Assignment 5a

The Independence period of Latin America was a time during the 19th centery, in which many countries began gaining their indepence from Latin America. Some dominant leaders in these revolutions included; Jose de San Martin, Miguel de Hidalgo, and Simon Bolivar along with many others. Some major countries where independence (revolutions) took place include; Haiti, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, Columbia, etc.

I chose to research Simón Bolívar since he was an influential leader in the independence of several countries of Latin America, such as Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Bolivia.

3 Interesting Facts:

1. Much of Bolivar's wealth was in his family, which came from the silver and gold mines that were located in Venezuela. An increase in mining in the 1600's lead to discoveries of more gold and of copper. It was the money from these mines that Bolivar used to financially aid in many of the revolutionary wars of this time.

2. On August 6, 1825, the Republic of Bolivia was created. Simon Bolivar is one of only a few men, in which a country is named after him. Bolivar is also known as "El Libertador". On August 6, 1813 Bolivar overtook Caracas and was given this name as a result of him establishing the Second Republic of Venezuela.

3. Simon Bolivar is not only well known in those countries in which he had political influence, but throughout the world. Bolivar has many things that are named in his honor, such as airports, cigar brands, an orchestra, a submarine, etc. This goes to show how powerful and influential of a man he was in his time.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n_Bol%C3%ADvar
http://gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/southamerica/a/VenBolivar.htm