He genuinely emancipated slaves, yet was extremely afraid of a takeover by pardos and all the savage hordes from Africa and America who roam like wild deer in the wilderness of Colombia (Bolivar 1821). In this regard, Bolivar very much anticipates Tocquevilles analysis in Democracy in America. This address is for the Congress of Angostura in which the first issue he places on the table is that the mestizos are not European, nor Indians, but a mixture of both Spaniard and native blood. 1. Bolivar, once again, was a man of the Enlightenment, but on this dispute, he seemed to be more on the side of Counter-Enlightenment figures who believed that the same political recipe could not be applied universally to all nations. It is certainly the case that, during Habsburg times (the dynasty before the arrival of the Bourbons), the Indies were not colonies in the modern sense. Reprint ed., Washington, D.C.: Press of B. S. Adams, 1919. One common colonialist trope in the 19th Century was the concept of Oriental despotism (Wittfogel, 1953), popularized by Hegel and Hegelians especially Karl Marx himself. Simon Bolivar was one of the liberators in the time of the revolution in the northern part of South America. One of the most significant transformations was his approach to the position of a President for Life. As complement to the strong executive power, in the Angostura Address Bolivar proposed a legislative power divided in two chambers: Representatives and the Senate. ), The Works of Joseph de Maistre. Like the North Americans, we have divided national representation into two chambers: that of Representatives and the Senate. It would be even more difficult for the laws of North America to be adopted in Venezuela. 1974. comments powered by We have been ruled more by deceit than by force, and we have been degraded more by vice than by superstition. This supreme authority must be perpetual (Bolivar 1819). Retrieved from: http://www.archivodellibertador.gob.ve/escritos/buscador/spip.php?article9987. An Address of Bolvar at the Congress of Angostura (February 15, 1819). But then, mysteriously, Bolivar argues that those very advantages are a good reason why a republican president should be endowed with greater power than a constitutional prince (Bolivar 1819). Poltica y cultura, 27: 929. Independence would, nevertheless, prove to be no easy task. Bolvar, Simn. Who can resist the lure of a beneficent government which employs an able, active and powerful hand to direct all its efforts at all times towards social perfection, which ought to be the end of all human institutions? (Bolivar 1819). If he attempts to infringe upon the law, his own ministers will desert him, thereby isolating him from the Republic, and they will even bring charges against him in the Senate. Delhi: Penguin Books. Bolivar had much admiration for Montesquieu, but in presenting his proposals for political organization, in the Angostura Address he added a fourth power to the three traditional ones (executive, legislative and judicial); the so-called moral power. Lpez, J and Lopez, J. Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. The Lycurgus legislature produced glory, virtue, morality and therefore national happiness (Bolivar 1819). An Address of Bolivar at the Congress of Angostura (February 15, 1819) Reprint Ordered by the Government of the United States of Venezuela, to Commemorate the Centennial of the Opening of the Congress (tr. The Angostura Address 200 Years Later: A Critical Reading. Madrid: Espasa Calpe. State Fullerton. Congress of Angostura, an 1819-1821 legislative body of Gran Colombia. Login has been disabled for this journal while it is transferred to a new platform. But, in the Angostura Address, he clearly mistrusts democracy, as it seems to cripple the strength of a nation: But what democratic government was ever able to unite power, prosperity and permanency at the same time? Yet, despite his obvious ambitions, in 1819 Bolivar still wanted to appear as to be reluctant to become a perpetual dictator. However, as we will argue in this paper, it is precisely due to the nationalist distortions that are likely to occur around the nature and context of the Angostura delivery that calls for a more critical reading of the document. No matter what citizen occupies this office, he will be aided by the Constitution, and therein being authorized to do good, he can do no harm, because his ministers will cooperate with him only insofar as he abides by the law. Death and Money in the Afternoon: A History of the Spanish Bullfight. It is unlikely that any liberal concessions from Spain would have changed his mind, but the fact that these concessions were very incomplete, and that they were ultimately abolished by Ferdinand VII, sealed in his mind the question regarding the break with Spain. However, he implores his audience of 26 representatives to take into account social realities of the former Viceroyalty when writing a new constitution. Indeed, Bolivars stance on the moral power coheres well with his authoritarian leanings. Simon Bolivar and the spectre of pardocracia: Jose Padilla in post-independence Cartagena. Journal of Latin American Studies, 35(3): 447471. What state is more powerful than Great Britain? Bolivar was certainly the foremost figure that synthetized formal political thought, constitutional doctrine, and revolutionary action. 