Simon Bolivar

Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Blanco, commonly known as Simón Bolívar (Spanish pronunciation: [siˈmon boˈliβar]; July 24, 1783, Caracas, Venezuela – December17, 1830, Santa Marta, Colombia) was a Venezuelan military and political leader. Together with José de San Martín, he played a key role in Latin America's successful struggle for independence from theSpanish Empire, and is today considered one of the most influential politicians in South American history.

Following the triumph over the Spanish Monarchy, Bolívar participated in the foundationof the first union of independent nations in Latin America, which was named Gran Colombia, and of which he was president from 1819 to 1830. Bolívar remains regarded in Hispanic America as a hero,visionary, revolutionary, and liberator. During his lifetime, he led Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela to independence, and helped lay the foundations for democratic ideology in muchof Hispanic America.[citation needed]

The surname Bolívar derives from the Bolívar aristocrats who came from a small village in the Basque Country, Spain, called La Puebla de Bolívar.[1] His fathercame from the male line of the de Ardanza family.[2][3] His maternal grandmother, however, was descended from some families from the Canary Islands that settled in the country.[4]

The Bolívarssettled in Venezuela in the sixteenth century. His first South American Bolivar ancestor was Simón de Bolívar (or Simon de Bolibar; the spelling was not standardized until the nineteenth century), wholived and worked with the governor of the Santo Domingo from 1550 to 1570. When the governor of Santo Domingo was reassigned to Venezuela in 1589, Simón de Bolívar came with him. As an early settler inCaracas Province, he became prominent in the local society, and he and his descendants were granted estates, encomiendas, and positions in the Caracas cabildo.[citation needed]

The social...