Bolivar and the War of Independence: Memorias del General Daniel Florencio O'Leary: Narracion

by Daniel Florencio O'Leary

The overthrow of Spanish rule and the birth of new republican governments in northern South America at the beginning of the nineteenth century were in large part the work of one man—Simón Bolívar. Bolívar was not only the soldier who built a patriot army from a small band of exiles and led them victoriously across Venezuela and down the spine of the Andes as far as Potosí; he was also the statesman who framed the new republics that sprang to life after the defeat of the Spanish and who called the Congress of Panama in hopes of making real his dream of uniting all the South American republics in a single confederation. He was truly the Liberator.  The Narración, or narrative, of the Memorias of Daniel Florencio O’Leary has long been recognized by Spanish American scholars as one of the most important historical sources for a major part of Bolívar’s life. O’Leary took an active part in the wars for independence, first as a young officer, recruited in the British Isles to aid the patriot cause, and later as Bolívar’s chief aide, often entrusted with diplomatic missions. His firsthand knowledge of the stirring events of the period, his access to relevant documents, and his close association with the major figures in the struggle, as well as his friendship with Bolívar, made O’Leary a particularly valuable chronicler and biographer. Bolívar himself, shortly before his death, requested that O’Leary write the story of his life.  O’Leary’s meticulous attention to military and diplomatic maneuvers and his keen, sometimes acrid, comments on both men and events give the reader not only a vivid portrait of Bolívar—the man and his achievements—but also a remarkable insight into O’Leary’s own position as an autocratic-minded participant in the wars for independence. Although O’Leary’s devotion to, and admiration for, his Chief make for an occasionally partisan view, his stark account of the hardships and disappointments that Bolívar and his armies overcame against almost impossible odds does much to balance the narrative.  In his abridged translation, Robert McNerney has omitted the Apéndice, documents that O’Leary, had he lived, undoubtedly would have used as the source for completing his account of Bolívar’s life. Numerous letters and documents scattered through the original text also have been omitted, leaving a highly readable narrative.

386 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1970

Reviews

[Javier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just finished the heartbreaking and abrupt ending of (this edition) O'Leary's memoirs, -when the Liberator returns to the capital of Colombia in mid 1826, then a cesspool of intrigue, sickened with partisan strife, treasonous machinations, and near-anarchy- I long to express in Spanish the feelings that this 4-month voyage to the period of the Independence Wars in my region of origin has impressed upon my heart:

Nunca veré ondear a la tricolor con los mismos ojos, porque es todo lo que queda de aquel sueño de Unión que fue Colombia.

While the book was in English (O'Leary's mother tongue as a native of Cork, Ireland) and based on the book's original notes written in that language; I will seek out the Spanish edition (translated by O'Leary) and perhaps re-read the whole thing again at some later date. This edition, prepared by Robert F. McNerney, Jr. (and with the help of the late Bolivar scholar Vicente Lecuna, whose selections of the Liberators correspondence I own) was meant for the "general reader", as per the introduction itself, and thus was ABRIDGED, a fact that the description in Alibris failed to mention, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered as I abhor abridged narratives, as good as they may be.

And while this one was good, I can't help but wonder what was excised in the cutting room. There were parts of the narrative that were delectably intricate and detailed, and then others that went by TOO FAST, like the battles of Carabobo, Boyaca, Junin and Ayacucho which are narrated in a rush and in the space of 1 or 2 pages each. We are robbed of the whole description of the intricacies of the battles and their fallout and probably where O'Leary's narrative -as aide-de-camp and an eye witness and combatant in most of these battles-, would have shined.

Regardless of my personal annoyance at this aspect of this particular book (especially since I don't know whether "the ending" is really the ending, as per the original edition), it is really a fantastic read for the GENERAL READER who wants to get acquainted with the war of Independence in the Southern sector of America, military history of the Western Hemisphere, and who is curious about the person of Bolivar, a truly great man despite all his faults, (not to mention the apprehensions that I myself held at the onset as a Guayaquilian; apprehensions that are only understood if you are one, and if you are acquainted with what happened there on July 1822. O'Leary himself offered his comment on how to view the Liberator on the matter of the annexation: "Only a captious critic would condemn the way the Liberator handled things in Guayaquil, as he could only have considered the Junta there as a de facto government, and the Republic had given him ample power to pacify the Southern sectors of Colombia..." that and the uti possidetis principle in effect at the time of the wars have really done much to change my mind and my POV on the subject)

If only these memoirs were mandatory fare in schools across South America...

The people there would understand that the legacy they've decided to uphold and carry through the centuries is that of the separatists, the petty, the corrupt, the greedy; those very ones that spat on the efforts of all those others who were great, and whose honor, magnificence and pride has unfortunately been lost. Today, the sons of Mariño, Paez, Santander or Riva-Aguero continue to rule these lands.

When the sons of Sucre, Soublette, Olmedo, Urdaneta, Anzoategui (and so many others) and Bolivar rise from the slumber of time and paradigm, that part of America will at last claim the rightful legacy of greatness it already paid for dearly during the process of Independence in the early XIXth century.

I leave this book then, in awe of the past, and hoping for the future.

[Henry Hildebrandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

No hate to the boy