[7] Independence was approved with 40 votes in favor. All throughout his many adventures in Europe, he dreamed of freedom for his homeland. It also implied the replacement of the absolute monarchy by the republic as the form of government in Venezuela. [5] The regulations also provided that elections were to be held in two stages: first, the voters appointed the electors of the parish; and then, these electors, meeting in an electoral assembly in the capital of the province, appointed the representatives to Congress, at the rate of one deputy for every 20,000 inhabitants.[5]. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1962. As in most parts of the American continent . On June 29, Bolvar's troops entered Caracas. On that date formally, through the document "Acta de Declaracin de Independencia", Venezuela separates from Spain. "The Complete Story of Venezuela's Revolution for Independence." what was the effect of venezuela declaring independence from spain In the battle of Araure, the action of the nameless battalion was decisive. Some claim that the independence was an eminently political revolution, since many of its main promoters were from the local aristocracy, who would not be interested in radically changing the existing conditions of social inequality, so as not to jeopardize the hegemony to which they aspired. Generally, The legal-political procedure that ended the connections between the Captaincy General of Venezuela and the Spanish Empire was Venezuela's declaration of independence. 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 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. Venezuelan War of Independence - Wikipedia Patriot warlords back in Venezuela, such as Mario and Pez, finally smelled victory and began to close in on Caracas. In 1807 the Spanish king, Charles IV, granted passage through Spanish territory to Napoleon 's forces on their way to invade Portugal. [1], Last edited on 20 February 2023, at 01:42, Learn how and when to remove this template message, museo de la Casa de las Primeras Letras Simn Rodrguez, Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America, "Agregan la firma de Chvez al acta de Independencia de 1811", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Venezuelan_Declaration_of_Independence&oldid=1140431474, This page was last edited on 20 February 2023, at 01:42. The Supreme Congress of Venezuela was installed on March 2, 1811, in the house of the Count of San Javier (present "El Conde" corner in Caracas). On August 30, 1821, Gran Colombia, a conglomerate of recently freed countries . Venezuelan independence - Wikipedia That day is celebrated in Venezuela as its national day. In September 1815, Arismendi is ordered to be arrested, he escapes and hides with one of his sons in the Montaas de Copey. [20] The Treaty of Armistice was: "Whereby war shall henceforth be waged between Spain and Colombia as it is waged by civilized peoples.". When news reached Caracas that a loyalist Spanish government had been set up in Seville in defiance of Napoleon, things cooled down for a while and Las Casas was able to re-establish control. The projection of the treaty was of such magnitude that Bolvar wrote in one of his letters: "() this treaty is worthy of Sucre's soul ()". A new constitution in 1872 proclaimed representative government, suffrage for all males, and direct election of the president. The first independence attempts took place in Venezuela at the end of the 18th century. The patriots held 200 prisoners, four flags and numerous pieces of artillery. (2023, April 5). The military situation is complicated by the appearance of Jos Toms Boves, Asturian, who organizes an army that fights on the side of the royalists and revolts the black or mestizo population against the Venezuelan whites, that is to say, those who lead the independence process. The Libertador requested help from the neo-Granadian government through the Cartagena Manifesto, which was conceived for the actions he had already carried out in that country. The May Revolution in Argentina - ThoughtCo The hostilities were initiated by Boves, when he went out with his column to confront the one commanded by Colonel Bermudez, who was able to reject the attack. The aim of the document was to change public opinion about the Venezuelan war of liberation, so that instead of being seen as a mere civil war in one of the colonies of Spain, it would be seen as an international war between two countries, Venezuela and Spain. This page was last edited on 8 February 2023, at 04:55. In 1857 the Monagas brothers attempted to impose a new constitution extending the presidential term from four to six years and removing all restrictions on reelection. The statue that immortalizes Ricaurte's heroic gesture in the "Ingenio Bolivar in San Mateo" is a work of the sculptor Lorenzo Gonzalez. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/independence-from-spain-in-venezuela-2136397. Minster, Christopher. Venezuela - Countries - Office of the Historian 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]. The conflicts were extremely bloody, and control of the central government changed hands several times. 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. A sentry watches even her slightest movements, and she is forced to eat the ranch that they give her as her only food. In 1830, New Granada, Venezuela and Quito separated. The Capital of Quito would be Quito. The Battle began at dawn and lasted approximately six hours. "[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 following year Bolvars army marched south to liberate Peru, and in 1825 it freed Upper Peru (Bolivia) from Spanish rule. After that, the others generally accepted Bolvar's leadership. Influential factors include the desire for power of the creole social groups that possessed social and economic status but not political, the discontent of the population due to mismanagement and the rise of taxes,[2] the introduction of the ideas of Encyclopedism, the Enlightenment, the Declaration of Independence of the United States, the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, and the reign of Joseph I of Spain. