Andrés Bello

Andrés Bello
Born	November 29, 1781(1781-11-29) Caracas, Venezuela
Died	October 15, 1865 (aged 83) Santiago, Chile
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Andrés de Jesús María y José Bello López (November 29, 1781 – October 15, 1865) Venezuelan humanist, poet, lawmaker, philosopher, educator and philologist, whose political and literary works constitute an important part of Spanish American culture. Bello is featured on the old 2,000 Venezuelan bolívar and the 20,000 Chilean peso notes. There is also a decoration, the Venezuelan Order of Andrés Bello.

Life in Venezuela

Bello studied Liberal Arts, Law and Medicine at the University of Caracas and graduated on [May 9, 1800] with a degree of Bachelor of Arts. He later became known for his early writings and translations, edited the newspaper Gazeta de Caracas and held important offices in the government of the Captaincy General of Venezuela. He accompanied Alexander von Humboldt in a part of his Latin American expedition (1800) and was for a short time Simón Bolívar's teacher. His relationships with both men will become a major factor in cultivating his ideas for his intellectual career. The United Kingdom availed the services of Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, Marquês do Maranhão, GCB, RN [Royal Navy] (14 December 1775 - 31 October 1860) to serve the Independence of Venezuela.[1]

Bello would spend 10 years after his formal education in his homeland of Caracas. He would author two pieces of literary work, Calendario manual y guia universal de forastero en Venezuela para el ano de 1810 and the Resumen de historia de Venezuela ^[1].

Both works will be widely accepted in Venezuela and from this point, Bello starts his career as a poet. As time progresses, Bello would further expand on his notions on Humanism and Conservatism. From his theories and ideas, Bello would eventually be hailed as one of the foremost humanists of his time.

Life in England

As First Officer of Venezuela's Foreign Secretariat after the coup on April 19, 1810, he was sent to London with Simón Bolívar serving as Diplomatic Representative to procure funds for the revolutionary effort until 1813^[2]. Bello landed at Portsmouth as an attache to Bolivar's mission on July 11 1810.^[1] Bello had an admittedly hard life throughout his stay in England though he managed to further develop his ideas and took a particular interest in England's social changes from the industrial and agricultural revolution.^[1] In order to earn a living while in London, Bello taught Spanish and tutored Lord Hamilton's children.^[3] In London, he met Francisco de Miranda and became a frequent visitor of his library in Grafton Street, as well as of the British Museum. During his lengthy stay in England, he curbed his feelings of homesickness and became contemporaries with thinkers and intellectuals such as José María Blanco, Bartólome José Gallardo, Vicente Rocafuerte to name a few. He stayed in London for nineteen years acting as a secretary to legations and diplomatic affairs for Chile and Colombia. In his free time he was involved in study, teaching and journalism^[4].

In 1823, Bello published the Biblioteca America with Juan Garcia del Rio which was widely hailed in Europe. ^[1] In 1826 he published the journal Repertorio Americano to which he frequently contributed as both editor and poet^[5]. His two epic poems by which he was made famous, entitled Las Silvas Americanas, were originally published during his time in London around 1826 and documented the emerging culture of the New World. The second of the poems Silva a la agricultura de la zona tórrida is the more famous of the two, and is a poetic description of South America's tropical lands in a style reminiscent of Virgil, a poet of great influence for Bello^[6]. The poems were to become a part of Bello's expanded epic America however it was never finished.

Life in Chile

In 1829 he accepted a post in the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Santiago Chile under the administration of Chilean minister Diego Portales^[7]. While a surprising candidate considering his Venezuelan birth, he gladly accepted the post and was later named Senator of Santiago. As Senator, Bello founded the University of Chile in 1843 and held a position as Rector for the remainder of his life^[8]. Until his death at the age of eighty-four, Bello worked tirelessly to train the young minds of the new republic.^[3] Such brilliant thinkers and writers as Victorino Lastarria and Francisco Bilbao were influenced by their time with Bello ^[9]

The Gramática de la lengua castellana destinada al uso de los americanos, or Castilian Grammar Intended for the Use by Americans, finished in 1847, was the first Spanish American Grammar, with many original contributions, a product of long years of study. Republished over the years with many revisions, the most significant of which are by Rufino Jose Cuervo, this is still a valuable reference work. Bello was accepted in the Spanish Royal Academy of Language as Correspondent Member in 1861.

Accomplishments

• One of Bello's most famous accomplishments is his promulgation of the 1852 Civil Code of Chile, passed by Chilean Congress in 1855.It served primarily as a governing code similar to Europe's Napoleonic Code. He worked on this Code for 20 years, and it was later adopted by both Colombia and Ecuador.

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