7482. An Address of Bolvar at the Congress of Angostura (February 15, 1819). ; I am even aware, thanks to Montesquieu, that one can be a Persian. He thus anticipated these objections, by trying to assure the audience that a hereditary Senate would not be aristocratic: In no manner whatever would the creation of a hereditary senate be a violation of political equality; it is not a nobility I wish to establish, because that, as has been said by a celebrated republican, would be to destroy at once equality and liberty. He prepared weeks in advance the speech delivered on February 15th, 2019, to delegates of the Congress. Yet, despite his admiration for the United States, Bolivar insists that South American nations are not ready for federalism or even North American institutions as a whole, on account of a cultural mismatch: Would it not be extremely difficult to apply to Spain the political, civil, and religious code of Great Britain? I do not solicit the establishment of a nobility, for as a celebrated republican has said, that would simultaneously destroy equality and liberty. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Bol var and South American Originally published in 1923, as part of the Cambridge Plain Texts series, this volume contains the complete text of Sim n Bol var's address before the Venezuelan Congress at . Again, contemporary anti-colonialists may find much of value in Bolivars words. State Fullerton. Scanned by J. S. Arkenberg, Dept. Let us start by saying that by 1819, Simon Bolivar was a very uncertain man who had lived till then a hectic life. One of the main thesis of that classic work of political philosophy, is that American democracy is not only built on a particular form of government and its institutions, but also on the cultural foundations of Americans (Tocqueville 2004). 2015. Surely, the best homage we may render to Bolivar on occasion of the 200th anniversary of his Angostura Address, is to critically engage with his work, objectively describe his views, and present him as he truly was: a great man, but not a demigod. This may not seem groundbreaking today, but in 1819, it was. Comercio libre meant that various Spanish ports could trade with the Indies; however, the Indies could not trade with any other country. Although some historians still debate this (Damas 1983; Draper 1968) it does not seem to be the case. The Angostura Address, by contrast, is far more about Bolivars actual political proposals in thinking about what lies ahead for Spanish America after independence. Once again, Bolivar had to flee. This is not to say that Bolivars relationship to people of African descent was totally harmonious. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. His choice of admiration for an ancient Greek city, reveals his militaristic tendency in the Angostura Address: The Republic of Sparta produced more real effects than Solons ingenious creation, even though it seemed a chimerical invention at first. The ministers, being responsible for any transgressions committed, will actually govern, since they must account for their actions. Leiva, L. 1985. He stated that government should work in favor of the people because they are all "American by birth and European by law", and that they should have the same rights as the other Europeans. The conspiracy against Miranda July 31, 1812. Dilogos Revista Electrnica de Historia, 16(2): 219267. Precisely because no form of government is so weak as the democratic, its framework must be firmer, and its institutions must be studied to determine their degree of stabilityunless this is done, we will have to reckon with an ungovernable, tumultuous, and anarchic society, not with a social order where happiness, peace, and justice prevail. He was a staunch anti-colonialist when it came to Spanish America; but he had high praises for the Roman imperial ethos, he seemed content with the British imperialism of his day, and he repeated many of the tropes typical of 19th Century colonialist thinking. Liberty has been its cradle, it has grown up in liberty, and it is maintained by pure liberty. El caudillismo en Amrica Latina, ayer y hoy. The Viceroyalty of New Granadawhich included present-day Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, and parts of Ecuadorachieved independence from the Spanish Empire in a slow and uneven process. DOI: http://doi.org/10.16993/iberoamericana.427, Andrade G, Lugo-Ocando J. Predictably, very