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. (Historically, it is customary to call the Colombia of the Congress of Angostura. Between the royalists and the earthquake, the young Republic was doomed. On July 2, 1811, a motion on independence was presented in Congress. Here fought the battalion that in the past day of Barquisimeto was punished by the Libertador, denying him the name and the right to carry the flag. "[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]. 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. The reconquest of Caracas by the republicans is for historians the milestone that marks the beginning of what has been called the Second Republic. April 19 is known as "Firma Acta de la Independencia" or "Signing of the Act of Independence." The war originated in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain, which began in February 1895. . 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 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. The original Book of Minutes of the first Congress of Venezuela is in the Federal Legislative Palace in Caracas. Then, Francisco de Miranda, at the age of 61, was named Commander in Chief of the Army and left with his troops for Valencia on the 19th. April 19 is known as Firma Acta de la Independencia or Signing of the Act of Independence.. The Declaration of Independence in Global Perspective The independence of Venezuela was the juridical-political process with the purpose of breaking the ties that existed between the Captaincy General of Venezuela and the Spanish Empire. Still, the independence of Caracas had much longer lasting effects than that of Quito, which was quickly put down. On August 30, 1821, Gran Colombia, a conglomerate of recently freed countries formerly part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada (including modern-day Colombia and Venezuela . 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. On July 5, 1811, the ruling junta voted in favor of complete Independence from Spain - their self-rule was no longer dependent on the state of the Spanish king. Venezuelans suffered greater casualties and endured more privations during the wars than did any other Latin American national group, because of the ferocity of battles on their own soil and the large number of Venezuelan troops who carried the struggle to other regions. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. The son of a . In 1806 Francisco de Mirandawho had earlier fought under George Washington against the British, served as a general in the French Revolution, and fought with the French against Prussia and Russiatried unsuccessfully to land on the Venezuelan coast with a group of mercenaries whom he had recruited in New York City. All over Venezuela, cities and towns decided either to follow Caracas' lead or not: many cities chose to remain under Spanish rule. Pez dominated Venezuelan politics until 1848, both as president (183135 and 183943) and as a major political player. The new president took to the field himself and subjugated the country in less than two years; he thereupon launched a broad program of reform and development. What was the effect of Venezuela declaring independence from Spain? With Jos Antonio Pez and in Guayana with Manuel Piar. Patriot leaders such as Manuel Piar, Jos AntonioPez,and Simn Bolivar did not necessarily acknowledge one another's authority, leading to a lack of a coherent battle plan tofree Venezuela. The Mantuanos, who did not tolerate the patriots, appointed the Marquis del Toro as commander to confront the Valencian uprising, but on July 15 he was defeated. Cuman is liberated on August 3, 1813, by Mario; Bolvar enters Caracas on August 6. Bolvar died in Santa Marta, Colombia, in 1830, penniless and disillusioned. Venezuela's Revolution for Independence from Spain - ThoughtCo The separatists were in favor of Venezuela's independence, while the fidelists were loyal to King Ferdinand VII. Their incursions ended in failures due to the religious preaching against them and the indifference of the population. He established a nationwide system of public primary education and promoted state support for secondary and higher education. He withdraws to Puerto Cabello, where his soldiers depose him from command. The republicans were defeated due to the lack of coordination among the army. When the armistice expired on April 28, 1821, both sides began a mobilization of their forces, the Spaniards had a deployment that favored a combat "in detail", defeating the patriot divisions one at a time. At this moment, Ribas ordered the Rompelneas columns to attack the enemy right column, which was successfully executed. On March 26, 1812, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, an earthquake destroyed Caracas causing great damage and the death of about 20,000 people. In the opinion of some historians, Boves took advantage of the social resentment existing in this group. Guzmns new liberal newspaper, El Venezolano, demanded abolition of slavery, extension of voting rights, and protection for the debtor classes. On 3 May 1816, they touch Venezuelan soil on the island of Margarita, where on the 6 May, an assembly headed by General Juan Bautista Arismendi ratifies the special powers conferred to Bolvar in Los Cayos. The first of them tries twice in 1806 to invade the Venezuelan territory through La Vela de Coro, led by General Francisco de Miranda, with an armed expedition coming from Haiti. Venezuela - The independence movement | Britannica This Treaty was signed for six months and obliged both armies to remain in the positions they occupied at the time of its