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jJane - Boliva
Once again we have the comfortable distance created by intellectuality; geography; the passage of time. Simon Boliva seems to have embodied extreme polarity ie. the humanitarian idealist and, in order to achieve his ideal, the barbarian. Given the limitations of the period, the circumstances, and the nature of the man, this was probably the only efficacious course of action to make possible his worthwhile vision. In my mind the words 'paradox' and 'relative' leap out in quick response. I don't know about anybody else but I'd be very happy to go through the rest of my life without hearing the word 'charismatic' ever again. The use of nomenclature is a profound and pivotally important aspect of how we view life. I listened to the oral coloration with interest in relation to Simon Boliva. Thank you once again for raising the media's average level. Best wishes
Richard Wallace
I thought this week's programme on Bolivar and his ideology was excellent. The wide ranging coverage from the european Enlightenment to the role of women in the Independence wars and modern day Chavez parallels highlighted the complexity of the period. Could the Enlightenment and revolutionary ideas and politics and their role in Spanish American Independence not form a fascinating television series? It would certainly be a refreshing change from the abundance of Henry VIII/Elizabeth/Third Reich documentaries currently occupying prime time slots.
Adrian Walls, Bolivar
I was interested as ever to listen to the program and noting haven just returned from Colombia where the central square 'Plaza Bolivar' contains a plaque on the Parliament wall pronouncing the nations gratitude to 'El Legion Britanico' for help in the struggle for the nations founding. I also visited Santa Marta, America's oldest city, where Bolivar died on a ranch, now a museum dedicated to him. The area is very much full of its connection with Simon Bolivar with the main square alongside Americas oldest colonial building named after him and his body lay in the Cathedral for many years until moved elsewhere?
Margaret Schooling, Boliva
I was in Bogota when the 150th? anniversary of the battle of Boyaca was celebrated. The British sent the Black Watch Band, and cadets from Dartmouth and Sandhurst to join in. I seem to remember one of the sailors was a descendent of Jaime Rook. It was a week of great fun. We drove up into the hills (near Boyaca I suppose) for the main ceremony. It poured with rain non stop and we had to wait for various presidents to arrive who were very late. The Black Watch kilts got water logged. We made up a song to the tune of Twa Recruiting Sergeants.
Iain Salisbury, Boliva
I concur thoroughly with Ms. Williams - fascinating and important things are happening in South America but the BBC seems unaware of the existence of any significant landmass south of the Rio Grande.The liberation of Ibero-America was, of course, a British project from the start and was prompted by the largely forgotten intervention of the Spanish in the US war of independence. I discussed this earlier this year in the Spanish newspaper "El Pais" and I thought listeners might find my contribution (taken from the International Herald Tribune English translation) of interest.Dear Editor,If, as David Alandete (Jan. 7) suggests, the influence of Spain in the 1776 North American rebellion is "little known," then the role of the British in the consequent demolition of the Spanish empire seems to have been consigned to oblivion. The failure of a vastly superior US force to conquer Canada in 1812 confirms that, without the intervention of France and Spain, the British would have had little difficulty subduing Washington. Neither European country achieved its war aims, however. Britain was not displaced as the pre-eminent power in the North Atlantic and, while European gains on the mainland were short-lived, Canada remained part of the British Empire until 1926.Louis XVI of France paid a heavy and immediate price. He had called into question the authority of a fellow monarch and the billion livre tournois, haemorrhaged by the war from his already catastrophic economy, prompted revolution among his own subjects.Spain's comeuppance was slower but no less sure. Early in the Napoleonic war,, the British government approved the "Maitland Plan," under which expeditionary forces would be landed in Venezuela and Argentina and then converge for an amphibious assault on Lima, liberating Chile en route. After abortive raids on Buenos Aires, and with Spain's support for France wavering, it was decided to recruit and train South American officers. The Venezuelan Francisco Miranda was encouraged to found La Gran Reunion Americana in London, a Masonic Lodge whose members included Bernado O'Higgins, Jose de San Martin, and Simon Bolivar. In 1812, the two legs of the Maitland Plan were put into effect by Bolivar in the north, and by San Martin, landed from the British vessel George Canning, in the south. The rest is, as they say, history.
Quico: Bolívar
A Venezuelan perspective:I've long had this feeling that the Real Bolívar is oddly inaccessible for present day Venezuelans. Mythologized and re-mythologized and then mythologized s'more by 178 years' worth of hucksters, dictators and wannabes of the left-right-and-center, the actual flesh and blood man behind the avenida, the plaza, the bank note, the bank and, hell, the name of the damn country, has more or less vanished. Sucked dry by the legitimacy-vampirism of Guzmán Blanco, of Gómez, of Betancourt and of él que te conté. Venezuelans are left in a kind of weird cultural netherspace. We know nothing about the person they're meant to all agree personifies our nation. The average Venezuelan probably hears the word "Bolívar" (or its derivatives - Bolivia, bolivarian, bolibourgeois, etc.) fifty times a day - so often that the referent has faded entirely out of sight.In Venezuela, Bolívar is the ultimate Empty Signifier.When the historical Bolívar is acknowledged, it is almost always in vague, reverential (if not deifying) tones. Critical appraisal is limited to a broad acknowledgement of the inhumanity of his War onto Death decree and the execution of Piar, themselves highly ritualized as "safe" territory for Bolívar criticism. It is criticism within the cult, and shorn of insight.Which is why, paradoxically, in order to gain some sense of the man behind the myth, you're almost forced to go outside Venezuela, and why this BBC show is so valuable. How often do you heard it acknowledged that Bolívar stayed in his room sulking rather than actually attending Napoleon's coronation? How often have you heard the Monte Sacro Vow placed in the strategic context of great power competition around Spain's ongoing war with England? As Manuel himself might say...¿Qué!?These facts fall outside the heroic arc of the official Bolívar narrative, they've been written out of the myth. They do not feature in our consciousness of the man, and couldn't. Paradoxically, it takes escaping to a foreign source, an English-language source, for these things to become sayable.
Joey Givan -- Simon Bolivar
The question of how Spain could occupy and govern such a large foothold in the new world for 300 years to Bolivar's time.On the programme for Von Humboldt, the remark was that Spain allowed very few people/foreigners to visit their colonies in South, central and north america. Von Humboldt was one of the first explorers in early 1800s to travel and document widely in Venezuela.
Caroline Doan - Simon Bolivar
Just a small correction on the following paragraph in your newsletter:"When Bolivar went to Tahiti (a black republic – the first place in the Americas to abolish slavery), the President gave him aid including 6,000 rifles, provided that when he went back to South America he would liberate the slaves."I think you actually meant Haiti - the President in question being Petion soon after the world's only successful slave rebellion. As someone who's currently living and working in the country, I can tell you that Haitians are extremely proud of that part of their history and, to this day, there are close links between Haiti and Venezuela - something that is not generally well known.Great programmes and love the podcasts!! Perhaps a programme on Haiti next to make up for the slight?Caroline
peter holland bolivar
I lived two years in Bogota and never saw any reference to him, yet on a recent holiday in Venezuela there are many monuments to him, plus of course Chavez`s adoption of his mantle.
Cherry Williams.
Simon Bolivar: Thank goodness South America is finally getting some acknowledgement on the BBC. Great programme.
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