. Perhaps it was there that Bolivar first began to think that South America also needed to throw off the heavy yoke that the metropolis had imposed.
When uprisings broke out from Mexico to present-day Bolivia, the Spanish army was able to quickly suppress them. But a start was made - only the leader was missing. It turned out to be Bolivar, who took the most active part in the overthrow of the Spanish rule in Venezuela, which in 1811 became an independent republic. But the rebels were eventually defeated, and although in 1813 Bolivar's troops reoccupied Caracas and proclaimed the Second Venezuelan Republic, he failed to carry out reforms that would allow him to enlist the support of the people, and was forced to flee to Jamaica.
The war for the liberation of South America lasted 16 long years - until 1826, and if the famous San Martin led the rebel troops in the lower part of the continent, then Bolivar operated in the north.
He returned to his homeland in the late 1810s and again achieved the partial liberation of Venezuela - not least through a promise to give land to his army's soldiers. Then the Spaniards were expelled from New Granada (modern Colombia), and in 1819 Bolivar was proclaimed president of the Republic of Colombia, which included Venezuela, New Granada, and a little later - and present-day Ecuador. The beginning of the 1920s was marked by several high-profile victories over the troops of the empire, and in the middle of 1822 the armies of Bolivar and San Martin met for the first time on the territory of modern Peru. Finally, in 1824, Venezuela, which had declared its independence back in 1811, was completely liberated from Spanish rule.
Bolivar, in principle, did not hide that he would like to unite the former vice-kingdoms, but on a single democratic basis. Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, La Plata and Chile were supposed to enter the southern United States, but the military leader failed to insist on his idea. He enjoyed great respect, but local politicians, who had a taste of independence, suspected that over time he would want to create his own empire - like Napoleonic.
Whether he really had such thoughts is still unknown. But, be that as it may, the union of the liberated colonies turned out to be short-lived, Peru and Bolivia left it, and as a result Bolivar had to "be content" with the territories of only modern Colombia and Venezuela. At the end of 1829, there was a split between these countries, and at the beginning of 1830 Bolivar resigned from the presidency, and in December of the same year he died, having abandoned all his lands, houses and even the state pension before that.
Most likely, those who believe that the power of the Spanish king Bolivar intended to replace his own dictatorship are hardly right. After all, suffice it to say that as a result of the war for the independence of the South American colonies, he managed to break the bonds that fettered the economic development of the entire continent, the poll tax was abolished and the local analogue of the "corvee" for the indigenous people, slavery was eliminated in most of the newly formed countries. In the new states, a parliamentary form of government was established, constitutions were adopted. Nations emerged that got rid of the remnants of feudalism and were given the opportunity for independent development.
Bolivar was not afraid to challenge the powerful empire, and perhaps it was no coincidence that his fellow countryman, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez did the same, becoming one of the few leaders of the modern world who allowed himself to harshly criticize the United States, the new "world dictator." Apparently, the “graft of freedom” made in the first quarter of the 19th century turned out to be really strong …
