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King of Kings - by Lewis Lavoie
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| Wikipedia: South American revolutionary, military leader, and politician known as the Liberator for his leading role in the wars of Spanish American Independence. More than anyone else, Bolívar was responsible for the independence of five countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Despite his success in leading these nations to independence, Bolívar never achieved his goal of creating a federation of Spanish American nations. Today most Spanish Americans hold Bolívar in high regard for his role as a leader of independence. Simón Bolívar's political legacy has of course been massive and he is a very important figure in South American political history. Claims to the mantle of Simón Bolívar of have continued throughout modern times via the various shades of 'Bolivarianism' including Hugo Chávez's recent movement. On his deathbed, Bolívar asked his aide-de-camp, General Daniel Florencio O'Leary to burn the extensive archive of his writings, letters, and speeches. O'Leary disobeyed the order and his writings survived, providing historians with a vast wealth of information about Bolívar's liberal philosophy and thought. He was great admirer of the American Revolution and a great critic of the French Revolution. Bolívar described himself in his many letters as a "liberal" and defender of the free market economic system. Among the books he traveled with when he wrote the Bolivian Constitution were Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws and Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. |
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