The name is absent

172        Hispanic America

assimilated by the Spanish creoles in America. Miranda,
Moreno, Torres, Narino y Luna Pizarro possessed the
qualities required in true leaders, and they were the bearers
of new ideals. The noble company of the heroes is still
more interesting. The military struggle over the wide
stage of the continent, traversing unbounded prairies, cross-
ing vast rivers and climbing rugged mountains, is one of the
greatest epics of all the ages. Heroes possess therefore
universal and human value. San Martin will always be
deemed one of the greatest captains of history; and
Bolivar, a consummate genius, may be considered the
Napoleon, the human prodigy, of Spanish America.

So it was that democracy arose in Spanish America amid
the most unfavorable circumstances, not by means of an
historical evolution, but as the result of a difficult task of
conscious creation. If I could synthesize the history of
Spanish America during the nineteenth century, I should say
that it was a struggle for democratic principles against
nature and tradition.

Now it is possible to explain the dictatorships, the eco-
nomic crises, the instability of the governments and the
periodic displays of social unrest. In all countries where
the upholders of liberty are compelled to fight against
serious obstacles, revolutions are unavoidable. History
recalls such commotions even among peoples of a higher
degree of civilization than those of Spanish America, such
as France, Italy, and Spain. France underwent the for-
midable commotions of 1830, 1848, and 1870. Also in
Italy occurred periodic revolutions until she attained her
unity; and Spain suffered the consequences of pronuncia-
mientos until she succeeded in establishing a democratic
monarchy. There is nothing more unreasonable than to
abandon hope for the future of democracy in Spanish

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