Bronze medal, France.

Minted in 1900.

Minimal traces of handling, a few scratches on the reverse, small oxidations.

For the inauguration of his monument in Boulogne sur Mer in 1900.

Simón Bolívar /siˈmon boˈliβaɾ/[a] Listenⓘ, his full name Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios, nicknamed El Libertador, born July 24, 1783[b] in Caracas in the viceroyalty of New Granada (today in Venezuela), and died on December 17, 1830 in Santa Marta in Gran Colombia, is a Venezuelan general and statesman.

Simón Bolívar is with his compatriot Antonio Jose de Sucre, the Argentinian José de San Martín and the Chilean Bernardo O'Higgins an emblematic figure of the emancipation of the Spanish colonies in South America from 1813. He participated decisively in the independence of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. Bolívar also contributed to the creation of Gran Colombia, of which he was its first president. He imagines it being part of a large political and military confederation bringing together all of Latin America.

As part of the wars of independence in Latin America, Bolívar fought around a hundred battles, seventy-nine of which were decisive. During his campaigns, he traveled 70,000 kilometers on horseback, ten times more than Hannibal, three times more than Napoleon and twice more than Alexander the Great[5].

Simón Bolívar is today a political and military idol in many countries in Latin America and around the world. His name has notably been given to a very large number of places, including squares, streets or parks, as well as to a country, Bolivia[6]. Statues bearing his image can be found in most major cities in Spanish-speaking America, but also throughout the world.

His ideas inspired a political movement, Bolivarism, close to Pan-Americanism. In Latin America, many political figures of the 20th century refer to Simón Bolívar. In Venezuela, the Bolivarian Revolution of 1999 directly claims to be Bolivarianism, through Chavismo.
Youth
Family and heritage

The Bolívar family came from the small town of Ziortza-Bolibar, in Biscay (Spanish Basque Country). She was present in Venezuela from the early days of the Spanish colonization of South America and, at the birth of the future Libertador, was part of the colony's Creole elite.

The family ancestor is Simón Bolíbar[c] (known as “the Prosecutor”) who in 1559 left the Basque Country for the island of Santo Domingo, where he worked as clerk of one of the chambers of the audience[PV 2]. In 1587, Simón Bolíbar left Santo Domingo with his father, governor Don Diego de Osorio, to settle in Tierra Firme as treasurer-accountant[PV 2]. Promoted to prosecutor by the cabildo of Caracas, in 1590 he carried out a mission to Madrid with Philip II to request commercial privileges in favor of the colony. He died in 1612.

The next generation was represented by a priest, in charge of the tribunal of the Inquisition and who distinguished himself by participating in the expedition against Lope de Aguirre, a particularly cruel conquistador who had rebelled against the authority of the king. For these services, this priest was offered an encomienda on the lands of San Mateo[PV 2].

In the third generation is don Juan de Bolívar y Villegas (es), grandfather of the Libertador, who would have had indigenous blood[PV 2].

Over time, the Bolívar family, allied through marriage with other families of the first settlers of Venezuela, obtained various functions and distinctions such as those of steward, second lieutenant of the king, as well as titles of nobility such as that of Marquis of San Luis and Viscount of Cocorote, the latter being associated with the cession of the rich copper mines of Cocorote and the lordship of Aroa.

Simón Bolívar's mother, María de la Concepción Palacios y Blanco, as well as his father Juan Vicente Bolívar y Ponte were part of the aristocracy of Caracas, and despite a large age difference, they married in 1773: Juan Vicente was forty-seven years old while Concepción was only fifteen. They had five children: María Antonia, Juana Nepomucena, Juan Vicente, Simón and María del Carmen. However, the latter died within hours of her birth.
Childhood
Birthplace of the Libertador in Caracas.

Simón Bolívar was born on the night of July 24 to 25, 1783[d], in a villa in the Plaza San Jacinto of Caracas[e] and his full name is Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Ponte Palacios y Blanco, with whom he was baptized the following July 30 at the Cathedral of Caracas by his cousin, Doctor Juan Félix Jerez Aristeguieta. It was the latter who, according to Juan Vicente Bolívar, suggested the first name of Simón.

In January 1786, when Simón Bolívar was two years old, his father died of tuberculosis, leaving Concepción to lead the family and effectively look after its interests. But she herself was affected by tuberculosis and her health declined rapidly.

