Second Republic of Venezuela 1813-1814

As a young man, Bolívar pledged himself to see all of Spanish America, not simply his native Venezuela, liberated from Spanish rule. Returning to Venezuela, he took the field again in May 1813 with the famous cry of "war to the death" against Venezuela's Spanish rulers. Bolívar's forces defeated Juan Domingo Monteverde's Spanish army at Lastaguanes and captured Caracas (August 6, 1813). There he was proclaimed "The Liberator" and, following the establishment of the Second Republic, was given dictatorial powers. He won another victory over the royalists at Araure (December 5, 1813). Once again, however, Bolívar overlooked the aspirations of common, nonwhite Venezuelans. The llaneros (plainsmen), who were excellent horsemen, fought under the leadership of the royalist caudillo, José Tomás Boves, for what they saw as social equality against a revolutionary army that represented the white, criollo elite. At La Victoria (February 1814) and San Mateo (March 1814) Bolívar defeated Boves. He won another victory at Carabobo (May 1814), but Bolívar was decisively defeated by the heavily reinforced Spanish forces, under Boves command, at La Puerta (June 15, 1814). Boves captured Caracus (July 16, 1814). Then, Boves defeated Bolívar again at Aragua (August 18, 1814), at a cost of 2,000 royalist casualties of the 10,000 engaged and most of the 3,000 in the rebel army. By September 1814, having won a series of victories, loyalist forces had crushed most remaining pockets of resistance to royal control, bringing an end to the Second Republic. Bolívar was forced to flee to New Granada (Colombia), where he issued an eloquent letter that established his intellectual leadership of the Spanish American independence movement.

References

Dictionary of Wars, 519; Military History, 891; Timelines of War, 309, 311; Venezuela - A Country Study.

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