The Enlightenment For Independence And The Enlightenment...

In the eighteenth century, Enlightenment ideas of universal human rights inspired the American and French Revolutions. Following Napoleon’s invasion of Spain, such ideas also ignited independence movements in Spanish America in the early nineteenth century. Simà ³n Bolà ­var, the â€Å"Liberator† of much of Spanish South America, cited Enlightenment ideology to justify independence. In his â€Å"Cartagena Manifesto† and â€Å"Jamaica Letter,† Bolà ­var used Enlightenment political ideology to promote criollo ¬-led centralized authority and to inspire criollos to support independence. In his letters, Bolà ­var championed criollo-led centralized authority rather than decentralized federalism, which he assailed as the cause of the first Venezuelan Republic’s demise†¦show more content†¦Most importantly, such a contract created what Rousseau called the â€Å"general will,† a people’s common interests, which Rousseau charged governments and their people with the responsibilities to uphold and obey respectively (Friend). Bolà ­var’s criticisms regarding federalism echoed such ideas: â€Å"by authorizing self-government,† the federal system â€Å"disrupt[ed] social contracts and reduce[d] nations to anarchy† because each province developed and chased its own interests at the expense of a â€Å"general will† (6). A â€Å"single authority,† however, would be able to enforce—or even unite—the people under such a â€Å"general will† (8). Bolà ­var also pointed to missing political virtues and experience for federalism’s unsuitability in Venezuela, something for which he blamed Spanish rule; thus, his criticism of federalism also rallied his criollo audience against Spanish rule through Enlightenment rhetoric and appeals to criollos’ hostility towards peninsular discrimination. In his â€Å"Cartagena Manifesto,† Bolà ­var argued that federalism did not suit Venezuela (nor other Spanish American viceroyalties) because the Venezuelan people â€Å"lack[ed] the political virtues† which would allow them to exercise their rights and carry out their civic duties â€Å"to the fullest measure† (7). In his â€Å"Jamaica Letter,† Bolà ­var explained why: the â€Å"greed[y]† Spaniards â€Å"removed† the criollos from â€Å"the administration of the state,† preventing them from managing high-levelShow MoreRelatedThe Age Of Enlightenment By Thomas Jefferson1002 Words   |  5 PagesAs Pema Chodron once said, â€Å"whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment†. Our knowledge of self leads us on the path to awareness, wisdom, and understanding. The Age of Enlightenment emphasized solely on humanism through aspects of great thinkers. The 18th century movement was to improve how humanity operated as a whole. However, establishing a governing system was also important. Today the â€Å"Declaration of Independence† would be known today as our nation’s foundation. Established July 4thRead MoreJohn Locke And Thomas Hobbes1262 Words   |  6 PagesIndependence from England became a possibility for the colonists after the French and Indian War, which took place from 1754-1763. 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