ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/independence-from-spain-in-venezuela-2136397. The most feared royalist force was the "Infernal Legion" of tough-as-nails plainsmen led by cunning Spaniard Tomas "Taita"Boves, who cruelly executed prisoners and pillaged towns that had formerly been held by the patriots. On August 26, 1813, Bolvar personally took charge of the siege against the Puerto Cabello square. Although elected president as a Conservative in 1846, he soon gravitated toward the Liberals. Venezuela was a leader in Latin America's Independence movement. 15 Years of Strife and Violence end in Freedom. All over Venezuela, cities and towns decided either to follow Caracas' lead or not: many cities chose to remain under Spanish rule. By July of 1812, leaders such as Bolvar had gone into exile and Miranda was in the hands of the Spanish. The Cuban movement for independence from Spain in 1895 garnered considerable American support. Minster, Christopher. It usually covers the years 1808-1830, and it is much related to events in Europe and in other regions of South America, especially Peru and the area of the Ro de la Plata. Colonel Atanasio Girardot joined Simn Bolvar in the so-called Admirable Campaign of the Libertador and fought gallantly at the head of several battalions that managed to occupy the cities of Trujillo and Mrida. Bolivar and other generals such as Santiago Mario andManuel Piarfought them bravely, but in theend,the royalists were too much for them. All throughout his many adventures in Europe, he dreamed of freedom for his homeland. [23] Some 24,000 people left Venezuela for the Caribbean islands, the United States or Spain. Between the royalists and the earthquake, the young Republic was doomed. General Pez recognized Bolvar's authority and on February 12, 1818, with the Toma de las Flecheras where the llanero lancers crossed the Apure River and jumped into the river on their horses swimming before the confused sight of the royalists and took the Spanish boats. The son of a . It also implied the replacement of the absolute monarchy by the republic as the form of government in Venezuela. On the high seas, they are attacked by a corsair ship that seizes all the cargo and the passengers are abandoned on the island of Santa Maria in the Azores. Favorable pronouncements were given in Cuman and Barcelona on April 27, Margarita on May 4, Barinas on May 5, Mrida on September 16, and Trujillo on October 9. The war continues with two parallel campaigns, unconnected but effective, one from the East, commanded by general Santiago Mario, known as the Eastern Campaign, and another from the West, commanded by Bolvar, known as Admirable Campaign. In 1874, Venezuelan PresidentAntonio Guzmn Blancoannounced his plans to turn the Holy Trinity Church of Caracas into a national Pantheon to house the bones of the most illustrious heroes of Venezuela. Two days later, the matter was resolved when Congress voted to officially declare independence 40-4. Bolvar established his headquarters in the city and from there planned an offensive on Caracas that would be executed after a concentration of troops coming from the regions occupied by the patriots: Apure, Guayana and Cuman. The Conjuracin de los Mantuanos was a movement that broke out in Caracas in 1808. [5] On February 15, 1812, the Congress suspended its sessions and agreed to move to Valencia, designating it Federal City on March 1 that same year, when it resumed its sessions.[5]. He departed for Europe in 1877, leaving a puppet successor in charge, but when the opposition rebelled, he returned to crush it and resumed the presidency in 1878. Venezuelas Declaration of Independence in 1810, Biography of Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan Leader, How Latin America Gained Independence from Spain, Biography of Simon Bolivar, 'Liberator of South America', Biography of Jos Francisco de San Martn, Latin American Liberator, Chile's Independence Day: September 18, 1810, Top Ten Villains of Latin American History, Hugo Chavez Was Venezuela's Firebrand Dictator. "Venezuelas Declaration of Independence in 1810." In September 1815, Arismendi is ordered to be arrested, he escapes and hides with one of his sons in the Montaas de Copey. On July 2, 1811, a motion on independence was presented in Congress. On September 24, his wife Luisa Cceres de Arismendi, who was pregnant, is taken hostage to subdue her husband and locked up under surveillance in the house of the Arns family, days later she is transferred to a dungeon of the Castillo Santa Rosa in La Asuncin. The April 19 pronouncement was not the first of its kind in Latin America: the city of Quito had made a similar pronouncement in August of 1809. She gets hope for a triumph of