much as Bolivar did in 1828, watching over public morality in the Bolivarian Revolution became despotic in itself, and many of Venezuelas basic freedoms (but most especially freedom of speech; Venezuela currently occupies number 143, as indexed by Reporters Without Borders (2018)) have deteriorated over the last 18 years. He attempts to excuse himself thus: Only an imperative necessity, united to a strongly expressed desire on the part of the people, could have induced me to assume the dreadful and dangerous office of dictator, supreme chief of the republic (Bolivar 1819). The Congress of Angostura A Great Address and Campaigning in the Plains (1819) Congress did not meet until February 15, 1819, on account of the late arrival of some representatives. Document #41: "Address at a White House Reception for Members of Congress and for the Diplomatic Corps of the Latin American Republics," John F. Kennedy (1961) Discussion Questions; Further Reading; Chapter 16. During the Second National Congress of Angostura on February 15, 1819 Bolivar stood and gave an address that would form its own place in history. Ciudad Bolvar (Spanish pronunciation: [sjua olia]; Spanish for "Bolivar City"), formerly known as Angostura and St. Thomas de Guyana, is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolvar State.It lies at the spot where the Orinoco River narrows to about 1 mile (1.6 km) in width, is the site of the first bridge across the river, and is a major riverport for the eastern regions of . Mine is done. Oxford University Press. Retreived from: https://rsf.org/en/ranking. But, as it turned out, this was just to pay lip service as Bolivar assumed dictatorial powers again and again throughout his ensuing political career. Argentina: Progress, Stalemate, Discord, Understanding Argentinas Dirty War Through Memoir, The Challenge of Burying the Ley de Caducidad in Uruguay, The Spanish-American Republics, Theodore Child (1891), Document #24: What is Peronism? by Juan Domingo Pern (1948) || The Twenty Truths of the Pernist Justicialism, Juan Domingo Pern (1950), Document #25: Statement by the military upon taking power (1976), Document #26: Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Adolfo Prez Esquivel (1980), Document #27: Speech at a Dinner with the Council of Americas in New York, Nstor Kirchner (2006), Chapter 10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/ncr.2003.0004. But there is more. Caracas: Alfa. Bolivar, typical of his rhetorical style, concluded the Angostura Address with these words: Gentlemen! Latin America in the World Arena, 1990s - Present. When it came to liberty, Rousseau himself had some qualms about how truly liberal a State should be, to the point that he claimed in an oft-quoted phrase from The Social Contract, that subjects should be forced to be free (Roberts 2012: 117). ), but few embodied both military and intellectual talents. of History, Cal. Bolivars political program, as laid out in the Angostura Address, is straightforward. The Bourbons had a clear mercantilist economic program: the Indies were to be ruled only for the benefit of the mother country, Spain (Annino 2015). In modern times, he sought the protection of the British empire; in referring to ancient times, he consistently showed admiration for Roman imperialism, and had no words of criticism for it, as once again expressed in the Angostura Address: A monstrous and purely warlike government raised Rome to the highest pitch of virtue and glory, and made the whole world a Roman Empire, showing men just how much can be achieved by political virtue, and how trivial the influence of institutions can be (Bolivar 1819). 2015. Mindlessly appropriating the constitutions of other nations, he argued, would lead to Gran Colombias demise. The opportunity came in 1808 when Napoleon invaded Spain, and the Caracas junta which became the facto government- rejected Spanish authority in Seville in 1810, and reaffirmed its allegiance to Ferdinand VII, who was imprisoned by Napoleon. The rationale was that people with any degree of African descent would not be eligible for full representation. He first settled in Jamaica, and then in Haiti. After he assumed full dictatorial powers in 1828, Bolivar severely limited various basic liberties, appealing to reasons of public morality. Despite their genuine admiration for Bolivar, constituents understood that Bolivars argumentation in favor of hereditary principles of political power was very weak (not to say confusing), and that an institution imitating the British House of Lords would be nothing but a setback to old aristocratic times. In the context of early 19th Century Venezuela, this was a major accomplishment. They went from being controlled by oversea nations to being independent nations. Bushnell, D. 2003. On February 15, 1819, The Liberator entered the Government Palace of Angostura along with Rafael Urdaneta, Toms Montilla