Simón Bolívar

Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios South American Liberator (July 24, 1783 – December 17, 1830) traveled on December 24, 1815 to Haiti, arriving in the coastal town of Les Cayes on his way from Jamaica were he was expelled.

Simón Bolivar received help from the Haitian goverment under Alexandre Pétion for his military campaigns. Pétion secretly supplies Bolivar with 4,000 muskets, 15,000 pounds of powder, flints, lead and a printing press and asked in return for South America's slaves to be freed. (Heinl p. 158). Bolivar left Haiti on April 10, 1816 for Venezuela, but returned in mid September of that year to Les Cayes after lost battles in South America. Resupplied by Pétion he sailed from Haiti on December 28, 1816 this time to conclude his struggle for South American liberation from colonialism successfully.

Despite the crucial logistical support from Haiti, Bolivar never recognized the independence of the former French colony of Saint-Domingue.

References

• Heinl, Robert Debs, Jr; Heinl, Nancy Gordon; & Heinl, Michael (Rev. & Exp) (1996). Written In Blood: The Story of the Haitian People, 1492–1995 (Revised edition). Lanham, MD: University Press of America. ISBN 0-7618-0230-4.

• Wikipedia: Simón Bolivar