In the 1800’s, many individual leaders played important roles in helping Latin American nations with freedom. Colonies in their mother countries wanted independence and freedom to live on their own and they accomplished that with the leadership of certain men who each had huge roles in their wars for independence. Simon Bolivar, also known as el Libertador, was born in Caracas, Venezuela on July 24, 1783. He was a great leader who played an important role in the liberation of different Latin American colonies. Bolivar was smart, as he received great education as a young man. After he already matured he made a promise that he was going to free Venezuela from Spain and allow them to be happy and independent. The reason Venezuela wanted to be …show more content…
Here, Bolivar had easy connections through rivers and seas, which played a big role during the time of war. Bolivar’s plan of action was to perform a surprise attack on an area in northern Venezuela. He would cross the river and go through the Andes Mountains, which was definitely not an easy task as many troops died along the way. Bolivar, along with his fearless personality kept on going and made it to an area called Boyacá, ready to fight against a fierce group called the Royalists. Although outnumbered physically, Bolivar mentally believed he would win and he did just that, as him and his men beat the royalists and took over the area. “The victory at Boyacá liberated New Granada, and in December the independence of all the provinces of the viceroyalty was declared and Gran Colombia (which encompasses present-day Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador) was created with Simón Bolívar as president”. (Google.com). Bolivar is remembered as a hero in Venezuela because of his great example and bold …show more content…
Surprisingly, Martin decided to retire after he freed Peru and many people questioned this decision and criticized him for it. However, in his hometown Argentina, he is highly respected until today, as there are many statues and streets named after him.
Another important leader that took part in liberating a Latin American colony was Don Bernando O’Higgins. O’Higgins was born on August 20, 1778 in Chile, a colony of Spain. In his teenage years, he gained a nationalistic personality and he was on his way to a successful military career and that he was going to make an impact on his hometown Chile.
In the early 1800s, O’Higgins’ father past away, leaving him with all his money and his assets. O’Higgins became part of Chile’s government, where he was part of the Congress. In 1811, Peru conducted a surprise invasion on Chile and took it over. Chile wasn’t being treated fairly by the Spanish government and three years after, O’Higgins and his navy that he built up invaded Peru and took Chile over from Peru. O’Higgins, like all the other liberators of Latin America, was courageous and fought hard for the freedom of his