In Tropes of Enlightenment in the Age of Bolivar, Ronald Briggs shines a much-needed light on the writings and life of Simon Rodriguez, early tutor to the hero of Latin American independence Simon Bolivar and an accomplished essayist in his own right. Bolivar and Rodriguez's lives intersected often after those early years. When Bolivar swore his life to Spanish American independence on a hill outside Rome in 1805, Rodriguez was there to witness the historic moment. And when Bolivar needed to shape the new government of Bolivia, he enlisted Rodriguez to serve roles in developing both...