Juan Vicente Bolívar: Father of the Liberator and defender of the sovereignty of the Fatherland

Published at: 19/01/2025 08:36 AM

Juan Vicente de Bolívar y Ponte Andrade, father of the Liberator Simon Bolivar, died in the Province of Caracas on January 19, 1786, when his youngest son, Simon, was just two years old.

This man, a descendant of one of the wealthiest families with the greatest influence in the Captaincy General of Venezuela, was born in La Victoria, Aragua state, on October 15, 1726, the result of the marriage between Juan Bolívar and Martínez y Villegas and María Petronila de Ponte Andrade y Marín.

In 1743, at just 16 years old, he entered the military career under the orders of Governor Gabriel de Zuloaga, defending the Port of La Guaira from the attack of the English fleet under the command of Admiral Charles Knowles and in 1747 his courage was recognized when he was appointed prosecutor of Caracas by the members of the Cabildo.

From this moment on, he began to hold various important positions within the colonial administration, including: Lieutenant Governor, Corregidor, Corporal of War, Judge of Comisos de la Victoria and San Mateo, organizer of the Pardos Militias, Administrator of the Royal Treasury and Colonel of the Ruled Militia Battalion of the Valles de Aragua.

In 1773, he married María de la Concepción Palacios y Blanco, with whom he had five children: María Antonia, Juana Nepomucena, Juan Vicente, Simón José Antonio and María del Carmen.

Many historians agree that Juan Vicente Bolívar, together with the Marquis de Mijares and Martín Tovar, wrote several letters to Francisco de Miranda asking for his help to free Venezuela from the Spanish colonial yoke, which appear among the archives of the Generalissimo.

Mazo News Team