her own, but at dawn, when all is calm, she hears only the wailing of the dying and wounded from the fray. when did Venezuela declare independence 1811 what did Miranda do that made others view him as a traitor and in what year signed an armistice in 1812 who was Jose Tomas Boves (what year) a royalist military leader who led the llaneros against Venezuelan independence supporters, 1814 llaneros cowboys what was the motivation behind the revolution He withdraws to Puerto Cabello, where his soldiers depose him from command. The provinces were represented as follows: Caracas 24 deputies; Barinas 9; Cuman 4; Barcelona 3; Mrida 2; Trujillo 1; Margarita 1. The first years of the nineteenth century were turbulent ones in Europe, particularly in Spain. That same afternoon the cabildo constituted itself as the Supreme Conservative Junta of the Rights of Fernando VII. In the northern part of South America, Simn Bolvar initiated his fight for independence by liberating the countries that formed part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. Russian warplanes visit . "[7], Francisco de Miranda and other members of the Patriotic Society led a mass of people through the streets and squares of Caracas, acclaiming independence and freedom. The equality of citizens before the law was established in the Federal Constitution of 1811. Lynch, John. Pablo Morillo tells in his memoirs that when he arrived in Spain, after the embrace with Simn Bolvar and the signing of the Armistice Treaty of Santa Ana, the King of Spain called him to his presence and said: "Explain to me how it is that you, who triumphed against the French, against the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte, arrive here defeated by savages. Roscio and Isnardi then spoke following the reading of the declaration. "[21], "Your Majesty, if you give me a Paez and 100,000 plainsmen from Apure whom you call Savages, I will lay the whole of Europe at your feet."[22]. Regional rivalries broke out in Gran Colombia while Bolvar was off leading the final campaigns, and his prestige was not enough to hold the country together after his return. The impossibility of establishing a permanent army. The Retreat of the Six Hundred was a journey of hundreds of kilometers through territory hostile to the patriots that occurred during the Expedition of Los Cayos in 1816, fighting along the way with few weapons and ammunition. Unable to return to Venezuela, Luisa arrives in Cadiz. The royalist troops were numerically superior to the patriot troops. The reconquest of Caracas by the republicans is for historians the milestone that marks the beginning of what has been called the Second Republic. Led by visionary radicals such as Simn Bolvar and Francisco de Miranda, Venezuela was the first of the South American Republics to formally break away from Spain. By 1800, people were talking openly about independence, albeit in secret. That same year, Bolvar lost control of Puerto Cabello and Francisco de Miranda capitulated in San Mateo before the royalist chief Domingo Monteverde, signing an agreement that consisted in the surrender of weapons by the patriots. After returning to Haiti and organizing a new expedition, Bolvar set sail from the port of Jacmel and arrived at Juan Griego on December 28, 1816, and at Barcelona on the 31st where he established his headquarters and planned a campaign on Caracas with the concentration of the forces operating in Apure, Guayana and Oriente but after a series of inconveniences he abandoned the plan and moved to Guayana to take command of the operations against the royalists in the region. The Battle of rica was a tactical military action of the Venezuelan War of Independence fought in the town of rica in the current state of Anzotegui on December 5, 1814, between the Venezuelan field marshal Jos Flix Ribas and Jos Toms Boves who was recognized for his extreme cruelty, both on and off the battlefield. He went to Colombia, where he was given a commission as an officer and a small force. Guzmn Blanco was the popular choice for president in the 1873 election. However, the inequality between social strata continued, although now based on the possession of wealth, rather than ethnicity.[26]. Feeling misunderstood in Cartagena de Indias, he decides to take the road of exile to Jamaica on May 9, 1815, encouraged by the idea of reaching the English-speaking world and convincing it of his cooperation with the ideal of Spanish-American independence. He marched unopposed into Bogota, and the volunteers and resources he found there allowed him to recruit and equip a much larger army, and he once again marched on Venezuela. After Venezuela separated from Colombia in 1830, the United States recognized and established diplomatic relations with Venezuela in 1835. The Battle began at dawn and lasted approximately six hours. https://www.thoughtco.com/independence-from-spain-in-venezuela-2136397 (accessed May 2, 2023). After the offensive he reached Carpano, after the royalists had abandoned the square, on September 15 he established himself in Cariaco and from there, with the support of Juan Bautista Arismendi's squadron, he opened operations against the city of Cuman, first-born of the American Continent. [7] It was approved by the deputies on July 7.