signing. [24] The authorities of the Republic decreed a naval blockade of the coasts of the country, the entrance to Lake Maracaibo was forced by Admiral Padilla on May 8, 1823, and after several limited actions the decisive battle took place on July 24, 1823, resulting in a complete Colombian triumph. During the royalist attack, Francisco Toms Morales took possession of the sugar mill while one of his columnsgoing down the Los Cucharos rowtook the "high house". The Spanish had managed to reconquer the provinces of Coro and Maracaibo, which gave them considerable territory in the west of the country. An international tribunal handed down a decision in 1899 that failed to satisfy Venezuelas demands. Venezuelan Revolution Flashcards | Quizlet Early in 1813 the revolutionary junta appointed Simn Bolvar commander of the Venezuelan forces. The Cuban movement for independence from Spain in 1895 garnered considerable American support. New Granada was renamed Cundinamarca and its capital, Santa Fe renamed Bogot. Venezuela broke away in 1829, and Ecuador soon after. Venezuelan Declaration of Independence - Wikipedia As president in 186468, Falcn appeared content to allow subordinates, many of them irresponsible, to rule at both the state and national levels. 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. Economic reforms, such as restoration of the nations credit by means of new bond issues and generous concessions to foreign investors, gave further evidence of Guzmn Blancos apparent devotion to Liberal Party principles. In 1817, Bolvar hadPiararrested and executed, putting the other warlords on notice that he would deal with them harshly as well. 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. [25] These provisions have remained in the other constitutions passed over time in Venezuela. Venezuela's Declaration of Independence in 1810 - ThoughtCo (2020, August 27). In the high house of the San Mateo hacienda, property of Simn Bolvar, the park was placedthe custody of which was entrusted to Captain Antonio Ricaurte and a small troop of 50 soldiers. On January 8, 1813, he occupied the city of Ocaathe second in importance in Norte de Santander, after Ccutaafter having left the free passage in the Magdalena Medio, thus obtaining the navigation between Bogot and Cartagena. By October of 1812, Bolvar was ready to rejoin the fight. In 1806 he was able to scrape together a small mercenary force in the USA and Caribbean and launched an invasion of Venezuela. Spain, its resources drained from the devastating loss at the Battle of Trafalgar, was unable to send any help and the citizens of Buenos Aires were forced to fight off the British on their own. Bolvar had left Pez in charge of the armed forces of Venezuela, and he soon took full control of the country. In this research paper, I will attempt to connect the . The republic lasted until about1830when it fell apart into Colombia,Venezuela, and Ecuador (Panama was part of Colombia at the time). "Venezuelas Declaration of Independence in 1810." Captain General Pablo Morillo receives instructions from Spain on June 6, 1820, to arbitrate with Simn Bolvar a cessation of hostilities. The Declaration lasted until November 26, 1820, when the Spanish general Pablo Morillo met with Bolivar to declare the war of independence as a conventional war. 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. Many Spanish colonies, still loyal to the deposed King Ferdinand, did not know how to react to the new ruler. The actions in the streets and squares were hard-fought. 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. 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. He intimidated the Conservative congress and appointed Liberal Party ministers. The decisions initially taken were the following: On December 17, 1819, the union of Venezuela and New Granada was declared and the Repblica de Colombia was born. 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. In one of those battles, near Barquisimeto, the republicans faced the royalists led by Jos Ceballos on November 10. 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. As the sessions of the Congress went on, the idea of independence gained followers in the heart of the Congress. [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. The president and vice-president would be elected by indirect vote, but for purposes of beginning, the congress elected them as follows: President of the Republic: Simn Bolvar and Vice President: Bolvar is given the title of "Libertador" and his portrait will be exhibited in the congressional session hall with the motto "Bolvar, Libertador of the Great Colombia and father of the Homeland". Match the Country with Its Hemisphere Quiz, Which Country Is Larger By Population? Venezuela, in the late 18th century and early 19th century, was an economic powerhouse as well as an intellectual hub for Latin America. 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 cavalry covered the 2 flanks of the device. In the capital, he receives orders to go to Calabozo to support Montilla, which results in the defeat of Boves in Mosquiteros on October 14. Colonel Florencio Jimnez, commander of the Caracas, was designated as the commander of the Batalln sin nombre ("Battalion without a name.") The second republic corresponds to the period between August 1813 and December 1814 and is known as the "War to the Death" period.