Post for 12/1: Revolutionary Heroes?

The last two weeks, we have talked much about revolutions in Haiti and Venezuela. In both of these discussions, I have been surprised by the history surrounding the leaders of these uprisings. In grade school, the little I learned about Touissant L'ouverture and Simon Bolivar almost deified them, as if they never made any mistakes.

In this class, though, we learned that almost as soon as he took power, Touissant essentially became a dictator. All I knew before this semester was that Touissant was a slave who led a successful revolt in Haiti. And Simon Bolivar, as I now know, spent so much time away from home trying to conquer new lands that his economy collapsed, his popularity tumbled, and his empire completely fell apart. Somehow, I never learned that before - my high school history classes only taught me that Bolivar led South America to independence, and that all South Americans love him now.

Historical figures deserve accurate biographies. Without them, our perspective on history becomes extremely warped. That is what is happening here with Touissant and Simon Bolivar, and the same thing has taken place with Christopher Columbus and Hernando Cortés. Lest we completely misinterpret history, we need to know all the facts regarding every important historical figure. The revolutionary leaders in the Americas are no exception.

Comments

  1. Linnea FrantzDecember 3, 2021 at 10:10 AM

    Hi there, Seth! I totally agree with what you have stated in your blog post. It is a shame that history often does not accurately represent historical figures, especially ones that have had such a huge impact on society today. Similarly, while I was made aware of these historical figures in my grade school education, I did not know their full story until this class. I think it is important that grade schools teach the full history, as not everyone goes on to college or university.

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  2. Madelyn StembolDecember 3, 2021 at 6:16 PM


    Hi Seth! I really like your discussion of how well known historical figures tend to have their flaws glossed over when we learn about them. I think we see a lot of this when it comes to American historical figures as well. We want things to be simple, to be black and white, but the fact is that that's just not how reality is. Perhaps if we start teaching about who these people actually were, we will be less likely to repeat their mistakes.

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  3. Médar SerrataDecember 14, 2021 at 7:09 AM

    Thank you for your post, Seth. I couldn’t agree with you more. We need to learn the facts regarding every historical figure--especially those who shaped our society-- if we want to avoid repeating their mistakes.

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