Juan Vicente de Bolívar y Ponte

Juan Vicente Bolívar y Ponte (15 October 1726 – 19 January 1786) was a Mantuano creole elite man in the Captaincy General of Venezuela and father of Simón Bolívar.

Early life and career Bolívar y Ponte was born 15 October 1726, the son of Juan Bolívar y de Petronila Ponte and Petronila Ponte. At the age of 16, he served with distinction during the Battle of La Guaira and Battle of Puerto Cabello under Gabriel de Zuloaga. He was elected attorney general of Caracas in 1747. He served in the court of Spain, returning after 5 years in 1759. For his return he was made lieutenant governor and judge of confiscations in La Victoria and San Mateo. He raised the local militia of the Aragua Valley and the Yaracuy River Rapid Company and was the colonel of the former. In 1765, he was appointed an administrator of the Real Hacienda.

Although his father used the title Marquis de San Luis, awarded by the crown for financially supporting Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, Juan Vicente never used it. María de la Concepción petitioned the crown in 1790 for the right to use it for their firstborn, but were unsuccessful because of a lack of surviving documents about the right.