and God save Congress! (Bolivar 1819). The enforcement of public morality has repeatedly been associated with authoritarian regimes. Its culminating piece of legislation was the Venezuelan Constitution of 1819, officially adopted on August 15, but quickly made obsolete by the creation of the Republic of Colombia on December 17, 1819. During Simon Bolivar's address at the Congress of Angostura, in 1819, he argued for the freedom of the people of Latin America. DOI: http://doi.org/10.16993/iberoamericana.427, 1. A strongly rooted force can only correct this weakness. His success, however, would again be short-lived, as in 1830 Gran Colombia ruptured into its three original constituent countries, and Bolivar would have to march into exile and died on his way in in the city of Santa Marta, before he could make it to Europe. Helg, A. Bolivar was not really greatly concerned with these events in Spain. While in Rome and inspired by his early contacts with liberal movements in the old continent (Bushnell 2003) he made an oath to free the American countries from Spanish imperialism (Castro-Klaren 2003). of History, Cal. The Congress ultimately decided not to pursue two of Bolivars most controversial proposals in the Angostura Address: a moral power, and a hereditary senate. How is everything conspiring against the executive power in a republic? Again, Bolivar does not make it sufficiently clear. Not surprisingly, this quote (and Rousseaus political philosophy as a whole) has historically risen some eyebrows, as it seems to sympathize with authoritarian regimes, ironically all in the name of liberty itself. These leaders assumed the role of dictators while rhetorically expressing their reluctance to do so. Discurso del general Bolivar al Congreso de Angostura. This logic is very hard to follow. Bolivar was given some military assignments in defending the Venezuelan Republic against loyalists of the Spanish monarchy. Armed Trading Weaponry on trade ships. Bolivar, S. 1819. In the speech, Bolvar lays the foundations for the establishment of democratically governed Gran Colombia that is free from the burden of slavery and racial inequality. Throughout his post-colonial critique of Orientalists, Edward Said (2006) has documented how 19th Century Western scholars portrayed the East as some sort of mysterious place ruled by despots, mainly as a way to contrast the virtues of Western Enlightenment. This is his explanation in the Angostura Address: Nevertheless, the North American people are a singular example of political virtue and moral rectitude. Predictably, many of these celebrations were carried out without sufficiently critical and objective approach towards historical data. The address is presented in Spanish with a short editorial introduction in English. The Congress of Angostura is considered Venezuela's second legislative congress, the first being the one that met in 1811. The Angostura Address: Cultural identity, ethnic relations Although never formally educated in universities, Bolivar was a self-taught man and had at least two illustrious tutors who were the arguably the leading intellectuals of the region at the time; Simon Rodriguez and Andres Bello. In political storms this body would arrest the thunderbolts of the government and would repel any violent popular reaction. Bolivar himself made such a proclaim when arguing: Amidst that sea of woes and afflictions, I was nothing more than the miserable sport of the revolutionary hurricane, driven to and fro like the wild bird of the ocean (Bolivar 1819). Bolivar was deeply influenced by the Enlightenment thinkers. If the Senate were hereditary rather than elective, it would, in my opinion, be the basis, the tie, the very soul of our republic. Bolivars authoritarian turn came later in his political career, well after independence was sealed. But, admittedly, it had turned out to be very corrupt. Bolivars choice of despotic governments, once again, reveals that he was a man of his time. Admittedly, Bolivar came late to abolitionist ideals. Cuba: Key Colony, Socialist State, From Haciendas to the Peal of the Antilles, The Island of Cuba, Alexander von Humboldt (1856), Through Afro-America, William Archer (1910), Document #13: Montecristi Manifesto, by Jos Mart and Mximo Gmez (1895), Document #14: My Race, Jose Mart (1893), Document #15: History Will Absolve Me, by Fidel Castro (1953), Document #17: What is Cubas Sin?, Fidel Castro (2003), Document #16: Statement from Mexico City, Juana Castro (1964), Chapter 6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034670500001534, Andrade, G. and Lugo-Ocando, J., 2018. Charles III introduced a system of comercio libre, free trade, but the name is very deceptive. New York: Springer. In Simon Bolivar's Message to the Congress of Angostura, he states that Latin American people deserve their independence. 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