THE REVOLUTIONS IN QUITO AND VENEZUELA.
1809--1812.
Spanish America on the Southern Continent, is divided geographically and
socially into two great systems, which are nevertheless analogous,
having the same origin and the same language. Simultaneously they felt
the same impulse, simultaneously arose in both sections the spirit of
independence. In each section one man took the lead, devoting his life
to the cause which was at once his own and that of his race; yet were
these two men of character wholly different. The one, cool and
calculating, was devoid of personal ambition; the other, whose dreams
were of glory and of power, was its slave. Yet in each glowed the
passion for emancipation, and each in his own way accomplished the task
before him. The one, San Martin, gave liberty to the South, the other,
Bolívar, gave liberty to the North. They joined, and the social
equilibrium was established.
The northern zone of the Continent extends about twenty degrees north of
the Equator, from the frontiers of Peru to Panama and the Carribean sea.
In 1810 this zone comprehended the Viceroyalty of New Granada, the
Captain-Generalcy of Venezuela, and the Presidency of Quito; three
political divisions marked out by geographical lines, and peopled by
several heterogeneous races. At that date New Granada had 1,400,000
inhabitants, Venezuela 900,000, and Quito 600,000. Of these, 1,234,000
were
[Illustration: III.--MAP OF THE VICEROYALTY OF NEW GRANADA, INCLUDING
VENEZUELA AND QUITO.]
white, Europeans and Creoles, 913,000 were of indigenous races, 615,000
of mixed races, and 138,000 were negro slaves. Santa Fé de Bogotá was
the capital of New Granada, Caracas was the capital of Venezuela. The
City of Quito, situate high above the level of the sea, had been the
centre of pre-Columbian civilization; during the colonial epoch it was
at times attached to the Viceroyalty of New Granada, at times to that of
Peru. The district of which this city was the capital has been styled
the Thibet of the New World.
The two parallel ranges of the Andes, which form the valley of Chile,
unite to the north of Argentine territory, but again separate in Peru,
and running northward enclose Quito and the valley of Popayán, which
forms the extreme south of New Granada. They then again diverge, this
time into three branches, one of which forms the isthmus of Panama,
while the others extend to the north-east as far as the Gulf of Mexico,
wide valleys interposing between each range.
To the east of the most easterly of these ranges lies a vast plain,
drained by the great river Orinoco and its tributaries. Situate under
the tropic of Cancer summer and winter are there unknown, but the season
from March to September is one of constant rain. During the intervening
months, the rivers leave their beds and convert the vast plain into as
vast a sea. When the waters retire, the plains are covered with
luxuriant pasturage, giving sustenance to millions of cattle and horses,
which are herded by a semi-civilized race of horsemen, known as the
“llaneros” of Columbia, a race similar to the “gauchos” of the Argentine
pampa. The llaneros live in lonely huts, and pass their days in the
saddle. Inured to fatigue and danger, they are sober and abstemious,
dress in the most simple manner, are dexterous in the use of the lance,
and are splendid swimmers. Endowed with such qualities, and led by men
of their own race, their deeds eclipse those of the most renowned heroes
of antiquity.
The Columbian revolution broke out separately, in each of the three
great sections. The first outbreak took place at Quito in August, 1809,
almost simultaneously with similar movements in Mexico and in Upper
Peru. The Captain-General, Ruiz de Castillo, was deposed, and a Junta
was appointed. The movement was crushed by the combined forces of New
Granada and Peru, and the leaders were put to death in prison in August,
1810. They were the first martyrs in the cause of independence in South
America.
These outbreaks, simultaneous but unconnected, proceeded from identical
causes; these causes not being removed, the consequent effects were
naturally reproduced, and found echo all over the Continent.
On the 25th May, 1810, the star of liberty arose in Buenos Ayres, but
previous to that date, on the 19th April of the same year, the
municipality of Caracas, joined by deputies from the people, deposed
Emparán, the Captain-General, denied the authority of the Regency of
Cadiz, and appointed a Junta to rule over the “United Provinces of
Venezuela,” in the name of the King. The leader of this movement was a
canon of the church, named Madariaga, by birth a Chilian, and a member
of the Secret Society established by Miranda, whom he had met in London.
His associates were Roscio and Ponte, men of noble character, whose
political knowledge was more theoretical than practical. Most of the
Provinces answered the call of the capital by deposing their governors
and appointing Juntas.
The Central Junta issued a Manifesto to the other colonies of Spanish
America, inviting them to form a continental league, for mutual
protection. No such league was formed, but the example was everywhere
followed. The first act of the Junta was to summon a Congress, elected
by the people, into whose hands they proposed to surrender their
provisional authority.
