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Tuesday September 24 at 6:30pm
Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON
Liberty or Death! tells the story of Richard Longfield Vowell, an audacious and intrepid young English adventurer who abandoned his studies at Oxford in 1817 to fight against the Spanish Empire that had ruled Latin America for 300 years. It is also the story of the little known British Legion, formed of English and Irish volunteers, which became an integral part of Simo'n Boli'var's patriot army.
This important first biography is based on extensive research undertaken in three continents. It uncovers information previously unknown about Vowell's exciting life and daring exploits - from his birth in a genteel English country town, to his campaigns in the far-off Americas, and to his period in the harsh landscape of Australia, where he confronted another empire and was subsequently and unjustly imprisoned on a remote Pacific island from which he made a dramatic escape.This absorbing account sheds light on a lost but fascinating episode of British endeavor and valor and its contribution to the shaping of the modern Americas.
About the author
Maria Páez Victor is a sociologist, born in Caracas, Venezuela where she obtained her first degree. She has an MA from the University of Kent at Canterbury and a Ph.D. from York University, Canada. She lives in Toronto, and travels regularly to Venezuela and Britain. A life-long enthusiast of Latin American and British history and politics, she participates regularly on Canadian and Venezuelan television, radio, and at public events, and has published numerous articles on recent and historical topics in both English and Spanish. As a curious anecdote, while researching for this book, a remote personal connection surfaced with Richard Vowell, who served under three revolutionary generals who are in the author’s family tree, among them José Antonio Páez, leader of the Llanero cavalry and later President of Venezuela.