With the Spanish finally driven off, Venezuela began putting itself back together. Luisa remains seated night and day without moving so as not to attract the attention of the guard. In 1806 he was able to scrape together a small mercenary force in the USA and Caribbean and launched an invasion of Venezuela. Young firebrand leaders like Simn Bolvar and Jos Flix Ribas were actively speaking of making a clean break from Spain. Bolvar had formed the Republic of Gran Colombia, which included present-day Venezuela, Colombia,Ecuador, and Panama. In addition, he abolished ecclesiastical privileges, cut off state subsidies to the Roman Catholic church, proclaimed religious liberty, legalized civil marriage, and also confiscated church properties, exiled the archbishop, and closed the convents. Liberal mismanagement and increasing political chaos provided an opportunity for the Conservatives, now led by Jos Tadeo Monagas, to return to power in 1868. The Mantuanos, who constituted the most powerful social group of the society, led an attempt to constitute a Governing Board to govern the destiny of the Captaincy General of Venezuela as a result of the invasion of Spain by Napoleon. "[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 historical period between 1810 and 1830 has been divided by Venezuelan historiography into four parts: First Republic (1810 -1812), Second Republic (1813 -1814), Third Republic (1817-1819), and Gran Colombia (1819 -1830). April 19, 1810: Venezuela Declares Independence, Bolvar Crosses the Andes and the Battle of Boyaca. 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. At theBattle of Boyacaon August 7, Bolvar scored a decisive victory, crushing the Spanish army. ThoughtCo. Venezuela was under the control of the patriots in the middle of 1813, except for the provinces of Guayana and Maracaibo. Minster, Christopher. Morillo informs Bolivar about the unilateral ceasefire of the Spanish army and the invitation to confer an agreement to regularize the war. This resulted in outrage among various sectors opposing said administration. Simn Bolvar, byname The Liberator or Spanish El Libertador, (born July 24, 1783, Caracas, Venezuela, New Granada [now in Venezuela]died December 17, 1830, near Santa Marta, Colombia), Venezuelan soldier and statesman who led the revolutions against Spanish rule in the Viceroyalty of New Granada. 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. Minster, Christopher. Meanwhile, exiled patriot leader Francisco de Miranda returned, and young radicals such as Simn Bolvar, who favored unconditional independence, gained influence. Although their effort failed, it forewarned of the revolutionary movements that were soon to inflame Latin America. His admirers point to his political and military genius and to his administrative, economic, educational, and religious reforms. Santos Molano, Enrique. The war originated in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain, which began in February 1895. . The government then began to reconstruct the war-torn economy by putting finances in order, establishing firm lines of foreign credit, and amortizing the national debt. By October of 1812, Bolvar was ready to rejoin the fight. This initial success of the patriots allowed Ribas to place his men in line of battle and with them he charged against the royalists, who responded with intense artillery fire. 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. In the early hours of June 24, from the heights of Buenavista hill, Bolivar made a reconnaissance of the royalist position and concluded that it was impregnable from the front and from the south. General Pez was the main leader behind Venezuela's break from Gran Colombia. [7] It was approved by the deputies on July 7.[7]. The resulting patriot victory secured Venezuela's independence, as the Spanish decided they could never pacify and re-take the region. The Guayana Campaign of 1816 -1817, was the second campaign carried out by the Venezuelan patriots in the Venezuelan War of Independence in the Guayana region after the 1811 -1812 campaignwhich had ended in disaster. Minster, Christopher. Spanish-American War: Causes, Battles & Timeline - History 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. In breach of the agreement with Miranda, he began a repression against the patriots in order to prepare the ground for the execution of his plans to invade the Republic of New Granada, which had been declared independent from Spanish power. There would be a vice-president who would replace the President in his absence. Boves defeated an advance guard of Montilla in the siege of Santa Catalina, after which he retreated to Caracas, and Boves entered Calabozo without opposition. Venezuela, in the late 18th century and early 19th century, was an economic powerhouse as well as an intellectual hub for Latin America. Minster, Christopher. Cuman is liberated on August 3, 1813, by Mario; Bolvar enters Caracas on August 6. Faced with the patriot retreat, the royalist Monteverde mobilized his troops to the site of Las Trincheras, sending a column of men to take position on the heights of the Brbula hacienda. Boves commanded the royalists in the Battle of rica that had as outcome, the death of the fearsome commander. For those who truly wanted independence, such as young Simn Bolvar, it was a half-victory, but still better than no victory at all. 