Simon Bolivar, also known as "El Libertador," was a Venezuelan military leader and statesman who played a crucial role in the South American independence movement during the early 19th century. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1783 and was partly educated in Europe. Bolivar led numerous military campaigns against Spanish colonial rule, liberating Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. He envisioned a united, independent South America, and worked to establish a federation of these newly independent countries known as Gran Colombia. Bolivar is remembered as a hero of Latin American independence and a symbol of the struggle against Spanish colonialism and tyranny.