[7]. Other revolutionary leaders viewed this action with contempt, and Miranda was subsequently turned over to the Spaniards, who sent him first to Puerto Rico and later to Spain, where he died in prison in 1816. [4], Guayana spoke out on May 11 in favor of the Supreme Junta, but upon learning on June 3 of the installation in Spain of the Supreme Central and Governing Junta of Spain and the Indies, it recognized the latter as the legitimate authority and distanced itself from the Caracas revolution. Before long, Bolvar had driven the Spanish out of the region and amassed a large army, Impressed, the civilian leaders in Cartagena gave him permission to liberate western Venezuela. He established a nationwide system of public primary education and promoted state support for secondary and higher education. In the first six months of 1813, the resistance of the royalists collapses. Integrity in government waned, heavy deficit financing ruined the nations credit, and the economy began to stagnate and decay. The resulting government became known as the First Venezuelan Republic. Herring, Hubert. [17] The Congress brought together representatives from Venezuela, New Granada (now Colombia) and Quito (now Ecuador). Las Queseras was the greatest triumph of General Pez's military career, in recognition of the brilliant action, Bolvar decorates him with the Order of the Liberator the following day. A new constitution was enacted in 1864 to incorporate the federalist principles of the victors. Colombia da a da: una cronologa de 15,000 aos. The following year Bolvars army marched south to liberate Peru, and in 1825 it freed Upper Peru (Bolivia) from Spanish rule. In October 1892 Crespo seized power. 2008 September - Venezuela and Russia sign oil and gas cooperation accord. On July 14, in a public and solemn act, this flag was hoisted for the first time. The political and strategic difficulties force Bolvar to suspend the "Barcelona Campaign", from there he leaves for Guayana where Manuel Piar was, leaving the forces of Barcelona under the command of general Pedro Mara Freites. Cuman is liberated on August 3, 1813, by Mario; Bolvar enters Caracas on August 6. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006. Jos Flix Ribas, a wealthy young patriot, rode through Caracas, exhorting Creole leaders to come to the meeting taking place in the council chambers. On April 19, 1810, Venezuelan Creole patriots held a meeting in Caracas where they declared a provisional independence: they would rule themselves until such time as the Spanish monarchy was restored. The army of the east, led by Jos Francisco Bermdez made a distraction maneuver advancing on Caracas, La Guaira and the Valles de Aragua that forced La Torre to send about 1000 men against him to recover the positions and secure his rear. The Venezuelan patriots had disembarked on the coast of Aragua and from there they divided into several columns penetrating through the jungle and reaching Maracay, but the offensive launched by Francisco Toms Morales in response to the disembarkation pushed them back to the beaches. Morillo informs Bolivar about the unilateral ceasefire of the Spanish army and the invitation to confer an agreement to regularize the war. "Liberators: Latin America's Struggle for Independence." Seven of the ten provinces belonging to the Captaincy General of Venezuela declared their independence and explained their reasons for this action, among them, that it was baneful that a small European nation ruled the great expanses of the New World, that Spanish America recovered its right to self-government after the abdications of Charles IV and Ferdinand VII at Bayonne, and that the political instability in Spain dictated that Venezuelans rule themselves, despite the brotherhood they shared with Spaniards. Still, they made some quick decisions: they outlawed enslavement, exempted Indigenous People from paying tribute, reduced or removed trade barriers, and decided to send envoys to the United States and Britain. On February 15, 1819, Bolvar installed the Congress of Angostura and pronounced the Discurso de Angostura which was elaborated in the context of the wars of Independence of Venezuela and Colombia. Once the first Republic was over, the main political and military leaders of the Independence went into exile. During all this time she was kept incommunicado and without news of her relatives. [7] On July 5, the vote was taken. The Capital of Quito would be Quito. You have taken from the enemy flags that at one time were victorious; the famous invincible call of Numancia has been won."