Bernardo O’Higgins and Chile
The great military hero of Chilean independence is Bernardo O’Higgins (1778–1842), the illegitimate son of the Irish-born former viceroy of Peru. The first part of this outline looks at O’Higgins and his emergence as a leader in Chile after 1810. The middle section looks at the virtual civil war in Chile as Creoles vied for […]
San Martín and Argentine Independence
José de San Martín is the counterpart of Simón Bolívar in southern South America. Like northern South America, the region around the La Plata was on the periphery of the Spanish Empire. Along with Venezuela, Buenos Aires was one of the early leaders in the break from Spanish rule. San Martín emerged as the great […]
Liberating Northern South America
After his disastrous early failure, Bolívar succeeded in seizing power in Caracas, only to lose it again. After exile in the Caribbean, Bolívar turned his attention to Colombia and the war for independence there. Before liberating Venezuela, his troops crossed the towering Andes and drove the Spanish from Colombia in 1821. He eventually succeeded in […]
Simón Bolívar – The Liberator
Simón Bolívar is the most famous of all the Latin American revolutionary figures, the George Washington of a half dozen South American nations. This outline looks closely at the life of Bolívar, from his birth in Venezuela in 1783 to his first forays into politics and war in 1810. The classic example of the Creole […]
Francisco de Miranda – The Precursor
Francisco de Miranda is the most glamorous and dashing figure in the wars for independence. He was also destined to play the role of the precursor to the wars for independence in Latin America, rather than the great leader. This outline looks at the dramatic life of Miranda. He was truly a revolutionary of the […]