PDP8- Jamaican Letter

Author Bio: Simon Bolivar, also known as "El Libertador" is very well known throughout Latin America because of his famous political roles and manifestoes. He was born into a wealthy family and was the son of a Venezuelan nobleman who died when Bolivar was still studying in school. Bolivar then moved to Spain to finish studying and returned to Venezuela when Napoleon loosened up and countries started gaining independence. Bolivar led the revolution of Venezuela against Spain in order for them to truly obtained their independence which they declared in 1811. Once he beat Spain he declared the territory where he was as the Republic of Colombia. Upper Peru was renamed in Bolivar's honor, it is now Bolivia. Bolivar is clearly an important historical figure who assisted in creating Latin American countries that were free from Spain and also providing his opinions through societies through his manifestos just like his most famous, Jamaican Letter.

Data/Context: The Jamaican Letter describes the thoughts of Bolivar and what he believes the Americas will be able to accomplish and what they will not be able to accomplish. He provides details that he is unsure of but follows through with reasoning about why one way is better than the other and why that one way would be more beneficial compared to the rather. This letter shows a lot of predictions that Bolivar made while some are solid and actually did happen others are the opposite of what he believed would be able to work but they did.

Summary: Bolivar begins by describing how new the Americas are and how young they are in all the liberal arts but they are old in the civil society ways. He continues to look at how Americans are citizens of America yet they follow the laws of Europe and fight off the invaders and have rights that the natives do not who were truly there before the Europeans who turned to Americans came. He continues talking about the rights of the society and the domestic affairs that were not very strong right off the bat and how those affairs could have been strong if things were different. Bolivar then describes the social status of the Americans that live in a Spanish system and how they are like the lower middle class, greater than serfs or a consumer. He closes by stating his predictions and hopes for the future of America.

Key Quote: "From the foregoing we can draw these conclusions: The American provinces are fighting for their freedom, and they will ultimately succeed. Some provinces as a matter of course will form federal and some central republics; the larger areas will inevitably establish monarchies, some of which will fare so badly that they will disintegrate in either present or future revolutions. To consolidate a great monarchy will be no easy task, but it will be utterly impossible to consolidate a great republic."