Concepción died on July 6, 1792, on the eve of Simón's ninth birthday, but had taken the precaution of writing a will detailing who should have charge of his children. The Bolívar brothers and sisters therefore came under the care of their grandfather, Don Feliciano Palacios, who while assuming this responsibility, also fell ill and in turn began to write a will to designate a future guardian chosen in agreement with the children.

Simón Bolívar was entrusted to his uncle, Don Esteban Palacios y Blanco, but as he was in Spain, he remained under the care of another of his uncles, Don Carlos Palacios y Blanco, of a harsh and strict character, and who was frequently absent from Caracas to take care of his properties, leaving the care of his nephew to his servants, including two enslaved black nurses Hipólita and Matea[7], which will help to influence him later in his fight for the abolition of slavery[f]. Simón Bolívar was then attending public school in Caracas.

Despite everything, the references that Bolívar left in his correspondence suggest that his childhood was happy and that he was surrounded by a lot of affection, having pleasant memories with well-known and influential parents in a very aristocratic atmosphere and, more generally, in an atmosphere that offered him a certain emotional balance.

There are some anecdotes popularized in Venezuela which present Bolívar as a child as someone turbulent; anecdotes relayed by romantic writers who sought to attribute to him a rebellious character from childhood, with the idea that an exceptional man could not come from a wise child. But it was shown that these anecdotes were invented and introduced into historical accounts by Arístides Rojas, an excellent narrator, but who often used his imagination for lack of documents supporting his assertions[g].
Education
Portrait of Simón Bolívar at 17 years old.

Bolívar's early education was not very successful in a public school in the municipality of Caracas lacking resources and with administrative deficiencies. Simón Rodríguez was Bolívar's teacher there and Don Carlos thought of entrusting him with the care of Bolívar, not being able to take care of him personally. His niece María Antonia's protests about the education Bolívar received were frequent.
Bolivar in 1804.

Faced with the prospect of going to live with his schoolmaster, Bolívar escaped from his uncle's house on July 23, 1795 to join his sister María Antonia, who temporarily took custody of him while the legal dispute was resolved at the Real Audiencia of Caracas, which returned custody of the child to Don Carlos. Bolívar tried to resist, but was taken by force to the home of Simón Rodríguez.

There, the living conditions for Bolívar were far below what he knew; he had to share space with twenty other people in a house that was not designed for this purpose. Bolívar fled again several times, returning each time by order of the courts. Rodríguez ended up giving up his position as a teacher to go to Europe and the Real Audiencia of Caracas then decided that Bolívar would be transferred to the Academy of Mathematics, directed by Father Andújar and which was held in the house of his uncle Don Carlos. In this academy, Bolívar's training improved notably and was supplemented by courses in history and cosmography given by Don Andrés Bello, until his entry into the Batallón de Milicias de blancos de los Valles de Aragua (the "battalion of white militias of the valleys of Aragua") on January 14, 1797.

According to a persistent legend, Bolívar was enrolled at the royal college of Sorèze, in Tarn, in France, from 1795 to 1798[h]. It is now established that Bolívar never attended this military school. The origin of this legend undoubtedly lies in the great prestige of this institution as well as the fact that Napoleon I had asked to be admitted there.
Teachers of Simon Bolívar

Some of the people who participated in Bolívar's education and who had an influence on his values ​​and thoughts:

    Francisco A. Carrasco
    Father Sojo (Pedro Palacios y Sojo)
    Fernando Vides
    Simon Rodriguez
    Father Jose Antonio Negrete
    Andres Bello
    Guillermo Pelgrón
    Brother Francisco Andújar
    Francine Maria

Between Europe and America
Statue of S. Bolívar, in Belgrave Square (London).

Bolívar began his military career at the age of fourteen and obtained the title of second lieutenant two years later, in a military unit created in 1759 by one of his ancestors, Don Juan de Bolívar.

His military service was interrupted by the decision of his uncles Esteban and Carlos to send him to Spain in order to learn more about the world and complete his training.

