In the years following, Bolivar fell in love with a noble Spanish woman. Soon after getting married, the young woman caught yellow fever and passed away. Her death greatly affected Bolivar and he said that this terrible tragedy was the reason he changed his life to be revolutionary. As a result of his education and the death of his wife, Simon Bolivar’s life changed into one where he began to be inspired by the idea of revolution and decided to become a fighter. In 1804, Bolivar traveled to Paris, France where he began reading a wide variety of political ideologies including those of John Locke, Montesquieu, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, and many more. Also on this trip, Bolivar met a German scientist named Alexander von Humboldt who mentioned to Bolivar that the Spanish colonies were ready for independence if they took the right course of action. From that point on, Bolivar vowed to liberate his home in Venezuela. At this time in France, a revolution had occurred and Napoleon was in control. Returning home to Venezuela, Bolivar discovered that Napoleon's influence had reached South America and Napoleon had put his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, in charge of the Spanish