Simon Bolivar

Simon Bolivar really caught my interest from this selection of writings. It was interesting that although he came from an aristocratic family he still wanted the various spanish colonies in the America's to gain their independence. Had his idea of uniting the Latin American states into a federation came to fruition history would have unfolded very differently. It is ironic that Bolivar was heavily influenced by the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, given the United States' track record of manipulating events in Latin America to promote American interests. Bolivar would have been devastated to learn Americans engineered the secession of Panama from Colombia. 

This selection of readings showed how powerful the ideas of the enlightenment became. Ideas we take for granted today, such as human rights or individual liberty were created in the Enlightenment. If not for the enlightenment thinkers the world would be a very different place. The move away from aristocracy and monarchy and towards liberty and equality happened worldwide. The world was becoming more connected as each day passed and ideas spread like wild fire. Ideas thought up by people in Europe travelled across the Atlantic Ocean and sparked revolutions.