Simón Bolívar (The Liberator): Patriot, Warrior, Statesman, Father of Five Nations, a Sketch of His Life and His WorkSherwell, Guillermo A. (Guillermo Antonio)
History
Simón Bolívar (The Liberator): Patriot, Warrior, Statesman, Father of Five Nations, a Sketch of His Life and His Work
Sherwell, Guillermo A. (Guillermo Antonio)
Bolívar, Simón, 1783-1830; South America -- History -- Wars of Independence, 1806-1830
It is worthy of notice that the reputation of Bolívar as an ambitious man
was discredited in the State Department at Washington by the very
person thought to be its originator. When Watts was in Bogotá, in his
correspondence with Clay (No. 19, Nov. 28, 1826), he asserted that he did
not believe in the anti-Repúblicanism of Bolívar, who had consolidated the
departments and acted with prudence and discretion. Watts expressed his
firm conviction that Bolívar would not act as dictator but in conformity
with the constitution, stating also the fact that Bolívar had refused the
Bolivian and Peruvian dictatorships. In his communication of March 2, 1827
(No. 26), Watts denies the rumors of the monarchial ambitions of Bolívar,
and says that he has nothing but the greatest magnanimity. On March 15,
Watts himself asked Bolívar to assume power.
All these stories of disinterestedness seem to be contradicted in the
correspondence of Harrison and Van Buren. In his note of May 27, 1829 (No.
13), Harrison speaks of monarchical plots, expressing his belief that
Bolívar is behind them, founding his assertions only on the opposition of
Bolívar to foreign princes. He is very free in speaking of _plans_, but he
gives no precise data about them. In his note of July 28, 1829 (No. 18),
Harrison states that the monarchists are determined to put Bolívar on the
throne, and adds that he saw a letter of "_a man in high position_ who
has enjoyed the entire confidence of Bolívar, but who is now in complete
opposition to all his schemes of personal aggrandizement." Bolívar,
according to this letter, intended to become the monarch of Colombia, Perú
and Bolivia. Then Harrison mentions the printing of a paper on the evils of
free government, and states that that paper, of which he had seen a single
copy, had the purpose of making propaganda in favor of Bolívar, but had
been suppressed for fear that it would injure Bolívar's cause. All this
sounds very much like personal hostility, and shows that the practice of
some diplomatic representatives of making trouble for the countries
where they are accredited instead of representing their own country in a
dignified manner is not new.
After the correspondence of Harrison, we find the papers of Moore to Van
Buren. In No. 10 of December 21, 1829, Moore affirms that Bolívar had no
monarchical designs and encloses a letter of Bolívar to O'Leary, ridiculing
monarchical government. That letter is dated August 21, 1829, and in it
Bolívar suggests the election of another president. Moore accuses Harrison
of insulting the Colombian government. The author is indebted to Dr. Julius
Goebel, Jr., for the references to these papers.]
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