[14]. He made a speedy march on Bogota, where the Spanish Viceroy hastily sent out a force to delay him. A Congress was called in early 1811 to solve the bitter fighting among Venezuelans. When the USS Maine sank, the United States believed the tragedy was the result of Spanish sabotage and declared war on Spain. Today, Venezuela celebratestwo independence days: April 19, when Caracas patriots first declared a provisional independence, and July 5, when they formally severed all ties with Spain. In this research paper, I will attempt to connect the . On July 3, 1811, delegates from the first National Constituent Congress convened at the Santa Rosa de Lima Chapel in Caracas regarding the matter of independence. One day the chaplain of the fortress, returning from his duties, passes by her door and stares at that woman in an attitude of defeat, of humiliation. Wealthy young nobleman Simn Bolvar financed the mission to London. But civil war followed. [26] Others think that the initial rejection of the independence process by a large part of the other social groups (pardos, Indians and blacks) gave it the nature of a social revolution, since these sectors wanted a transformation of the social and economic structure that would give rise to a more egalitarian society. Spain declared war on the United States on April 24, followed by a U.S. declaration of war . Liberal mismanagement and increasing political chaos provided an opportunity for the Conservatives, now led by Jos Tadeo Monagas, to return to power in 1868. It allowed the return of the charismatic Francisco de Miranda, vaulted Simn Bolvar, Jos Flix Ribas and other patriot leaders to fame, and set the stage for the true independence that followed. What was the effect of Venezuela declaring independence from Spain? On February 16, he set sail for Ccuta as there was danger due to the presence of Ramn Correa and his royalist forces. The campaign was a great success for the republicans under the command of Manuel Piar with which they managed after several battles to expel all the royalists from the region with which they were left in power of a region rich in natural resources and communication facilities that served as a base to launch campaigns to other regions of the country.[16]. In 1811, Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain. Harvey, Robert. The independence movement A group of Venezuelan Creoles boldly proclaimed their country an independent republic in 1797. The remains of numerous heroes of Independence are housed there, including those of Simn Bolvar, Jos Antonio Pez, Carlos Soublette, and Rafael Urdaneta. In spite of the setbacks suffered by the expeditionaries and by the Libertador himself in Ocumare, the historical importance of the Expedition of Los Callos lies in the fact that it allowed Santiago Mario, Manuel Piar and later Jos Francisco Bermdez to undertake the liberation of the eastern part of the country, and MacGregor with Carlos Soublette and other leaders to definitively enter Tierra Firme, to open the way to the definitive triumph of the Republic. (2023, April 5). Although the Letter was originally addressed to Henry Cullen, it is clear that its fundamental objective was to call the attention of the most powerful liberal nation of the 19th century, Great Britain, so that it would decide to get involved in the American independence. Seven of the ten provinces belonging to the Captaincy General of Venezuela declared their independence and explained their reasons for this action, among them, that it was baneful that a small European nation ruled the great expanses of the New World, that Spanish America recovered its right to self-government after the abdications of Charles IV This led to fighting and a de facto Civil War in Venezuela. [25] Nobiliary titles and aforamientos were eliminated, laws that civilly degraded the pardos were repealed, and the right to property and security was also recognized. San Flix and Angostura are liberated in 1818, giving the patriots a territory full of riches and with access to the sea through the Orinoco river. From there, and with the support of those countries, especially Haiti, they resumed the struggle. Pez dominated Venezuelan politics until 1848, both as president (183135 and 183943) and as a major political player. Guzmn Blancos regime had both positive and negative results for the nation. Boves commanded the royalists