Response to Bolivar's "Jamaica Letter"

Simon Bolívar's thought provoking letter not only addresses the current situation of America at the time, but also in a sense Bolívar prophesizes possible outcomes of what is to come. Throughout much of his letter, I questioned Bolívar's reasoning for wanting a free South America, as he came from a wealthy slave owning family. Yet, what is clear throughout his letter is that he only wants the best for America and for it to be, "regarded not so much for its size and wealth as for its freedom and glory." (23)
He begins his letter by mentioning the struggles and battles taking place throughout America at the time, and he especially touches on the hardships that Venezuela is suffering. The most memorable passage to me is when Bolívar suggests that the people of America are slaves to Spain. Bolívar's reasoning is correct in the fact that the people of America are being controlled and dominated by Spain, but what struck me the most was the actual word slavery. Normally I think of slavery as the oppression of races that white males believe to be inferior to them, and I normally do not think of whole continents as being enslaved. By using the word slavery it made me realize how oppressed the people of America felt. Since the people of America lost their ability to control their government, their economy suffered and for the time, when they were controlled by Spain, they made no progress.
Towards the end of his letter, I find that Bolívar is often questioning what the future holds for America. First he touches on how ruling America under one monarchy would be impossible and that, “merging the entire New World into a single nation…is both grandiose and impractical.” (27) Yet, Bolívar believes that uniting America is the only way for them to create change and win their freedom. However, Bolívar believes that once this freedom is achieved America should be divided, “into fifteen or seventeen independent states, each governed by its own monarch.” (24) Despite a slight contradiction on his part, I agree with Bolívar that America needed to unite to provoke change, and once this was done America needed to be divided into separate countries, as America is way too big to be governed by one monarch.
My final realization that came from Bolívar’s letter was how different and divided Mexico and America were. Mexico started revolts in 1810. While Bolívar believed that Quetzalcoatl could unite America, Mexicans would not respond to Quetzalcoatl, but rather Virgin of Guadalupe would unite the Mexicans. Despite both Mexico and America wanting freedom from Spain I did not realize how divided they were.
Bolivar’s letter is not only a historical document, telling what was happening in 1815, but also a letter with Bolivar’s own thoughts on what America must do to get their freedom and what America should do once they get their freedom.