“They defeated me five times in a row. I lost everything except the conviction that the sixth attempt would be mine.”
— Simón Bolívar
Bolivar was defeated in 1811, 1812, 1813, 1814, and 1815, losing armies, cities, and entire countries. Exiled to Jamaica and Haiti, he returned in 1816 and liberated six nations by 1825.
1815. Jamaica. Thirty-two, living in a rented room on someone else's charity. No army. No country. Spain had won. Beaten five times in four years. Everyone said it was over. I sat down and wrote the Jamaica Letter, explaining why South America deserved to be free. Nobody asked for it. One year later I was back with seven ships and two hundred men. By 1825 I had freed six countries. The people who tell you it is over are counting your losses. They are not counting what you still carry inside.