The Loss Of His Wife Changed Bolívar’s Life

Bolivar married Maria Teresa del Toro Alayza, who was 20 years old, when he was just 18 years old. The couple first met in Madrid and courted each other for two years before tying the knot on May 26, 1802. The young couple relocated back to Caracas, Bolivar's hometown, in July of the same year. Maria died on July 22, 1803, from yellow fever she suffered while in Caracas.

Bolivar made the vow to never get married again when still a young man after his young bride passed away, and he kept it despite having several mistresses. He traveled to Europe with his master Rodriguez in 1804. Rodriguez encouraged Bolivar onto the heroic course of freeing Venezuela from Spanish control in order to divert him from the loss of his wife. Through this, Bolivar's life changed from that of a depressed widower to that of a liberator. Later, he said that his commitment to his political career was motivated by Maria's untimely demise.