The Bourbons had a clear mercantilist economic program: the Indies were to be ruled only for the benefit of the mother country, Spain (Annino 2015). However, as we will argue in this paper, it is precisely due to the nationalist distortions that are likely to occur around the nature and context of the Angostura delivery that calls for a more critical reading of the document. Chodor, T. 2014. He appeals to the idea of a modern state of equality by claiming that "slavery is the daughter of darkness: an ignorant people is a blind instrument of its own destruction" (Boli var). The Congress of Angostura A Great Address and Campaigning in the Plains (1819) Congress did not meet until February 15, 1819, on account of the late arrival of some representatives. Colombia: Civility and Violence, Document #20: Press Release from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Secretariat of the Central General Command of the FARC-EP (2002), Document #21: Statement by Humberto de la Calle, Head of the Government Delegation to the Conversations Table, Humberto de la Calle (2013), Chapter 8. Thanks to these achievements he would then be invited by the Peruvian authorities to organize the military campaign against the remaining Spanish and loyalist forces in Peru and Upper Peru (modern-day Bolivia), thus completing the final defeat of the Spanish Empire in South America. Library of America. In order to achieve this political goal, Bolivar proposes conventional republican institutions: Venezuelas government has always been republican, it is republican, and it should always remain so. Shubert, A. This emphasis on militarism cohered well with his autocratic inclination. The executive power, consisting of two consuls, had the same flaw as Sparta. There was no exact distribution of power there. Strategies for Economic Development, Moments and Events in Latin American Economic Development, Document #35: Testimony before Congress on the Goals of NAFTA and Preliminary Evaluation, C. Fred Bergsten (1997), Document #36: NAFTA Equals Death, Say Peasant Farmers, Diego Cevalos (2002), Chapter 13. In the Angostura Address, he was clearly against it. As it was the educational custom of his times, Bolivar was deeply embedded in the Classics, emulating the spirited rhetoric of Cicero and other great orators of Greece and Rome. This logic is very hard to follow. Amrica Latina 4. In 1817, Bolivar captured the city of Angostura (now Ciudad Bolivar) and the whole of Guayana, and established it as his center of military operations. Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. 2004. His "Angostura Address of 1819" is much more than just a regular speech that any politician would make throughout the course of their career. The Congress of Angostura is considered Venezuela's second legislative congress, the first being the one that met in 1811. The population in the Americas was far greater than the population in the Iberian Peninsula, yet, only a minority of deputies posts were assigned to representatives of the American territories. The wording is unmistakably reminiscent of Benthams philosophy, and indeed, the English philosopher was a major influence on Bolivars political thinking. 2019 should definitely be a year of celebration, for the Angostura Address is a landmark political document. Bolivar insists that, in monarchies, the executive power becomes too powerful, as it enjoys too many advantages. Summary of H.R.541 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): BALE Act of 2023 On the contrary, aristocracy and monarchy have long established great and powerful empires. That is the goal of this article. However, he implores his audience of 26 representatives to take into account social realities of the former Viceroyalty when writing a new constitution. Precisely because no form of government is so weak as the democratic, its framework must be firmer, and its institutions must be studied to determine their degree of stability.unless this is done, we will have to reckon with an ungovernable, tumultuous, and anarchic society, not with a social order where happiness, peace, and justice prevail. Yet, there were still notable Spanish Enlightenment figures (Jovellanos, Mayans, Olavide, amongst others). But, he believed that federalism was not suited for the political culture of Spanish America, Indeed, this is the main thesis of his Cartagena Manifesto, in which he places most of the blame for the collapse of Venezuelas First Republic, on federalism. Annino, A. He begins the address by presenting the concept that "We are not Europeans; we are not Indians; we are but a mixed species of aborigines and Spaniards" (Boli var). Bolivars political philosophy, as laid out in the Angostura Address and other political writings, also took on these authoritarian leanings. He thus anticipated these objections, by trying to assure the audience that a hereditary Senate would not be aristocratic: In no manner whatever would the