First Republic of Venezuela
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2014) |
American Confederation of Venezuela/States of Venezuela/United States of Venezuela Confederación americana de Venezuela/Estados de Venezuela/Estados Unidos de Venezuela | |||||||||||||
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1811–1812 | |||||||||||||
Valencia | |||||||||||||
Common languages | Spanish | ||||||||||||
Government | Republic | ||||||||||||
Triumvirate | |||||||||||||
• 1811–12 | Cristóbal Mendoza, Juan Escalona, Baltazar Padrón | ||||||||||||
• 1812 | Francisco Espejo, Fernando Rodriguez, Francisco J. Ustariz | ||||||||||||
• 1812 | Francisco de Miranda | ||||||||||||
Historical era | Spanish American wars of independence | ||||||||||||
5 July 1811 | |||||||||||||
25 July 1812 | |||||||||||||
ISO 3166 code | VE | ||||||||||||
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The First Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: Primera República de Venezuela) was the first independent government of Venezuela, lasting from 5 July 1811, to 25 July 1812. The period of the First Republic began with the overthrow of the Spanish colonial authorities and the establishment of the Junta Suprema de Caracas on 19 April 1810, initiating the Venezuelan War of Independence, and ended with the surrender of the republican forces to the Spanish Captain Domingo de Monteverde. The congress of Venezuela declared the nation's independence on 5 July 1811, and later wrote a constitution for it. In doing so, Venezuela is notable for being the first Spanish American colony to declare its independence.
History
Antecedents
Several European events set the stage for Venezuela's declaration of independence. The
Establishment
On 18 April 1810, agents of the Spanish Regency arrived in the city of Caracas. After considerable political tumult, the local nobility announced an extraordinary open hearing of the
This initiated a process that would lead to a declaration of independence from Spain. Soon after 19 April, many other Venezuelan provinces also established juntas, most of which recognized the Caracas one (though a few recognized both the Regency in Spain and the Junta in Caracas). Still other regions never established juntas, but rather kept their established authorities and continued to recognize the government in Spain. This situation consequently led to a civil war between Venezuelans who were in favor of the new autonomous juntas and those still loyal to the Spanish Crown. The Caracas Junta called for the convention of a congress of the Venezuelan provinces which began meeting the following March, at which time the Junta dissolved itself. The Congress set up a triumvirate to handle the executive functions of Congress and of the provinces that supported it.
Shortly after the juntas were set up, Venezuelan émigré
Civil War and disestablishment
Though the Congress declared independence, the provinces of
In 1812 the Confederation began suffering serious military reverses, and the government granted Miranda command of the army and leadership of the Confederation. A Spanish
In these dire circumstances the republican government had appointed Miranda generalissimo, with broad political powers. By mid-July Monteverde had taken Valencia, and Miranda thought the situation was hopeless and started negotiations with Monteverde in San Mateo. On 25 July 1812 Miranda and Monteverde finalized a capitulation in which the former republican areas would recognize the Cortes of Cádiz. The First Republic had come to an end. Monteverde's forces entered Caracas on 1 August.
Provinces
- Mérida Province
- Trujillo Province
- Caracas Province
- Barinas Province
- Barcelona Province
- Cumaná Province
- Margarita Province
See also
- Captaincy General of Venezuela
- Venezuelan Declaration of Independence
- Second Republic of Venezuela
- Third Republic of Venezuela
- Gran Colombia
- Venezuela
References
- ^ McKingley, 150–154.
- ^ In Spanish: Venezuelan Declaration of Independence, Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes
- ^ In Spanish: Federal Constitution of 1811 Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. A bicameral General Congress consisting of Senate and House of Representatives was the nation's legislature provided in the document. The Constitution uses Confederación de Venezuela and los Estados Unidos de Venezuela interchangeably, while referring to the establishment of "Estados de Venezuela" in its preamble.
- ^ Parra-Pérez, Primera República, Vol. 2, 108–109.
- ^ Parra-Pérez, Caracciolo. Primera República, Vol. 2, 357–365.
- ^ Masur, Gerhard (1948). Simon Bolivar. Alburquerque: University of New Mexico. pp. 133–137.
- ^ Morón, Guillermo (1963). A History of Venezuela. New York: Roy Publishers. p. 109.
- ISBN 0-300-11062-6.
Bibliography
In English:
- Lynch, John. The Spanish American Revolutions, 1808–1821, 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1986. ISBN 0-393-09411-1
- McKingley, P. Michael. Pre-Revolutionary Caracas: Politics, Economy, and Society, 1777–1811. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. ISBN 0-521-30450-4
- Rodríguez O., Jaime E. The Independence of Spanish America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-521-62673-0
- Stoan, Stephen K. Pablo Morillo and Venezuela, 1815–1820. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1959.
In Spanish:
- Fundación Polar. "Primera República", Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela, Vol. 3. Caracas: Fundacíon Polar, 1997. ISBN 980-6397-37-1
- Parra-Pérez, Caracciolo. Historia de la Primera República de Venezuela. Caracas: Biblioteca de la Academia Nacional de la Historia,1959.