General Simón Bolívar (1783-1830) was called El Libertador and the 'George Washington' of Latin America. This is a collection of Bolivar's speeches and essays that constitute some of the most eloquent writing not only of the independence period but also of any period in Latin American history. He analyses the region's fundamental problems, ideas on political organization, and proposals for Latin American integration. This edition is edited with an introduction and chronology of Bolívar's life by David Bushnell and translated by Frederick H. Fornoff.