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The Latin American Wars of Independence do not form a homogenous narrative; there
are different levels of violence, different ideological notions and levels of popular participation throughout
the Spanish colonies.
In very general terms, we may venture to say that the Wars of Independence take place between 1810 and 1825, a
period which may in turn be divided into two phases, a failed political phase (1810-1815), and a second, successful
military phase (1815-1825).
The spark that sets off the fire of independence is the Napoleonic invasion of Spain in 1808 and the placement,
on the Spanish throne, of Joseph Bonaparte. This change in leadership causes a a crisis of legitimacy in the colonies.
Who is the legitimate king of Spain? Who should be obeyed? The French usurper or the dethroned Spanish King? The
colonists chose their Spanish king, and rejected French authority. In essence, they had declared a relative independence,
a provisional state of rebellion against a monarch that they did not recognize.
There were, however, some endemic troubles with the Spanish empire in the first place: the relative isolation of
the colonies, colonial resistance to commercial restrictions placed upon them by the crown, and an exclusionary
and inflexible administrative bureacracy. In addition to the immediate crisis of the Spanish throne, these factors
contributed to facilitate an awareness of the possibilities of true independence.
Between 1810 and 1815 we see the first, tentative attempts at full independence. This initial period is characterized
by the inexperience and idealism of patriots feeling their way through a process that they did not fully understand,
and in confusing times. In Venezuela, the First and Second Republics are torn down by bloody counter-revolutions,
and in Mexico, Hidalgo and Morelos are crushed by their conservative countrymen.
The second, military phase, which takes place between 1815 and 1825, and which ends with the triumph of the patriots,
is characterized by an all-out militarization of the war; Simón Bolívar, for example, is able to
incorporate popular elements into his armies, such as the llaneros (plainsmen), who had previously been formidable
enemies of the patriot enterprise.
In Mexico, a different process took place, but one that reflects the realpolitik that characterized this successful
military phase: the Royalist commander Agustín de Iturbide reconciles conservative and progressive elements
into an independent monarchy with him at its head, which although short-lived, cements the transition from the
colonial period into the early national period in Mexico. The victory of the patriots is ambiguos however, insofar
as the social and political structures of power continue to be oppressive for the mass majority of the people in
the newly forged republics.
Throughout the nineteenth century, we will see incessant civil war resulting from the powder keg of popular unrest
and the unresolved conflicts between conservatives and liberals, centralists and federalists, one regional power
center versus another, etc. To a certain degree, these wars are a legacy of the contradictory and unfinished "victory"
of triumph.
Simon Bolivar was part of the creme de la creme of Venezuela's elite. He was born on the 24th of July of 1783 in
Caracas, and was educated by tutors (the famed homme de lettres Andrés Bello and the radical Jacobin intellectual
Simón Rodríguez), and later in Spain, where he marries. Shortly upon his return to Venezuela, his
wife dies, and Bolivar launches himself into political and military life. He was an impulsive, passionate and restless
character, with tremendous ambition and vision packed into a small body.
During the first phase of the Wars of Independence, Bolivar begins his political and military career in a very
inauspicious manner: he loses the port of Puerto Cabello to the Royalists during the Venezuelan First Republic.
However, he is able to recoup his forces from his patriot base in New Granada (present day Colombia) and institute
the Venezuelan Second Republic with himself at its head. The republic is torn down by the terrible, counter-revolutionary
military force of the plainsmen led by Boves. At this time, Bolivar had not cemented his authority over other patriot
warlords and suffered the consequences; when he needed them to defend Caracas and the second republic, they were
not there for him.
Between 1815 and 1825, however, Bolivar is able to harness the plainsmen, international support, and his own continental
vision into a winning strategy. His very survival was miraculous: he escaped assassination several times, and was
constantly on the move, in rainforests, plains, and mountain slopes. He shows the dispersed patriot warlords of
Venezuela and Colombia that it is he who can bring in arms and supplies, and he imposes his will to lead upon them
successfully, especially after executing Manuel Piar, one of his most distinguished patriot allies, for treason.
His most strategic ally was to be Jose Antonio Paez, who led the plainsmen to victory after victory. His most loyal
commander was the tragic figure of Jose Antonio Sucre, a man of humble and quiet disposition that sealed Latin
American independence at the Battle of Ayacucho in 1825.
Bolivar organizes the liberated territories into the super state of Greater Colombia, encompassing present day
Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. He dreams of an even larger union, which would include Chile, Bolivia and Peru.
However, he is unable to control the deep divisions between Venezuelans and Colombians from breaking out, and he
is unable to temper the differences between centralists and federalists; he declares a dictatorship in 1825 and
loses much of his prestige and beloved "glory." He dies in 1830, a virtual pariah in both Colombia and
Venezuela. |
