Independence Leader Who Liberated the Most Nations

Born in Caracas, Simon Bolivar led the military campaigns that won independence from Spain for what are now six separate countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Bolivia, the last of which was named in his honor in 1825. Historians regularly cite him as having freed more nations from colonial rule than any other single independence leader. His campaigns spanned roughly 1810 to 1825 across northern and western South America.