Simón Bolívar’s Key Speeches and Writings
The Speech of Angostura
The Speech of Angostura was delivered by Simón Bolívar on February 15, 1819, in the province of Guayana, during the installation of the Second Constituent Congress of the Republic of Venezuela in San Tomé de Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar). In this document, Bolívar, as head of state, addressed the lawmakers not only to express his opinion on the proposed constitution but also to offer a profound reflection on the situation in Venezuela in late 1818.
Bolívar primarily wrote this text at his home in Angostura during the last months of 1818. He entrusted the originals of this important document to Manuel Palacio Fajardo, a gifted statesman and scholar, to solicit his opinion. Palacio Fajardo made some comments, which Bolívar humbly accepted. On February 15, 1819, the date for the installation of the Congress that Bolívar himself had called, a salvo of cannons, together with the acclamations of the people, announced at 11 am the arrival of the Liberator, commander of the Republic, and the entourage that accompanied him to the seat of Congress.
The Jamaica Letter
The “Jamaica Letter,” a historical document of deep significance that encapsulates the rich political agenda and strategic pedagogical use of Simón Bolívar’s liberating action, is a letter written to respond to a communication Bolívar addressed to an English correspondent, Henry Cullen. It is dated in Kingston, on September 6, 1815. In this document, Bolívar achieved high levels of political vision, a result of his efforts to place the struggle for Venezuelan independence in an American and global perspective. He exposed the most complete and viable theory of the independence of the Americas and its socio-political implications that had been made before.
The Cartagena Manifesto
The Cartagena Manifesto is a document written by Simón Bolívar in the context of the Independence of Colombia and Venezuela, after the fall of the First Republic. It explains, with great detail and precision, the causes of this loss. It was written in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), on December 15, 1812. It is said to be the first of many major documents by Bolívar.
Among the political, economic, social, and natural causes that Bolívar mentioned are:
- The adoption of the federal system, which Bolívar considered weak for the time.
- Mismanagement of public revenue.
- The 1812 Caracas earthquake.
- The impossibility of establishing a standing army.
- The opposing influence of the Catholic Church.
The Angostura Speech Publication
The Speech of Angostura was published in the Correo del Orinoco, numbers 19, 20, 21, and 22, from February 20 to March 13, 1819. The Liberator, in a letter from Tunja on March 26, 1820, wrote to General Santander: “…sends you the Gazette. Number 22 for the continuation of my speech, it is necessary to take greater interest in their corrections, because I’ve done in disarray, but what is should not be deleted. What is underlined, as are the expressions of Montesquieu, who was put in italics, and the currency in capital letters.”