Ramtin Arablouei and Randa Abdel-Fattah

But it wouldn't be an easy path to independence.

But then, in 1819, Bolívar's army marched towards Colombia.

And Bolívar knew if they followed a typical route, the Spanish would defeat them again.

So instead, he decided to take a less predictable but ridiculously dangerous route through the Andes Mountains.

It's cold.

It's rocky.

It's mountainous.

Horses don't easily, you know, pass through there.

It's uncharted terrain.

Hoping that the element of surprise would carry them to victory.

For weeks, this caravan of soldiers, women, and children trudged through the mountains.

Some people got sick.

Others died.

But eventually, the army arrived in Boyaca, a town in central Colombia about 90 miles from the capital, Bogota.

They come upon...

a battalion of Spaniards who did not think that Bolivar's army, again comprised of these people, would take that route.

And Bolivar's army won, their first major victory.

Bolivar needed a victory at that time to be able to turn the tide and to gain some momentum.

And the Spanish finally began to look beatable, no longer an invincible force.

And within a couple of years, Gran Colombia was declared a reality as Bolívar set his sights on liberating the rest of Spanish South America.