Volume II · The Modern Age

Simón Bolívar

Revolutionary general and statesman; supreme commander of the northern liberation campaigns

2 engagements in this atlasRecorded here: 1819 — 1821

A reading of the engagements that name Simón Bolívar. These records trace part of a life, not a complete biography.

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1819

Battle of Boyacá

The setting
Boyacá River, near Tunja, New Granada (present-day Colombia)

River crossing and bridge with broken, hilly ground

Reveal the outcome

Recorded sidePatriots (Gran Colombia)

Recorded resultDecisive victory

Patriot victory; Bolívar cut the royalist vanguard off from its rearguard at the bridge, captured Barreiro and most of his force, and opened the road to Bogotá, securing the independence of New Granada.

How the atlas explains it

Coming off the grueling crossing of the Andes, Bolívar surprised the royalists and used the terrain to drive a wedge between their separated vanguard and rearguard at the river, defeating each in detail and collapsing their cohesion.

What followed

Effectively liberated New Granada and gave the patriots the base and momentum to consolidate Gran Colombia.

Full engagement entry, figures and caveats ↗

1821

Battle of Carabobo

The setting
Carabobo plain, south of Valencia, Venezuela

Open plain flanked by broken, difficult ground that channeled approach routes

Reveal the outcome

Recorded sidePatriots (Gran Colombia)

Recorded resultDecisive victory

Patriot victory; Bolívar sent a flanking column (with the British Legion holding firm) along a concealed route to turn the royalist position, then exploited with Páez's llanero cavalry to rout de la Torre's army.

How the atlas explains it

A flanking march over ground the royalists thought impassable unhinged their line; the steadfast British Legion absorbed the counterattack while mobile llanero cavalry exploited the breakthrough.

What followed

Secured the independence of Venezuela and the survival of Gran Colombia in the north.

Full engagement entry, figures and caveats ↗

The text gathers this atlas's public engagement records. Explanations and uncertainties belong to those records; an outcome here does not grade a life. About the sources ↗