However, Spain found itself caught in a complex international crisis caused by the French Revolution, to which must be added an internal confrontation between absolutists and liberals and a fiscal deficit aggravated by the maritime blockade imposed by the British; this blockade disrupted the usual traffic to the Americas, attacking any craft that attempted to cross it.
First trip to Europe

The travel enterprise was therefore delicate and risky, but Bolívar was nevertheless able to accomplish it, notably thanks to convoys sent by the Spaniards to break the blockade. It was thanks to one of them commanded by Admiral Alcalá Galiano, who was able to leave the port of Cádiz in December 1798, cross the blockade and arrive in Venezuela, that Bolivar was able to leave. He embarked on January 19, 1799 aboard one of the ships that arrived whole, the ship of the line San Ildefonso, in the port of La Guaira. The ship was sailing to Veracruz to reunite the fleet and await the opportune moment to return to Spain.

In Veracruz, Bolívar was hosted by Don José Donato de Austria, and while Galiano's fleet was stationed at the port of Havana, he traveled to Mexico City to visit Obispo Viana. Returning to Veracruz, he resumed his journey to Spain and reached the port of Santoña on May 13, 1799 from where he immediately left for Madrid.

Shortly after his arrival in Madrid, Bolívar took up residence with the Marquis of Ustariz, a highly educated royal official; he became one of the most influential tutors on Bolívar's education and thought. He was a competent and experienced person, especially in government tasks, an area in which he completed Bolívar's education.

It was also during this period, in the year 1800, that Bolívar met the woman who would become his wife, Maria Teresa del Toro y Alayza, daughter of the Marquis del Toro[8]. She accepted his engagement request in August 1800, but given their youth, he being only seventeen and she eighteen[9], they waited two years before marrying. Bolívar took the opportunity to go first to Bilbao, where he began to study languages, then to Paris where he witnessed many events in revolutionary France and in direct contact with the France of the Enlightenment.
Marriage

In 1802, Bolívar returned to Spain to resume legal procedures for his marriage, becoming the husband of Maria Teresa on May 26 in the parish church of San José in Madrid. He then devoted himself to preparing for his return to America.

Following various events that changed their plans, Bolívar and his wife embarked in La Coruña on June 15, 1802 for a direct journey to Venezuela, arriving at the port of La Guaira on July 12 of the same year. Soon after their arrival, they took up residence at the Casa del Vínculo y del Retorno (es), located near the Plaza Mayor of Caracas, on the corner of Las Gradillas. Bolívar fully ensured the administration of his property.

The two spouses aroused the curiosity of the aristocracy of Caracas, who hoped to gather information on the Court and on the character of the moment, Napoleon. During the various parties and meetings they attended, Maria Teresa discovered a cultured and refined society where politics and revolutionary books banned in Spain were freely discussed.

The couple frequently visited Bolívar's family properties and enjoyed a happy year. But Maria Teresa contracted yellow fever, a disease endemic to tropical countries, and her condition deteriorated rapidly. She died on January 22, 1803.

His death deeply affected Bolívar, who found himself on the verge of depression, embittered, and whose idea of ​​a happy life in Venezuela was destroyed. Bolívar vowed never to remarry. He respected this commitment, but nevertheless led a very lively sentimental life, scandalous in the eyes of South American society.
Second trip to Europe
Statue of Simon Bolivar, Avenida da Liberdade, Lisbon.

After the death of his wife, Bolívar devoted himself to his plantations, but the time spent in Venezuela became unbearable and he decided to return to Europe.

In December 1803 he arrived in Spain and settled in the port of Cádiz where he remained until February 1804, then went to Madrid. We know that Bolívar maintained contact with his commercial representatives during this period, but there is also speculation about his membership at this time in the American Grand Lodge of Freemasons.

He saw again in Madrid his father-in-law the Marquis del Toro with whom he shared the pain of the death of Maria Teresa. Shortly after, he decided to return to France, and he arrived in Paris in April 1804.

According to different critical points of view, the reconstruction of Bolívar's life between 1804 and 1807 is difficult and the accounts of this period seem strewn with myths. However, we know that he traveled between Paris and Rome during this period, that he reunited with his former master Simón Rodríguez and that he maintained exchanges with the famous naturalist and explorer Baron Alexander von Humboldt, the botanist Aimé Bonpland as well as with the student Carlos Aguirre y Montúfar, who accompanied him to Rome in 1805.
Coronation of Napoleon at Notre-Dame de Paris

In Paris, Bolívar probably attended the coronation of Napoleon I, and found himself in contact with Enlightenment thought in an atmosphere charged with romanticism. Ideas of change and revolution significantly permeated his political ideals, and Bolívar came to conclude that Spain could not oppose Napoleon's France and that its weakening would be taken advantage of by its enemies such as England. He realized that all this would lead the Spanish colonies in America to have to choose between French or English domination, unless they took charge of their future independently of Spain.