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. 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. Chile's Struggle for Independence - Latin American Studies - Oxford On August 5, the last officer in the service of the King of Spain left Venezuelan territory: the freedom of Venezuela was decided. The pro-independence army advanced from San Carlos to Tinaco covered by the advance of Colonel Jos Laurencio Silva, who took the royalist positions in Tinaquillo. The decade or so that followed was extremely bloody, with unspeakable atrocities on both sides and several important battles, but in the end, the patriots prevailed, finally securing Venezuelan independence in 1821. Among the political, economic, social and natural causes mentioned by Bolvar are: On the royalist side, Monteverde, conceited by his success, refuses to hand over power to General Fernando Mijares, who arrived in Puerto Cabello from Puerto Rico and was appointed Captain General by the Regency. 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. [17] The Congress brought together representatives from Venezuela, New Granada (now Colombia) and Quito (now Ecuador). The Naval Battle of Lake Maracaibo also referred to as the Naval Battle of the Lake was a naval battle fought on July 24, 1823, in the waters of Lake Maracaibo in the current state of Zulia, Venezuela. The Federal Constitution of 1811 ratified the prohibition, given on August 14, 1810, by the Supreme Junta of Caracas, to introduce black slaves into the country. The royalist troops were numerically superior to the patriot troops. Chile's struggle for independence is known as the period in which Chile became a separate country from Spain. With this declaration, Venezuela became the first independent republic of Spanish America, and the fire of that declaration, fueled by external conflict, would spread the ideals of independence throughout all of the lands of Latin America. (Historically, it is customary to call the Colombia of the Congress of Angostura. In one of those battles, near Barquisimeto, the republicans faced the royalists led by Jos Ceballos on November 10. In 1806-1807 the British made a determined effort to capture the city. 1st edition, Harry N. Abrams, September 1, 2000. 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. Revolutionary leaders recalled him to Gran Colombia four years later to take charge of a ruling junta, which drafted a constitution and established an independent nation. The character of the Supreme Junta of Caracas as "Conservative of the rights of Ferdinand VII" did not allow it to go beyond the autonomy proclaimed on April 19. Bogota: Planeta, 2009. The republicans were defeated due to the lack of coordination among the army. [23] Some 24,000 people left Venezuela for the Caribbean islands, the United States or Spain. Venezuela - The independence movement | Britannica In the first six months of 1813, the resistance of the royalists collapses. [6] The newspaper Patriota Revolucionario, directed by Salias and Muoz Tbar, was its informative organ since June 1811. In contrast to the troubled times that preceded and followed it, the 183048 period of Conservative Party domination was an era of political stability, economic progress, and responsible administration. Still, the nation was in ruins and there was a military stalemate between the patriots and royalists. The elite of Caracas agreed on a provisional independence from Spain: they were rebelling against Joseph Bonaparte, not the Spanish crown, and would mind their own affairs until Ferdinand VII was restored. After some successes in Maturn and in knowledge of the advance of Santiago Mario on Cuman and the retreat of Gregor MacGregor, General Piar arrived at Chivacoa with 700 men and from there passed to Ortiz to threaten Cuman and serve as liaison to Mario and MacGregor. Bolvar did so and then promptly marched on Caracas, which he took back in August of 1813, a year after the fall of the first Venezuelan Republic and three months since he had left Colombia. Venezuela was a leader in Latin America's Independence movement. Between 1821 and 1823, the expulsion of the Spaniards from Venezuelan territory was ordered. He had outsmarted the Spanish during the Admirable Campaign, but he had not defeated them, and there were still large Spanish and royalist armies in Venezuela. Venezuela - Countries - Office of the Historian This intervention of Bolivar allowed the break of the enemy front, action that produced great confusion inside the defensive position, with the consequent triumph of the republicans. Bolvar had left Pez in charge of the armed forces of Venezuela, and he soon took full control of the country.