Masculine Virtues and Feminine Passions: Gender and Race in the Republicanism of Simón Bolívar

Abstract

This article explores how gender and race infused meanings of the key concepts of virtue and passion in the writings of Simón Bolívar (1783–1830). Even when coding dangerous passions as feminine, Bolívar was chiefly concerned with masculinity. Influenced by European moral philosophy, he believed that the passions of vengeance, jealousy, and ambition, which held sway over weak civilian politicians and ambitious men of colour, gave rise to political factions that threatened national order. His solution was to inculcate republican morality in the citizenry through institutions such as a hereditary senate, a moral power, or a chamber of censors. Such political ideas and models of masculinity, rooted in classical republicanism, differed from liberalism's faith that if men were free to pursue their economic interests, the passions would neutralize each other. Although Bolívar's most radical proposals were not enacted, his moralizing goals were widely shared and shaped Spanish American political traditions.