Revolution And Independence In Latin America The Liberators

Between 1808 and 1826, all of mainland Latin America became independent from Spain and Portugal, the colonial powers that had ruled the region for three centuries. Undesirable economic restrictions and a caste system that favored those born in Europe made the conditions for revolution ripe in the Americas. Combined with the actions of insightful leaders—most notably Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín—Latin American independence was all but guaranteed. This title explores the revolutions, their historical causes, and the new nations’ ensuing struggles, providing invaluable context for understanding the culture, politics, and social identity of the region today.

Describes the lives and deaths of the seven Liberators, the men who led Latin America's fight for independence and won it in a span of only twenty years after three centuries of Spanish domination.

Simon Bolivar was the archetypal romantic revolutionary. Born into privilege and nurtured in the Rousseau's philosophy of the Homme Sauvage, it was not until the young colonial visited Europe that the taper of revolution was lit that sent the young man on a death-defying quest to fight for the people of his homeland, and eventually liberate the whole of continental South America. Bolivar's struggle for liberty is a story of extraordinary courage and fortune. Since the age of the Conquistadores, South America was controlled from Spain with an iron grip. The Spanish army brutalised the people while the wealth of the continent was shipped away to Europe. In 1807 he returned to Caracas and joined the resistance movement, declaring independence for Venezuela four years later. He soon gave up politics, however, to search for a military solution, devising the 'Decree of War until Death' in July 1813, and claiming the title El Liberador. Yet once again, after initial victories he found himself fleeing for his life. His final campaign from 1817 to 1821 saw the eventual liberation of Venezuela, Columbia, Equador and Panama. He continued his commitment to liberty with the subsequent conquest of Peru. In 1825, the new nation of Bolivia was created in the spirit that had driven Bolivar himself to achieve so much - revolutionary zeal and enlightenment principles. Nonetheless, by 1828 Bolivar had declared himself a dictator. After assassination attempts and uprisings the liberator was finally hounded from office and eventually died as he waited to go into exile in Europe. Bestselling author of The War of Wars, Robert Harvey bring a lifetime's fascination into Bolivar and explores the complex personality behind the revolutionary. He vividly recreates the story of the campaigns and draws a panoramic portrait of South America at the turning of the Spanish Empire.

This is the story of the seven extraordinary young men who gave their lives for South America's independence in the early years of the 19th century. They were: Francisco de Miranda, who narrowly escaped the guillotine in France, impressed both George Washington and Catherine the Great, and who became the Governor of Venezuela for a time; Simon Bolivar, an aristocrat with innumerable lovers, who led guerrilla armies through the swamps and jungles to liberate most of the northern part of their country; the inarticulate San Martin, and his comrade Bernardo O'Higgins, the illegitimate son of a Spanish viceroy; Admiral Lord Cochrane, the colourful Scottish nobleman known as the Sea Wolf; Iturbide, cashiered for extortion and subsequently Emperor of Mexico; and Crown Prince Pedro of Portugal, who turned against his father and brought independence to Brazil. Despite their great daring and ultimate success all seven died amid pathos and tragedy.

Seven extraordinary young men led South America to freedom. Treated with contempt by their Spanish overlords, given to dissipation and debauchery and high-sounding proclamation, they nonetheless achieved military feats unsurpassed elsewhere in history. Francisco de Miranda impressed both George Washington and Catherine the Great, narrowly escaped the guillotine in revolutionary France, and became dictator of Venezuela before capture and death in a Spanish gaol. The aristocratic Simon Bolivar, inconsolable widower (with countless lovers), led his guerrilla armies through swamp, jungle and Andean ice to surprise his enemies and liberate most of northern South America. Meanwhile the inarticulate San Martin had joined Bernardo O'Higgins, illegitimate son of a Spanish viceroy, to do the same in the south.;This story covers a vast range of human experience, from butchery in the torrid Orinoco basin to two astonishing crossings of the high Andes, from a cavalry battle fought with lances 13,000 feet up in Peru, or Bolivar's soliloquy on the silver mountain at Potosi, to Pedro's doomed love affair with Domitila.

An intensive study that makes a searching appraisal of the South American independence movements of the early 1800's, its causes, course, and the key roles of Francisco de Miranda and Simon Bolivar.

Profiles the South American general and revolutionary who helped liberate several South American countries from Spanish domination.

With a section on Hugo Chavez, this work focuses on the social history and the analysis of the spectrum of revolutionary change since Bolivar. It also includes sections such as: Simon Bolivar - The Liberator; The Age of Caudillos - Juan Manuel de Rosas; and, Hugo Chavez - A Venezuelan Populist in the Era of Globalization.