The northern provinces of Maracaibo and Coro had not deposed their
governors, Generals Miyares and Ceballos. These two officers denounced
the movement, and commenced to raise troops to oppose it. The Junta took
precautionary measures so as to be prepared against any attack, and
meantime sent envoys to the United States and to England; looking to the
latter power for protection in the event of an invasion of Venezuela by
the French. Don Luis Mendez, Don Andrés Bello, and Don SIMON BOLÍVAR, a
colonel of militia, were selected for this mission.
Bolívar was at that time twenty-seven years of age. There was nothing
heroic in his appearance; he was short in stature, thin and
narrow-chested, but his rugged, irregular features, gave a look of
energy to his sallow countenance. His hair was black and curly; his high
narrow forehead was deeply seamed with horizontal lines; he had thick,
sensual lips, and beautiful teeth; his large black eyes were sunk deep
in their orbits, and sparkled with an unsteady light, indicative of his
character. He looked like one possessed by a latent fire, a man of
feverish activity, combined with duplicity and arrogance; his profile
was that of a deep thinker. Altogether his aspect was that of a man of
great ideas, but of small judgment; his deeds do not belie that
impression.
At the age of three years he was left an orphan, heir to a rich
patrimony, with hundreds of slaves. His tutor was a philosopher of the
school of the Cynics; the ideas he learned from him were so extravagant
as to verge on lunacy, but he carried them with him throughout his life,
and they moulded his career. From him he learned to dream of an ideal
form of government, neither monarchical nor republican, in which all
offices should be held for life. This tutor was named Simon Rodriguez,
and was born in Caracas, the natural son of a priest.
Before he was seventeen years of age, Bolívar went to Europe; he was in
Paris when Bonaparte was named First Consul, and professed enthusiastic
admiration for his character. In Europe he married a daughter of the
noble Venezuelan family of Del Toro, and then returned to Caracas. In
the third year after his marriage, he lost his wife, and made a second
voyage to Europe, where he again met his tutor. In his company he
visited the scenes made immortal by Rousseau, whose “Nouvelle Heloïse”
was his favourite book, and saw Napoleon crowned King of Italy at Milan.
They went on to Rome, and from Mount Aventine looked over the ruins of
the great city of the Cæsars. In a moment of enthusiasm the Acolyte
seized the hands of his master, and swore to liberate his native land.
Six more years passed, and the revolution broke out in Venezuela,
without any open help from him. He was then leading the life of a feudal
lord, in wealth and in luxury, produced by the toil of slaves; yet
though he took no open part in this revolution, he had done something to
prepare it. He was on intimate terms with the Captain-General and had
betrayed his secrets to the conspirators.
Soon after their arrival in London, the three envoys obtained a private
audience with the Marquis of Wellesley, who was at that time Minister of
Foreign Affairs. Bolívar, who talked French fluently, was the spokesman.
Forgetting his _rôle_ as a diplomatist, he made a speech in which he
spoke harshly of Spain, and of his desire and of his hopes for the
absolute independence of Venezuela; and most indiscreetly presented, not
only the credentials of the envoys, but their instructions also.
The British Minister listened coldly, and glancing his eye over the
papers, replied that the ideas he had heard expressed were in open
contradiction to the documents. These credentials were conferred by a
Junta ruling in the name of King Ferdinand, and the object of the
mission was stated to be an arrangement with the Regency of Cadiz in
order to prevent a rupture. Bolívar had read neither the credentials nor
the instructions. As they retired, he candidly confessed his negligence
to his companions, and agreed that the instructions showed both
foresight and wisdom.
This is a true sample of Bolívar’s character, both as a politician and
as a soldier; ever pre-occupied by some idea of his own, he took no
thought of the obstacles in his way, and gave no heed to the opinions of
others; he blindly pursued his own dreams and his own designs. Victor or
vanquished he always persevered, reading with “his mind’s eye,” as he
said himself, no other documents than those written on his brain by his
master Simon Rodriguez. His ruling idea at this moment was independence,
and he went straight for it.
In spite of this diplomatic slip, the British Government answered the
envoys according to the tenor of their instructions, and replied that
they could not interfere in any question concerning the government of
any country which recognised the King of Spain as its sovereign, but
they offered their mediation for the reconciliation of the Colonies of
Spain with the mother country. They had previously forwarded
instructions to the governors of the British West Indies to protect the
new governments in South America against French aggression. They now
issued fresh circulars to the same effect, more especially recommending
them to cultivate amicable relations with these new governments, whether
or no they recognised the authority of the Regency of Cadiz.
