The Admirable Campaign () was a military action led by
Simón Bolívar in which the provinces of Mérida, Barinas, Trujillo and Caracas were conquered by the
Patriots.
[Arana, M., 2013, Bolivar, New York: Simon & Schuster, ] Its objective was to free
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
from Spanish control, which was accomplished in conjunction with
Santiago Mariño's simultaneous campaign in the east.
Overview
After the loss of the
First Republic of Venezuela
The First Republic of Venezuela ( es, 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 ...
, Bolívar had gone to New Granada where he joined the army of the
United Provinces, which was in the process of fighting with cities that did not recognize its authority. On January 28, 1813 Bolívar captured
Ocaña, a city which was on the main roads to Venezuela. The expedition was formed by two divisions, a vanguard led by Colonel
Atanasio Girardot and a rear under Colonel
José Félix Ribas. At the same time
Domingo de Monteverde was moving troops to western Venezuela in preparation for an invasion of New Granada, threatening the newly independent states there.
From Ocaña Bolívar moved against royalist areas of New Granada, taking the border city of Cúcuta in the
Battle of Cúcuta
The Battle of Cúcuta was a military conflict in the Spanish American wars of independence fought on February 28, 1813 between the pro-independence forces led by Simón Bolívar and Spanish royalist troops under General Ramón Correa at the town o ...
on February 28. Here Bolivar asked United Provinces for aid and permission to enter Venezuela through a document named the "
Cartagena Manifesto
The Cartagena Manifesto was written by Simón Bolívar during the Colombia#Independence from Spain, Colombian and Venezuelan War of Independence, after the fall of the First Republic of Venezuela, First Republic, explaining what he believed to be t ...
" (). The United Provinces regarded his petition favourably taking into consideration the numerous actions that he executed for the Neogranadan government. As soon as government authorization was given, the campaign started its march into Venezuela on February 16. The expedition marched through
San Cristóbal,
La Grita,
Mérida and
Trujillo. It is from this city that Bolívar issued his "
Decree of War to the Death
The Decree of War to the Death, in Spanish ''Decreto de Guerra a Muerte'', was a decree issued by the South American leader Simón Bolívar which permitted murder and any atrocities whatsoever to be committed against civilians born in Spain, other ...
." In the Decree Bolivar announced that the patriot army will treat
Spaniards
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both in ...
and
Criollos
In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of Spanish descent born in the colonies. In different Latin American countries the word has come to have different meanings, sometimes referring to the local-born majo ...
differently: "Spaniards and
Canarians
Canary Islanders, or Canarians ( es, canarios), are a Romance people and ethnic group. They reside on the Canary Islands, an autonomous community of Spain near the coast of northwest Africa, and descend from a mixture of European settlers and ab ...
, you can expect death, even if uninvolved, if you do not actively work in favor of the independence of America. Americans, count on life, even if guilty." The Decree would remain in force, technically, until the treaty signed with
Pablo Morillo at
Santa Ana de Trujillo on November 26, 1820, regularized the rules of engagement.
The last major engagement of the campaign was the
Battle of Los Horcones on July 22. After that the expedition occupied the cities of
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
and
La Victoria in early August. Losing on two fronts, the royalist government surrendered on August 4. Bolívar's forces had a triumphal entrance into the city of
Caracas on August 6, bringing an end to the campaign and reestablishing the
Venezuelan republic.
See also
*
Nevado, the
mucuchies puppy gift to
Simon Bolivar
Simon may refer to:
People
* Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon
* Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon
* Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genu ...
, from the Admirable Campaign.
*
Military career of Simón Bolívar
The military and political career of Simón Bolívar (July 24, 1783 – December 17, 1830), which included both formal service in the armies of various revolutionary regimes and actions organized by himself or in collaboration with other exile ...
References
External links
Simón-Bolívar.org - Admirable Campaign (1813)
{{Gran Colombia independence, state=collapsed
Campaigns of the Venezuelan War of Independence
Simón Bolívar
1813 in Venezuela
1813 in the Viceroyalty of New Granada
June 1813 events