creation of a hereditary senate be a violation of political equality; it is not a nobility I wish to establish, because that, as has been said by a celebrated republican, would be to destroy at once equality and liberty. What government is more ancient than that of China? This bring us to one of our key questions: Had Bolivar already planned to be a perpetual dictator by 1819 and was the Angostura Address paying mere lip service to the principle of alterability in power? Although some historians still debate this (Damas 1983; Draper 1968) it does not seem to be the case. However, it would be a mistake to think that it was only after the independence that he became aware of this. Did not the Roman Empire conquer the world? The Angostura Address: Cultural identity, ethnic relations Although never formally educated in universities, Bolivar was a self-taught man and had at least two illustrious tutors who were the arguably the leading intellectuals of the region at the time; Simon Rodriguez and Andres Bello. Yet, as previously mentioned, his 1826 Bolivian Constitution stipulated a ruler who was basically a king without a crown. In the Angostura Address, he returns to this theme: The more I admire the excellency of the Federal Constitution of Venezuela, the more am I convinced of the impossibility of applying it to our situation (Bolivar 1819). It is extremely hard to follow Bolivars logic here. 80: Communist Interference in El Salvador, and Response to Stories Published in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, U.S. Department of State and Alexander Haig (1981), Document #12: Testimonies of Guatemalan Women, Luz Alicia Herrera (1980), Chapter 5. Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, vol. Mindlessly appropriating the constitutions of other nations, he argued, would lead to Gran Colombias demise. Yale University Press. El culto a Bolivar: Esbozo para un estudio de la historia de las ideas en Venezuela. Again, contemporary anti-colonialists may find much of value in Bolivars words. Unlike Jose de San Martin (who explicitly desired a Constitutional Monarchy for emerging South American nations), he constantly paid lip service to the toppling of monarchs. By the end of his life, Bolivar was a deeply disappointed and bitter man who wrote to a friend: All who served the Revolution have plowed the sea (Bolivar 1830). University of Chicago Press. Scanned by J. S. Arkenberg, Dept. The Congress ultimately decided not to pursue two of Bolivars most controversial proposals in the Angostura Address: a moral power, and a hereditary senate. On February 15, 1819, The Liberator entered the Government Palace of Angostura along with Rafael Urdaneta, Toms Montilla and Bolivar himself made such a proclaim when arguing: Amidst that sea of woes and afflictions, I was nothing more than the miserable sport of the revolutionary hurricane, driven to and fro like the wild bird of the ocean (Bolivar 1819). Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 47, no. He was a high-spirited revolutionary, but he understood the dangers of uncontrolled rage and racial vengeance. One of the most significant transformations was his approach to the position of a President for Life. As complement to the strong executive power, in the Angostura Address Bolivar proposed a legislative power divided in two chambers: Representatives and the Senate. Poltica y cultura, 27: 929. He liked to describe himself as the man of difficulties. 2003. But, such celebrations should be devoid of nationalist distortions, and they should be cleansed of the typical hero-worship that has taken place in Latin America for the last 150 years, and has accelerated in Venezuela during the last 20 years. What republic has exceeded in duration those of Sparta and Venice? El caudillismo en Amrica Latina, ayer y hoy. No matter what citizen occupies this office, he will be aided by the Constitution, and therein being authorized to do good, he can do no harm, because his ministers will cooperate with him only insofar as he abides by the law. Scanned by J. S. Arkenberg, Dept. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt6wrcf5. Yet, it is very revealing that, in this and other passages, he has a predilection for Rousseau. Despite this, it was still an important event as Bolivar would communicate the basis of his political doctrine. Nevertheless, his main concern was not so much with absolutism itself, but rather, with the exclusion of criollos in the administration of the Spanish Empire. Dynamics of Political Transformation, Supplement: Comparative Historical Analysis, Moments and Events of Political Transformation, The Historical and Contemporary Role of Women in Ecuadorian Society, Brazilian Sambas Translation and Dialogue with International Dancesport, Dominican Republic Latin America at the Movies, El Salvador Latin America at the Movies, Chapter 15. But, the Bourbons, and especially Charles III, embraced a program of enlightened