This was satisfactory, but the result was owing to British policy, not
to the skill of the envoys.
In London Bolívar became acquainted with General Miranda, and being
initiated as a member of his Secret Society, renewed the oath he had
made on the sacred hill of Rome, to work for the independence and
liberty of South America. Contact with the ardent spirit of the Apostle
of emancipation blew into a flame the embers lighted by the teachings of
Rodriguez; again Bolívar forgot his instructions, which forbade him to
have anything to do with the plans of Miranda. He thought that his
presence would give fresh impulse to the idea of independence, and
invited him to accompany the envoys on their return. Miranda accepted
the invitation, and they landed at Caracas in December.
When news of the revolution in Venezuela reached Cadiz, the Regency
proclaimed the leaders of the movement rebels, and, declining the
mediation of Great Britain, declared war against them, and ordered a
blockade of the coast. Cortabarria, a member of the Council of the
Indies, was charged with the task of subduing them, and Miyares was
appointed captain-general in place of Emparán. In the Spanish West India
Islands preparation was made to sustain the decrees of the Regency by
force. Thus the first link in the chain which bound the colonies of the
Spanish Main to the mother country was broken.
The Central Junta of Caracas responded by raising an army of 2,500 men;
placed the Marquis Del Toro in command, and sent him against Coro, the
head-quarters of the Royalist reaction. On the 28th November the army
attacked the town, but was beaten off. Its retreat was intercepted by a
division of 800 men, but it forced its way on and reached Caracas with
heavy loss, harassed on the way by a hostile population.
When Miranda again landed on American soil he was sixty years of age.
The people received him with ovations; Government appointed him
lieutenant-general of their army; youthful citizens looked to him as the
oracle of their future destinies; the soldiery regarded him as the
herald of victory; yet at first his influence was not felt in public
affairs.
Grave, taciturn, and dogmatic, with unflinching opinions formed in
solitude, Miranda discussed nothing, though he sought to make
proselytes. Government appointed him, with Roscio and Ustariz,
republicans of the North American school, to draw up a plan for a
Constitution on the basis of the federation of the Provinces. The old
dreamer, who mixed up classic traditions with modern theories, sought
to combine them with the worn-out institutions of the colonial epoch.
According to his plan, the administration should be entrusted to two
Incas (Roman consuls), appointed for ten years; the rest of the plan was
modelled on the municipal institutions of the colonies. He was far
behind the day in which he lived. To propagate his doctrines, and to
foment the spirit of independence, he with Bolívar organized a political
club on the model of that of the Girondins, of which he had been a
conspicuous member.
The first Congress of Venezuela was convened on the 2nd March, 1811;
thirty deputies from various Provinces were present, Miranda was one of
them. This Congress appointed an Executive Junta of three members,
created a High Court of Justice in place of the Audiencia; and named
Roscio, Ustariz, and Tobar commissioners to draw up a Constitution. The
question of independence was then discussed. Miranda, who was the
leading advocate of an immediate declaration, carried the measure, by a
majority, on the 5th July. The same day the flag raised by Miranda in
1806, stripes of yellow, blue, and red, was adopted as the national
ensign of Venezuela. Thus Venezuela was the first independent republic
in South America.
Many of the inhabitants of Caracas were natives of the Canary Islands.
Among them the agents of Cortabarria found the leaders for a reactionary
movement, which broke out on the 11th July. The insurgents were quickly
surrounded by the populace, aided by a part of the garrison, and
compelled to surrender. The greater part of those taken in arms were
banished, but the leaders were put to death and their heads were exposed
on the public roads; sad presage of the war of extermination which was
to deluge the soil of Venezuela with blood.
On the same day a more formidable outbreak took place at Valencia. The
inhabitants armed, as they said, in the cause of religion, and
entrenched the city. An army corps under Del Toro marched against them,
but was beaten off, on which Miranda was placed in command. A strong
outwork was carried by assault, but the army was again repulsed in an
attack on the great square. Bolívar and Del Toro were both present in
this affair.
Miranda, after receiving a reinforcement, again attacked the city.
Proceeding more cautiously, he gradually shut up the Royalists in the
great square, where want of water soon compelled them to surrender at
discretion. This short campaign cost the Patriots 800 men in killed
alone, but Miranda did not sully his victory by bloodshed, and Congress
released all the prisoners, an act of clemency which was severely
blamed, in view of the severity with which the Canarians of Caracas had
been treated.
The debate on the Constitution produced a lengthy discussion in
Congress. A plan drawn up by Ustariz, which was an adaptation of the
Constitution of the United States, was adopted almost unanimously, but
Miranda voted against it, alleging that a Federal Constitution was not
suited to the country.
