Simon Bolivar The Liberator, as he is most commonly known, was one of the greatest Latin American revolutionary leaders in history. Bolivar was born in Caracas, Venezuela on July 24, 1783 of a wealthy family. His father, who died when Bolivar was three years old, was an aristocrat of Spanish descent. Six years later, his mother died and he was left in the hands of an uncle who administered his inheritance and gave him a very strict education. During his early years in Venezuela, Bolivar was educated by tutors appointed by his uncle who when the boy turned sixteen, sent him to Europe to complete his education.
In 1799, Bolivar settled in Spain where he lived for three years. In 1801, he got married with a Spanish girl of noble descent but the marriage only lasted a year. Upon her arrival to Caracas, the woman died of yellow fever. After this event, Bolivar decided to return to Europe and in 1804 he witnessed the culmination of Napoleon's reign and his coronation in Paris. This event was very influential in the life of the leader, who inspired by the events, reunited with one of his tutors, Simon Rodriguez who introduced him to the writings of European thinkers such as Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Buffon and many others. By this time, Bolivar had been deeply influenced by the republican ideas in Britain and France. .
Reluctant with Napoleon's frivolous acts of coronation, Bolivar, accompanied by his childhood tutor and friend, left for Rome. The turning point in Bolivar's life occurred during this trip where on 1805 in the Aventine Hill, he solemnly promised he would fight with his life to make his homeland an independent country free from Spanish control. Bolivar was then twenty-two years old. .
In 1807 he finally returned to Venezuela with his fellow countryman Francisco Miranda through the United States where they visited all the eastern cities. One year after his arrival in Caracas, he began the revolutionary movement benefiting from Spain's political turmoil due to Napoleon's invasions.