Topic: Simon Bolivar

Simon Jose Antonio de la Santisima Trinidad Bolivar y Palacios y Blanco was born on this date in 1783. An aristocrat by birth, Bolivar grew into a revolutionary whose goal was to liberate the New Granada (now known as Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru) from Spanish rule and create a united South America. His efforts to liberate the colonies earned him the nickname el Libertador and inspired the leaders of what is now Bolivia to name their country after the man who had liberated them. In addition to Bolivia, Bolivar's name also lives on as the name of the basic monetary unit of Venezuela. In addition, the adjective Bolivarian means "of or relating to the South American republics of Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia."

Bolivar the man gave the country of Colombia that name, and before he was 40 he served both as its president and as president of Peru. He went on to declare himself dictator, jumped out of a window to escape assassination, and ended up dead of tuberculosis at 47.

We'll end with some words from Simon Bolivar that can be interpreted as variously as his life itself: "We have," he said, "ploughed the sea."

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