Valencia was declared the capital of the new Republic.
Congress being in want of funds, had issued a paper currency for the
payment of their employés of all classes; its rapid depreciation in
value brought about a state of misery and discontent which enervated the
spirit of the revolution.
Cortabarria recruited 1,000 men in Puerto Rico and sent them, under
Cajigal, to reinforce the Royalists of the Western Provinces, where the
reaction gained ground every day.
Popular leaders rose up on every side in defence of the cause of Spain;
their successes served to display the strength of the country itself,
and to prepare weapons for the revolution when its principles were
understood and adopted by the people.
In February, 1812, a small detachment of 230 men, under a naval officer
named Monteverde, marched from Coro, raised all the country as far as
Barquisimeto, and at Carora defeated a Patriot force of 700 men. The
town of Carora was sacked, and many Patriots were shot without trial.
In the east of Venezuela, Spanish Guayana had declared against the
revolution. Colonel Moreno marched with 1,400 men to rescue the Province
from the Royalists, and being joined by various scattered detachments of
the Patriots, collected a flotilla of twenty-eight gunboats on the
Orinoco, and threatened the town of Angostura, which stands on the
northern bank near to the mouth of that river.
On the 25th March, 1812, the Royalists, with nine schooners and eight
gunboats, attacked the Patriot flotilla in the bay of Lorondo, and after
two days’ fighting completely destroyed it. Moreno retreated, and
eventually fled, while the remnant of his force capitulated at the town
of Maturin.
On the 26th March, 1812, in the afternoon of a calm day, a great roar
was heard under the hills of Mérida. The ground commenced to rock to and
fro in violent oscillations. In less than a minute the cities of Mérida,
Barquisimeto, San Felipe, La Guayra, and Caracas were nothing more than
heaps of ruins, under which 20,000 people lay entombed. In the capital
almost all the garrison perished. At Barquisimeto the greater part of a
division of 1,000 men which was on the march to arrest the progress of
Monteverde, with a large amount of military stores, were buried. Under
these ruins the first Republic of Venezuela found a grave.
This earthquake was felt only in territory occupied by the
revolutionists; the Provinces of Coro, Maracaibo, and Guayana, which
were faithful to the King, suffered nothing. The clergy, who were for
the most part Royalists, made use of the fact, pointing to it as a
chastisement of Heaven upon impious men and upon rebels. Fear entered
into the hearts of the people, and dismay into those of the Patriots.
Monteverde dug seven guns and much war material from beneath the ruins
of Barquisimeto, armed the people, and raised his force to 1,000 men. At
San José a division of 1,300 raw recruits sallied out to meet him; one
squadron passed over to him, the rest were cut to pieces. The prisoners
were butchered, and the neighbouring town of San Carlos was sacked and
burned. The cities of Mérida and Trujillo declared for the King. The
common people, and deserters from the Patriot armies, flocked to
Monteverde; he marched upon Valencia. Forty-five days after his
departure from Coro he entered the Federal capital in triumph.
Affairs were now in so critical a state that Miranda was appointed
Dictator. He established his head-quarters at Victoria, between Valencia
and Caracas, and advanced with 4,000 men against the former city. During
a skirmish between outposts an entire company passed over to the
Royalists, and Miranda retreated to a position which he strengthened
with field-works. The hero of Valmy and Jemappes, whose name is
inscribed on the Triumphal Arch at the Barrière d’Etoile, seems to have
disappeared under the cloak of the Dictator, and the irresolute General
of Maestrich and Nerwinde reappeared on a new scene.
Colonel Antoñanzas, detached by Monteverde to the plains of Caracas,
took the town of Calabozo by assault, and put the garrison to the sword.
Then being joined by a Spaniard named TOMAS BOVES, he attacked San Juan
de los Morros, where not only the fighting men, but the old men, women,
and children, were butchered.
The Province of Barinas declared for the King, and Monteverde, being now
secure in his rear, twice attacked Miranda in his entrenchments, but was
each time repulsed with heavy loss. Having received reinforcements from
Coro, he made a third attack, and was again repulsed, but, undismayed,
he made a flank movement and turned the position of the Patriots,
whereupon Miranda, though with a force greatly superior in number to his
adversary, set fire to his stores, and retired precipitately, on the
night of the 17th June, to Victoria. Monteverde, at the head of a small
detachment, again attacked him in his new position, and caused great
confusion in the encampment, but was eventually beaten off.