in the Battle of rica that had as outcome, the death of the fearsome commander. Great Britain repeatedly refused Venezuelas requests to refer the matter to arbitration, and in 1887 Venezuela suspended diplomatic relations. Caracas, predictably, exploded: people took to the streets declaring loyalty to Ferdinand. After several confrontations, Piar passed to the province of Guayana, where general Manuel Cedeo operated and united his forces, they advanced against the city of Angostura whose defense was held by brigadier Miguel de la Torre. Modern Flag of Venezuela Recognition Venezuelan Patriot Francisco de Miranda, a former general in the French Revolution, led a failed attempt to start a revolution in Venezuela in 1806, but many approved of his actions. (in Eng: "Our weapons, forever triumphant, humbled the fierce Spaniard, from the bugle to the martial voices that heard in its mountains the land of the sun. He lived in Kingston from May to December 1815, a time he dedicated to meditation and reflection on the future of the American continent in view of the situation regarding the destiny of Mexico, Central America, New Granadaincluding present-day PanamaVenezuela, Buenos Aires, Chile and Peru. The separatists were in favor of Venezuela's independence, while the fidelists were loyal to King Ferdinand VII. The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence (Spanish: Acta de la Declaracin de Independencia de Venezuela) is a document drafted and adopted by Venezuelan on July 5, 1811, through which Venezuelans made the decision to separate from the Spanish Crown in order to establish a new nation based on the premises of equality of individuals, abolition of censorship and dedication to freedom of expression. On the 20th, the Colombian army crosses the Tinaco river and on the 23rd Bolvar reviews his forces in the Sabana de Taguanes. The growing political crisis was brought to a head in 1848 by General Jos Tadeo Monagas. The cause of Civil War break out in 1826 was because of the election of Abraham Lincoln and slave and non slave states.The effects were seen on the economy and assassination of the president. This first successful rebellion in Venezuelas national history set off five years of revolutionary turmoil between the Liberals and Conservatives. An international tribunal handed down a decision in 1899 that failed to satisfy Venezuelas demands. [25] However, the figure of slavery was maintained until 1854 when President Jos Gregorio Monagas eliminated it. Venezuela was under the control of the patriots in the middle of 1813, except for the provinces of Guayana and Maracaibo. The concentration of the independence troops took place in the city of San Carlos, where the armies of Bolivar, Paez and the division of Colonel Cruz Carrillo converged. The Libertador did not forget that the first and second Republics had collapsed because the revolution had been oriented exclusively to the elimination of personal privileges or privileges of a feudal nature, and to the proscription of noble titles for the exclusive benefit of the rich Venezuelan or neo-Granadian landowners; without taking into account at all the mass of slaves or poor peasants who constituted the bulk of the pro-independence army. During the period from 1814 to 1819, Venezuela was devastated by rovingroyalistand patriot armies that fought one another and occasionally amongst themselves. The Municipality of Caracas confers Bolivar the title of "El Libertador" ("The Liberator") and "General in Chief of the Republican Army". Monteverde receives reinforcements and launches an offensive on Valencia, Bolvar waits for him in Naguanagua and on September 30, defeats him in the battle of Brbula. "The Complete Story of Venezuela's Revolution for Independence." Bolvar executed a "diversion" along the coast of Pritu with the purpose of diverting the attention of the royalists towards Caracas while the planned concentration was being developed, but the defeat suffered in Clarines on January 9, 1817, leaves this diversion without effect, for which Bolvar returns to Barcelona. The park was not captured by that column because it was prevented by its custodian, Captain Antonio Ricaurte, who upon seeing royalist troops in a position to capture that deposit set fire to the gunpowder and blew it up on March 25, 1814, with which he and those who were inside the enclosure perished. Although the invasion was a fiasco, he had proven to many that independence was not an impossible dream. Christopher Minster, Ph.D., is a professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. In early 1819, Bolvar was cornered in western Venezuela with his army. The conflicts were extremely bloody, and control of the central government changed hands several times.