despotism and absolutism that by 1810, had fully converted the Indies into colonies. Castro-Klarn, S. 2003. But, in the Angostura Address, he clearly mistrusts democracy, as it seems to cripple the strength of a nation: But what democratic government was ever able to unite power, prosperity and permanency at the same time? Charles III introduced a system of comercio libre, free trade, but the name is very deceptive. Even Benito Mussolini was an admirer of Bolivar (Caballero 2006: 72). Washington. and men of philosophical thought (Roscio, Viscardo, etc. This text is part of the Internet Modern History Sourcebook. The Angostura Address 200 Years Later: A Critical Reading. However, this juncture would be rapidly embraced by radicals as an opportunity to proclaim independence from Spain in 1811 under the argument that they would not bow to an illegitimate French King. Delhi: Penguin Books. In an oft-quoted passage of the Angostura Address, he argues: The continuation of authority in the same individual has frequently proved the ruin of democratic governments. Bolivar acknowledged that federal forms of government were theoretically virtuous, and that democratic systems of checks and balances were to be emulated. This thesis was put forth by Argentine historian Ricardo Levene (1951), in an influential treatise, Las Indias no eran colonias. Madrid: Planeta. We have been ruled more by deceit than by force, and we have been degraded more by vice than by superstition. Pablo Morillo and Venezuela, 18151820. ), but few embodied both military and intellectual talents. He stated that government should work in favor of the people because they are all "American by birth and European by law", and that they should have the same rights as the other Europeans. Needless to say, Bolivar hoped to become precisely a perpetual figurehead in the politics of the region and went to describe the role as follows: The President of the Republic comes to be in our Constitution, as the Sun that, firm in the center, gives life to the Universe. Stoan, SK. Consuls, senate and people all served also as legislators, magistrates and judges. 2015. Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, 47(1), 7482. The United States had just solidified their. Andrade G, Lugo-Ocando J. The Bourbon reforms sought to change that, and they succeeded in doing so. Silencios y disputas en la historia de Hispanoamerica. Indeed, in the 18th Century, a series of reforms began to be undertaken by the new Spanish ruling dynasty, the Bourbons. The authors have no competing interests to declare. Central America: Within the U.S. Orbit, Timeline for Central America, 1502-Present, Central American Profiles and Personalities, Forced Disappearance and Impunity in El Jute, Guatemala, Document #9: Introduction to the Shark and the Sardines, Juan Jos Arvalo (1956), Document #10: Acceptance and Nobel Lecture, Rigoberta Mench (1992), Document #11: Special Report No. London: Longman Publishing Group. He believes that The most perfect system of government is that which produces the greatest degree of happiness, of social security, and political stability (Bolivar 1819). Armed Trading Weaponry on trade ships. From: Simn Bolvar, An Address of Bolivar at the Congress of Angostura (February 15, 1819), Reprint Ed., (Washington, D.C.: Press of B. S. Adams, 1919), passim. However, later on, in the Constitution that he wrote for Upper Peru (named Bolivia in his honor) in 1826 and that he attempted to impose on Colombia afterwards, he stipulated the figure of President for Life. In it, from this moment, national sovereignty is centred. Under Jose de Galvezs (17201787) recommendation (after an administrative visit to the Indies), posts high in the military and civil hierarchy (including ecclesiastical appointments) ruling American affairs, would no longer be occupied by people born in Spanish America, but rather, by administrators born in Spain, i.e., the peninsulares. Hence, many expect that the 2019 will again be a year of nationalist unexamined joy, celebrating the Angostura Address. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh Press. To a certain extent, this implied moving away from its African roots, and some authors made it explicit that, in order to be more civilized, Spain should be less African (Shubert 1999: 2). Be as it may, however, the Constitution of Bolivia of 1826 proved to be his outdoing. Bolivar, S. 1821. Levenes thesis proposes that the Indies were actually kingdoms with the same legal standing as kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula; the implication is that Bolivars struggle for independence was unjustified. Despite Bolivars gratitude for Petions support, Bolivar was extremely concerned by the way the Haitian revolutionaries exterminated whites. Took on these authoritarian leanings he understood the dangers of uncontrolled rage and racial vengeance concerned by new. 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