Letter: Carta de Jamaica

Context and purpose
Written in Kingston on September 6, 1815, while in exile after the collapse of republican governments in Venezuela and New Granada, Simón Bolívar's Jamaica Letter responds to questions from an English sympathizer, generally identified as Henry Cullen. Bolívar uses the letter to explain the causes of Spanish American revolt, to interpret recent setbacks, and to persuade Great Britain and other powers that the independence of Spanish America is both just and inevitable. It is a sweeping meditation on history, politics, geography, and economics, aimed at shifting international opinion and rallying a dispirited hemisphere.

Diagnosis of Spanish rule
Bolívar portrays Spanish colonialism as a system of oppression that denied American-born Spaniards and the mixed-race majority meaningful participation in government, imposed monopolies and trade restrictions, and perpetuated social hierarchies that stifled prosperity. He argues that the Bourbon Reforms intensified exploitation and centralized control, igniting resentment among creoles and the broader population. He insists that the wars since 1810 are not mere provincial uprisings but a continental struggle for natural rights, political dignity, and economic freedom, comparable to the North American and French revolutions yet shaped by distinct American circumstances.

Explaining setbacks and seeking allies
Confronting the defeats that forced him into exile, Bolívar faults both Spanish brutality and the patriots' inexperience, factionalism, and premature federalism for the collapse of early republics. Vast distances, poor communications, and regional rivalries undermined coordination. He nonetheless asserts that Spanish reconquest is temporary. Spain is weakened by European wars and internal decay, and cannot permanently subdue territories so vast and resource-rich. He appeals to Britain as the likely external patron: British commerce would flourish with open American markets, and British principles would align with emancipation. He notes the United States' caution and Spain's hold on key islands, anticipating a gradual but irreversible shift in the balance.

Political proposals and shape of new states
Skeptical that a loose federation on the United States model would fit Spanish America’s social fabric and geography, Bolívar leans toward strong, centralized republican governments capable of imposing order, protecting rights, and cultivating civic virtue. He imagines a map of future nations emerging from the imperial carcass: Mexico in the north, a union of New Granada and Venezuela that he dreams of calling Colombia, and distinct polities in the Río de la Plata, Chile, and Peru. He expects Cuba and Puerto Rico to remain under Spain longer due to strategic and naval factors. The letter is pragmatic about forms, prioritizing stability and legitimacy over doctrinal purity, while warning that despotism in any guise would betray the revolution.

Continental unity and international order
Beyond state-building, Bolívar advances a vision of American fraternity. He calls for a congress of the new republics to deliberate common defense, commerce, and diplomacy, invoking the Greek amphictyonies as a model. He imagines the Isthmus of Panama as an ideal gathering place for such a league, a geographic hinge binding the oceans and symbolizing hemispheric cooperation. This confederative ideal seeks to deter European intervention, resolve inter-American disputes, and elevate Spanish America within a rebalanced global system.

Prophecies and enduring significance
The letter blends sober analysis with prophetic confidence. Bolívar predicts that the spirit of liberty, the logic of commerce, and the limits of imperial power will bring independence across the continent, though unevenly and at great cost. He warns that the greatest threats after victory will be anarchy, caudillismo, and the persistence of colonial habits, all of which demand enlightened leadership and institutions. The Jamaica Letter endures as a foundational text of Latin American political thought: a diagnosis of colonialism, a blueprint for republican order, and a continental agenda that would later inform the creation of Gran Colombia and inspire the Panama Congress.