This reasoning reinforced Bolívar's conviction that independence was the most beneficial option for the Americas after the destruction of the Spanish fleet by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and considering the very delicate position of the Spanish crown against Napoleon.
Oath of Monte Sacro

It was in August 1805, during his stay in Rome, that he exclaimed from the summit of the Sacred Mountain: I swear on my honor that I will leave neither respite to my arm nor rest to my soul, until I have broken the chains which oppress us by the will of the Spanish power[10].

These elements led him to reject the idea of ​​a possible domination of Napoleon in the world, and to take before his friend and tutor Simón Rodríguez the oath of Monte Sacro in Rome, where he would have sworn by the gods of his ancestors, by his ancestors themselves, by his honor and by his homeland to put an end to Spanish domination in America. Many doubts surround this famous oath, written for the first time by Rodriguez in 1850, when the tutor was eighty years old. The “official” version, by Manuel Uribe Ángel, was only published in 1884.
Bolívar and the wars of independence in South America
Situation before independence
Portrait of Bolívar in general's uniform.

In 1808, Napoleon's pressure on the Spanish crown triggered a series of events that further aggravated the already compromised Spanish situation. After the Aranjuez uprising and, above all, the humiliation of the Bayonne Interview, March 5, 1808, where Napoleon forced Charles IV of Spain to cede the throne to him so that he could place his brother Joseph there, the king then abdicating in favor of his son, Ferdinand VII, on March 19, 1808. These events caused a great popular uprising in Spain, which marked the start of the Spanish War of Independence. In America as well as in Spain, regional juntas were formed to fight against the French invader and restore the legitimate monarch to the throne.

However, within the American juntas, only the People's Junta of Cadiz was talked about with enthusiasm, and many of them were viewed with suspicion by the Spanish authorities who suspected them of being favorable to the French. The authorities kept in mind certain American actions, such as the publication of a work on Human Rights by Antonio Nariño in Bogotá, the movement of Juan Picornell (es), the conspiracy of Manuel Gual and José María España, or the catastrophic military expeditions of Francisco de Miranda in Venezuela.

On the other hand, the Spanish authorities considered it natural for the American juntas to imitate their counterparts on the Peninsula, because the Spanish territories in America were understood as an essential and integral part of the Kingdom of Spain, and not as mere colonies per se.

Over time, as a result of political debate and international instability, two very distinct camps ended up forming: that of the royalists who wanted to remain under direct dependence on the Spanish Monarchy, led by Juan de Casas (es) (captain general of Venezuela from 1807 to 1809); that of the patriots who were in favor of the constitution of a governing Junta with full autonomy, such as the provincial Juntas in Spain, but maintaining links with Spain apart from a formal recognition of Ferdinand VII.

Thus, in mid-1807, when Bolívar returned to Caracas, the city was immersed in an atmosphere of great social and political turmoil, governed by interim figures supervised by a royal regent, Joaquín de Mosquera y Figueroa, who was considered a visitor and viewed with a negative eye by the Caraqueños. This atmosphere was not conducive to resolving a crisis situation and this was a circumstance which precipitated events in favor of independence.

Bolívar had returned to Caracas absolutely convinced of the need for American independence. He first tried to convince his parents and friends that this was the best possible solution, but, with the exception of his brother Juan Vincente, he did not really succeed. Partly because of the news from Europe, which arrived with a long delay and few details - because the public was only interested in these events from a distance, in a general way and without ensuring their accuracy -, so that its ability to assess the international situation was limited.

But suddenly things changed in a few days, after a series of events that caused general turmoil in Caracas. At the beginning of July, the governor of Caracas, Juan de Casas, received two copies of the London daily The Times, which the governor of Trinidad then gave to that of Cumaná, and which reported the news of the abdication of the Spanish throne in favor of Napoleon. The authorities tried to keep the n