August 6th, Tuesday | Why "Bolivia"?

The date is August 6th, Tuesday, and today I’m traveling from Mattapoisett, MA to Rochester, NY. 

 

On this day in 1825 Bolívia declared independence. The rumblings of independence began as early as 1808 when the Spanish crown was overthrown. The uncertain times in Spain created room for uprisings across all of Latin America, including Bolívia, which was then known as Charcas. 

 

Charcas had an uphill battle. As one of only two land-locked countries in South America, they had to drive out Spanish loyalists as well as fend off Argentina and Peru who both attempted to expand their influence Bolívia. 

 

Charcas was fortunate enough to have Simon Bolívar as their first president. Simon Bolívar had led the fight for independence in multiple countries in South America and to secure his leadership was an important step for a new nation. 

 

However, Simon Bolívar wanted Charcas to unite with Peru. It’s theorized that to persuade Bolívar away from that idea, the Charcas government council took the name “Bolívia” for their new independent nation. 

 

And today is the birthday of Alfred Lord Tennyson, English poet. 

 

Recognizable lines we get from Tennyson include:

• “'Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all”
• "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield"
• "Knowledge comes, but Wisdom lingers"

 

Born in 1809 to a reverend, Tennyson is more proof that you don’t have to have a torturous childhood to become a successful writer. He was one of five in a loving middle-class family. His father was savvy with money for a reverend and the family always had just enough to take a yearly vacation. 

 

Of course Tennyson did not lead a life completely free of strife. His father passed away when Tennyson was nearly done with college. When Tennyson returned for the funeral services he missed the end of the term and did not obtain an official degree from Trinity College, Cambridge. 

 

Two years later Tennyson’s best friend and brother-in-law suddenly died of a brain hemorrhage. On top of that Tennyson’s second book of poetry was unfavorably reviewed. 

 

It wasn’t until nearly ten years later that Tennyson would see literary success with his 1842 collection of poems titled, what else, Poems. 

 

Alfred Tennyson was appointed Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland by Queen Victoria and served from 1850 to his death in 1892. One of his enduring poems “The Charge of the Light Brigade” was written during his time as Laureate. 

 

Lord Tennyson remains the laureate with the longest tenure. He was also the first person to be raised to a British peerage (the “Lord” titled) for his writing. His is the ninth most-quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. 

 

 

Marriage Morning

Alfred Lord Tennyson

 

Light, so low upon earth, 

   You send a flash to the sun. 

Here is the golden close of love, 

   All my wooing is done. 

O all the woods and the meadows, 

   Woods where we hid from the wet, 

Stiles where we stay'd to be kind, 

   Meadows in which we met! 

Light, so low in the vale 

   You flash and lighten afar:

For this is the golden morning of love, 

   And you are his morning star. 

Flash, I am coming, I come, 

   By meadow and stile and wood:

Oh, lighten into my eyes and my heart, 

   Into my heart and my blood! 

Heart, are you great enough 

   For a love that never tires? 

O heart, are you great enough for love? 

   I have heard of thorns and briers. 

Over the thorns and briers, 

   Over the meadows and stiles, 

Over the world to the end of it 

   Flash of a million miles.

 

Thank you for listening. I’m your host Virginia Combs, wishing you a good morning, a better day, and a lovely evening.