Nationalism and the Creation of Italy

Nationalism means to be patriotic and to be loyal and devoted to their country. In every country, nationalism is expressed by what the citizens of that country do. For example, here, in the United States, we express nationalism on Fourth of July and we watch baseball, a pastime in America. Also, in public schools, every morning we recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Also, Puerto Ricans express there patriotic selves, by celebrating the Puerto Rican parade. I consider myself to be patriotic because I celebrate the Fourth of July. We light up fireworks as a symbol of freedom in the United States.

Before the country of Italy was united, it was ruled by many different people due to the fact the Italy was divided into Empires. The rulers of the Empires were not even natives of the land of Italy. The nation of Italy was growing apart and due to that they began to put limits on the requirements to being a ruler in Italy. One requirement was that you had to be Italian. That narrowed the amount of rulers to two rulers. They were Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi. They both had different views. Mazzini thought that it would be better if Italy was separated into smalls states but Garibaldi believed that Italy would be better if they were united. He fought many battles in order to united Southern Italy together, while a count united the northern states of Italy together. These united states were then ruled by King Victor Emmanuel II. Nationalism erupted now that Italy was one whole nation. They were still many difference between Mazzini and people who wanted to unite Italy. Mazzini believed that people wanted to unite Italy for money and not the the unity of the people.

Simon Bolivar and Latin American Revolutions

Simon Bolivar was a famous Spanish man whose goal was to free a part of South America from the rule of Spain. His actions affected the following countries: Bolivia, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Bolivar was a leader of many movements involving independence throughout South America.

Bolivar was born in present-day Venezuela, but then went to Spain to finish his education. After that, Bolivar was in and out of Venezuela due to many incidents. He was part of the Caracas juntas which was a type of government where all the political power was depended on its military. When the leader of the juntas surrendered to Spain, Bolivar had to escape to Cartagena, Colombia. He gained military command in New Granada [present day Colombia] where he led the invasion of Venezuela. That began the Admirable Campaign. He was declared "El Libertador." Bolivar had taken over Caracas and later proclaimed the Venezuelan Second Republic.

After many battles, Bolivar traveled to Haiti in 1815. He requested aid from the Haitian President for the cause. The Haitian President provided Bolivar with aid in an exchange to free slaves. With the help of the President, Bolivar retreated back to South America to continue the fight for freedom against Spain. Bolivar helped New Granada win independence from Spain in 1819 after he won the Battle of Boyaca. In 1821, Gran Colombia, was created as a government, where Bolivar was the President. Many victories followed, and Simon ruled Ecuador and Venezuela.

Peru was partially freed from Spain, and Bolivar took it upon himself to fully free Peru from the Spanish, which he accomplished. Peruvian congressmen declared Bolivar dictatorship of Peru. As dictator of Peru, he reorganize the military and political systems. In 1825, in Peru, the Republic of Bolivia was created. He was honored by having a country named after him and he is one of the few men to have a country named after him.

Unfortunately, in 1827, civil wars broke out due to personal difference between the leaders of the countries of South America. The unity that Bolivar had fought for was destroyed. Bolivar died in 1830 due to tuberculosis. He had fought for many years for the freedom of the colonies from Spain. He accomplished his goals. Bolivar will aways go down in history as the great leader who fought and pushed through to free the colonies of Spain from their Mother Country.