[3][9]. Minster, Christopher. Llaneros and blacks also deserted the royalist cause and joined Bolvar, whose army was further augmented by a legion of British and Irish mercenaries; the new republican government of Haiti also sent aid. Although elected president as a Conservative in 1846, he soon gravitated toward the Liberals. Once the day was over, Admiral Padilla ordered the squadron to stay where it had fought. (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. The following year he is named Supreme Chief. There would be a vice-president who would replace the President in his absence. Wealthy young nobleman Simn Bolvar financed the mission to London. A Congress was called in early 1811 to solve the bitter fighting among Venezuelans. [23] Some 24,000 people left Venezuela for the Caribbean islands, the United States or Spain. The elections were held between October and November 1810. Minster, Christopher. The resulting patriot victory secured Venezuela's independence, as the Spanish decided they could never pacify and re-take the region. The Capital of Gran Colombia would be Bogot. The provinces were represented as follows: Caracas 24 deputies; Barinas 9; Cuman 4; Barcelona 3; Mrida 2; Trujillo 1; Margarita 1. Jos Antonio Pez meets with Simn Bolvar, who came from Angostura to the south of the Orinoco to join the army of Apure in the campaign against Gurico. In 1806-1807 the British made a determined effort to capture the city. 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. It was ratified by Congress on July 7, 1811 with 43 votes for and one vote against, and recorded in the Congress's Book of Minutes on August 17, 1811, in Caracas. Introduction. "Spaniards and Canary Islanders, count on death, even if you are indifferent, if you do not actively work for the freedom of America. Opinions on the character of the independence process are not unanimous. ThoughtCo, Apr. Herring, Hubert. Seven out of the ten provinces that belonged to the Captaincy General of Venezuela declared their independence and provided justifications for doing so, among them that it was undesirable that a small European nation ruled the vast swaths of the New World and that Spanish America regained its right to self-government. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/venezuelas-declaration-of-independence-2136398. The royalists are defeated again in the battle of Trincheras, on October 3. [7] On July 3, the debate began in Congress. The document is kept at the museo de la Casa de las Primeras Letras Simn Rodrguez. 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. The white inhabitants had abandoned the city: the houses had been looted and in the streets there were only beggars and corpses. Once the Apure campaign ended with Morillo's retreat to Calabozo, Bolvar began the Campaign for the Liberation of New Granada and Pez was assigned the functions of security and strategic reserve, to watch Morillo's movements and to cut off a possible attack by Morillo on Bolvar's forces in conjunction with the army of the east. The "War to the Death" was practiced by both sides. When the heroine Luisa Cceres de Arismendi was taken prisoner and the royalist chief demanded the surrender of her husband who said, "Without a country I don't want a wife," she answered, "Let my husband fulfill his duty and I will know how to fulfill mine."[15]. In 1814, bloody battles, reprisals against the civilian population of both sides, and the siege of the cities took place. Guzmn Blanco came back again in 1886 to serve a final two years in the face of growing popular opposition to his policies. 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. After Pez is promoted in San Juan de Payara by the Libertador to major general, he fought the Apure campaign together with Bolvar against Morillo's troops that had invaded Apure. On December 21, 1811, the Congress approved the Federal Constitution of the States of Venezuela of 1811. On April 19, Creole patriots confronted the new Captain-General Vicente Emparn and demanded self-rule. Hours later the soldiers took her out of her prison to walk her on the esplanade of the barracks, where the prisoners had been shot. Upon arriving at the site of El Areo, Ribas proceeded to the formation of 2 cavalry columns of 180 men, which received the names of Rompelneas, with Monagas and Zaraza as commanders. After this ratification, Bolvar's expeditionary forces pass to Carpano where they finally disembark and proclaim the abolition of slavery and then continue to Ocumare de la Costa where they disembark and reach Maracay but must retreat, harassed by Morales leaving part of the park on the beach and half of his soldiers who under McGregor undertake the retreat by land through the Valles de Aragua del Este, known as the Retirada de los Seiscientos ("Retreat of the Six Hundred"). [7] On July 5, the vote was taken. He led the separation movement from Gran Colombia in 1829 and in 1830 convoked a constitutional convention for Venezuela. Thus, between 1815 and 1817, several distinguished citizens of New Granada were killed at the hands of the Spanish, and in February 1814, several Spanish prisoners were executed in Caracas and La Guaira on Bolvar's orders. It also inadvertently caused the death of Simn Bolvar's brother Juan Vicente, who died in a shipwreck while returning from a diplomatic mission to the United States in 1811. The equality of citizens before the law was established in the Federal Constitution of 1811. On February 16, he set sail for Ccuta as there was danger due to the presence of Ramn Correa and his royalist forces. Independence from Spanish rule in South America - Smarthistory 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. General Pez was the main leader behind Venezuela's break from Gran Colombia. The purpose of the Armistice Treaty was to suspend hostilities in order to facilitate talks between the two sides, with a view to conclude a definitive peace. The Spanish American Revolutions 1808-1826New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1986. The first republic corresponds to the period between April 19, 1810, and July 30, 1812, when the Supreme Junta of Caracas peacefully replaces the Spanish authorities.[3]. 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 The population of Caracas, threatened by the imminent arrival of Boves, had to flee to the east. 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.