The Royalist leader had now more than 3,000 men under his orders, and,
being joined by Antoñanzas, made a general attack on the entrenchments
thrown up by Miranda at Victoria on the 29th June, but was repulsed with
heavy loss after expending all his ammunition.
Miranda made no attempt to pursue him, and in a council of war it was
decided to retreat to Valencia. A Spaniard prevailed upon Monteverde to
disregard the decision of the council, and to remain where he was for
three days. These three days were the last of this revolution.
On the 24th June a general insurrection of the slaves broke out in the
valleys to the south-east of Caracas. Miranda had decreed liberty to all
slaves who would join the Patriot armies. Their Spanish owners preferred
to arm them themselves to fight against the Patriots. The negroes
committed all manner of excesses, attacked several towns, maltreated the
white inhabitants, and came so near to Caracas that Miranda was
compelled to detach troops against them.
Bolívar had been placed in command of the city of Puerto Cabello. During
a temporary absence of his, the Spanish prisoners, who were numerous,
gained over the garrison of the citadel, and took possession of it.
Bolívar attempted to retake it with the troops quartered in the city;
his advance posts went over to the enemy. On the 4th July Monteverde
approached; Bolívar sent out 200 men against him. They were beaten, and
only seven men with one officer returned. On this the rest of his troops
disbanded, and, with seven officers, he fled by sea to La Guayra. When
Miranda heard of this he exclaimed, “Venezuela is stricken to the
heart.”
The Royalists had now the whole of the west and the plains; they
dominated both banks of the Orinoco and the sea coast; the Patriots
held barely a third of the territory of Venezuela. The army still
numbered 5,000 men, mostly recruits, but the general had no confidence
in them, nor had his subordinates any longer faith in him. Every one
accused Miranda of having caused the miseries they suffered: some called
him a traitor. In despair he summoned a council, and by their advice
opened negotiations with the enemy.
In order to be in a better position to treat, Miranda made an attack
upon the enemy’s lines, and routed several detached parties of the
Royalist troops, after which he proposed a suspension of hostilities.
The proposition was accepted by Monteverde, on condition that the
Royalist troops should be permitted to advance on Caracas.
Miranda then made further proposals, and authorised his commissioners to
sign a capitulation, which should guarantee the freedom and properties
of the insurgents. Some of his officers protested against this, and
advised him to risk everything on the chance of a battle, but in reality
all wished for peace, and he knew it. A capitulation, though a defeat,
would do more for Venezuela than would a passing victory; public opinion
had veered round and was master of the situation. It was necessary that
Venezuela should suffer the yoke of the victorious reaction, in order
that she might know what it meant, and might gather up her forces for
the decisive struggle.
The capitulation was agreed to by Monteverde, and by the commissioners
appointed by Miranda, on the basis of the complete submission of the
Patriots and a general amnesty. Miranda, after some hesitation, acceded
to these terms, and withdrew to Caracas. The troops either joined the
Royalist forces or dispersed.
On the 30th July Monteverde entered Caracas in triumph, while Miranda,
with Bolívar and several of his principal officers, trusting not at all
to the capitulation, left for La Guayra, intending to fly by sea. The
captain of an English ship had offered a passage to Miranda, and urged
him to embark at once. Bolívar and the others prevented him from going
on board, saying that he required rest. They dined together, and after
Miranda had retired, twelve officers formed themselves into a sort of
secret tribunal, and decided that he, as the author of the capitulation,
ought to share the fate of the rest. Bolívar accused him of receiving
bribes from the Spaniards, and voted for his death as a traitor to the
cause of independence, but it was resolved to detain him. Before dawn
Bolívar went to his room, removed his sword and pistols, and then awoke
him. He was made prisoner by his own friends and shut up in the castle
of San Carlos.
Monteverde paid no attention whatever to the terms of the capitulation.
The prisons were filled with citizens; Bolívar hid himself, but all
except two of the other members of the secret tribunal were among the
prisoners. Many died in the dungeons, and the Canarians had their
revenge in the open plunder of all who had taken part against them.
Miranda was sent to Puerto Cabello and loaded with chains. From his
dungeon he addressed a memorial to the Supreme Court, demanding, in the
name of the new Spanish Constitution, the liberty of his comrades as
guaranteed by the capitulation, but he asked nothing for himself. His
protest was unheeded, and he, being sent to Spain, languished for three
years in a dungeon at Cadiz, where he died miserably on the 14th July,
1816, and was buried in the mud banks, over which the waters of the
Mediterranean ebb and flow, in front of that city.
Bolívar, after remaining for some days in hiding, was presented by a
Spanish friend of his to Monteverde, who gave him a passport “in
recompense for his service to the King in the imprisonment of Miranda.”