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Simón Bolívar, one of the greatest libertadores (liberators) of Spanish America

Libertadores (Spanish and Portuguese for "Liberators") refers to the principle leaders of the Latin American wars of independence from Spain.

They were largely bourgeois, criollos (local-born people of European, mostly of Spanish or Portuguese, ancestry) influenced by liberalism and in most cases with military training in the metropole (mother country).

The most prominent libertadores were José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar, who had a famous meeting in Guayaquil in 1822, where they discussed their efforts of the past few years and the future of South America. They played a crucial part in the liberation and independence of most South American countries. Bolivar acted in the north liberating Venezuela, New Granada and Quito, and San Martín secured the independence of Argentina by liberating Chile and Peru.

Other prominent libertadores include José Gervasio Artigas (Uruguay), Bernardo O'Higgins (Chile), José Miguel Carrera (Chile), Manuel Belgrano (Argentina), Antonio José de Sucre (Venezuela) and José Joaquín de Olmedo (Ecuador), who played an important role in a more local fashion.

Others also referred to as libertadores in different contexts include Francisco de Miranda (usually called a precursor of independence), Manuel Rodríguez (Chile), and independence supporters and idealists such as José Bonifácio (Brazil), Eugenio Espejo, (Ecuador), Juan Pablo Duarte (Dominican Republic), and José Martí (Cuba).

Legacy

The flags of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador follow Francisco de Miranda's design of 1806. Also, Bolivia was named after Bolivar, who in turn was president of Colombia, Bolivia and twice of Venezuela. San Martín served as "President Protector" of Peru.

Liberators' names were used all over South America to name anything from towns and places to institutions and sports clubs. Also, the most prestigious international club football competition in South America is named the Copa Libertadores in their honour.

List of libertadores

Portrait	Libertador	Born	Died	Religion	Contributed to the independence of
	José de San Martín	25 February 1778(1778-02-25) Yapeyú, Government of Misiones, Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata; (now Argentina)	August 17, 1850 (aged 72) Boulogne-sur-Mer, France	Roman Catholic	Argentina, Chile and Peru
	Simón Bolívar	July 24, 1783(1783-07-24) Caracas, Captaincy General of Venezuela; (now Venezuela)	December 17, 1830 (aged 47) Santa Marta, Gran Colombia; (now Colombia)	Roman Catholic	Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia
	Manuel Belgrano	June 3, 1770(1770-06-03) Buenos Aires, Real Audiencia of Charcas, Viceroyalty of Peru; (now Argentina)	June 20, 1820 (aged 50) Buenos Aires, Argentina	Roman Catholic	Argentina
	Bernardo O'Higgins	August 20, 1778(1778-08-20) Chillán, Captaincy General of Chile, Viceroyalty of Peru; (now Chile)	October 24, 1842 (aged 64) Lima, Peru	Roman Catholic	Chile
	José Miguel Carrera	October 15, 1785(1785-10-15) Santiago, Captaincy General of Chile, Viceroyalty of Peru; (now Chile)	September 4, 1821 (aged 35) Mendoza, Argentina	Roman Catholic	Chile
	José Gervasio Artigas	June 19, 1764(1764-06-19) Montevideo, Real Audiencia of Charcas, Viceroyalty of Peru; (now Uruguay)	September 23, 1850 (aged 86) Ibiray, Paraguay	Roman Catholic	Uruguay
	Antonio José de Sucre	February 3, 1795(1795-02-03) Cumaná, Captaincy General of Venezuela; (now Venezuela)	June 4, 1830 (aged 35) Berruecos, Gran Colombia; (now Colombia)	Roman Catholic	Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia
	Ramón Castilla	August 31, 1797(1797-08-31) Tarapacá, Real Audiencia of Lima, Viceroyalty of Peru; (now Chile)	May 30, 1867 (aged 69) Tarapacá, Peru; (now Chile)	Roman Catholic	Peru
	José Joaquín de Olmedo	March 20, 1780(1780-03-20) Guayaquil, Royal Audience of Quito, Viceroyalty of Peru; (now Ecuador)	February 19, 1847 (aged 66) Guayaquil, Ecuador	Roman Catholic	Ecuador

Bibliography

• Robert Harvey. Liberators: Latin America's Struggle for Independence. Woodstock, The Overlook Press, 2000. ISBN 1-58567-072-3
• Marion Lansing. Liberators and Heroes of South America. Boston, L. C. Page & Co., 1940.
• Irene Nicholson. The Liberators: A Study of Independence Movements in Spanish America. New York, Frederick A. Praeger, 1968.

External links

• (Spanish) "Sucre, Bolívar y San Martín" Argentine Ministry of Economy