The Restorative Liberal Revolution, also known as the Invasion of the 60 due to the number of men with whom the movement began, was an expedition of
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
ns exiled in
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
under the command of
Cipriano Castro
José Cipriano Castro Ruiz (12 October 1858 – 4 December 1924) was a Venezuelan politician and Officer (armed forces), officer of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela, military who served as president of Venezuela, president from ...
that began on 23 May 1899, with the purpose of overthrowing the government of Venezuelan President
Ignacio Andrade
Ignacio Andrade Troconis (31 July 1839 – 17 February 1925), was a military man and politician.[ ...]
.
Origin
The political crisis experienced by the regime of Ignacio Andrade, and Yellow Liberalism in general, after the death of
Joaquín Crespo
Joaquín Sinforiano de Jesús Crespo Torres (; 22 August 1841 – 16 April 1898) was a Venezuelan military officer and politician. A member of the Great Liberal Party of Venezuela, he served as the president of Venezuela from 1884 to 1886 and ag ...
in the , was an opportunity for
Cipriano Castro
José Cipriano Castro Ruiz (12 October 1858 – 4 December 1924) was a Venezuelan politician and Officer (armed forces), officer of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela, military who served as president of Venezuela, president from ...
to launch the last phase of the revolutionary movement that he had been organizing in his exile in
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
, since the defeat of the
Legalist Revolution
The Legalist Revolution was a civil war in Venezuela that was caused by the "Continuity movement" of President Raimundo Andueza Palacio who wanted to perpetuate himself in power through a constitutional reform. Although it was constitutionally ...
in 1893.
Initially, he proposed an alliance with , also in exile, but given the failure of the talks and the fragility of the Andrade government, he decided to rely only on his 60 men and the Castro ''Restorative Liberal'' party that awaited him in
Táchira
Táchira State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal, Táchira, San Cristóbal.
Táchira State covers a total surface area of and as of the 2011 census, had a population of 1,168,9 ...
. So he began his revolution crossing the border of the
Táchira River on 23 May 1899.
Development
The forces of the rebels grew as they entered the Venezuelan Andean center to overthrow the unpopular Andrade government. On 12 September, with already 2,000 troops under his command, Castro defeated 4,000 government soldiers commanded by the Minister of War, General Diego Bautista Ferrer, in the , who lost 2,000 men trying to assault the enemy positions.
[Dixon, 2015: 189; Esteves, 2006: 119]
Two days later Andrade assumed personal command of the government army and
Castro launched a coordinated offensive against
Caracas
Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
. After this, several warlords and their militias deserted to the rebel side. When Castro was preparing to confront in
La Victoria, he was surprised that General Ferrer decided to disobey the government's orders and not confront him. With 10,000 soldiers, Castro entered the capital on 23 October
with generals and
caudillo
A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...
s Luciano Mendoza, Samuel Acosta and Luis Lima Loreto by his side.
[Magallanes, Manuel Vicente (1977). ''Los partidos políticos en la evolución histórica Venezolana''. Monte Ávila, pp. 198.] Andrade
Andrade (/ɐ̃ˈdɾa.d͡ʒi/ (Brazil), �̃ˈdɾa.ðɨ(Portugal), or �n̪ˈd̪ɾa.ð̞e(Spanish)) is a surname of Kingdom of Galicia, Galician origin, which emerged in the 12th century as the family name of the knights and lords of the sma ...
is overthrown in a
coup and forced into exile on
Curaçao
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela.
Curaçao includ ...
and then in Puerto Rico.
Timeline of the revolution
* 24 May: The Sixty passed through Capacho, where they were joined by 120 more men from the Castro party, including
Eleazar López Contreras
José Eleazar López Contreras (5 May 1883 – 2 January 1973) was the president of Venezuela between 1935 and 1941. He was an army general and one of Juan Vicente Gómez's collaborators, serving as his War Minister from 1931.
In 1939, Contr ...
. Hours later, the Restorative Army carried out a successful ambush in Tononó on the government troops.
* 27 May: The rebels, already with 400 troops, were located in Las Pilas, near
San Cristóbal, and attacked the government reinforcements with as a result, a new revolutionary victory.
* 28 May: The Restorers settled in
Táriba
Táriba is a town in Táchira (state), Táchira, Venezuela, and is the capital of the Cárdenas Municipality. It was founded in 1602. Táriba has a population of 128,590. It's located on the outsides of the city of San Cristóbal, Táchira, San C ...
where they reorganized their forces.
* 11 June: The rebels faced the Continuationist troops led by in the . After four hours of intense fighting, the government army was defeated.
* 16 June: Castro and his troops returned to San Cristóbal and besieged it.
* 23-24 June: The Restorers attacked the city, which was defended by General Juan Pablo Peñaloza. The city could not be taken.
* 12 July: Castro lifted the siege in the face of the proximity of 4,000 government troops under the command of Antonio Fernández.
* 27 July: The Restorers faced the Continuationist troops in the Combat of Cordero. The government artillery forced the Restorers to fall back towards
Palmira.
* 28 July: After 18 hours of exchanges of fire, the Continuationist managed to regroup with Peñaloza in San Cristóbal.
* 31 July: Castro and the Restorers advanced towards
Mérida and
Trujillo.
* 2 August: The Restorers decided to march towards the center of the country. Days later they camped in
Tovar.
* 5 August: The rebels took
Bailadores.
* 6 August: The Restorers attacked Tovar, a city defended by two thousand troops led by . After a fierce battle, the town was taken.
* 9 August: Castro and the Restorers arrived in
Mérida.
* 16 August: They occupied
Valera
Valera is a city in Trujillo State in Venezuela, situated between the rivers Momboy and Motatán. The mayor is José Karkom, who has had that post since 2013. The city is home to Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Colombian and Spanish commun ...
.
* 22 August: The rebels took
Carora and continued their march.
* 26 August: Castro and the Restorers stopped in
Parapara before a flood of the
Tocuyo River. A contingent under the command of Elías Torres Aular and Lorenzo Guevara attacked them. Castro defeated Torres in the rear, while Guevara retreated. The rebels captured a Krupp cannon.
* 1 September: Castro and the Restorers passed through
Barquisimeto
Barquisimeto (; ) is a city in Venezuela. Barquisimeto is located in the Central-Western Region, Venezuela. It is the capital of the state of Lara (state), Lara and head of Iribarren Municipality. It is an important urban, industrial, commercial a ...
without being attacked. The rebels advanced through
Yaritagua
Yaritagua () is the capital of the Peña Municipality of Venezuela's state of Yaracuy.
It has a population of around 120,000, and is considered Yaracuy's second city, after the capital San Felipe, Venezuela, San Felipe.
Founded in 1699 during Col ...
, Urachiche and
Chivacoa.
* 8 September: The rebels presented combat to General Rosendo Medina in
Nirgua. Medina was defeated.
* 12 September: Castro arrived in
Tocuyito in command of almost 2,000 soldiers and camped there. The government organized a large army in
Valencia
Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
with the intention to definitively crush the Restoration movement
* 14 September: Castro, outnumbered 2 to 1, fought the government army in the town of Tocuyito. President Andrade was present in La Victoria to lead the battle. The Continuationist Generals Diego Bautista Ferrer and Antonio Fernández followed contradictory orders issued by the President himself. The military maneuvers ordered by Castro, added to the contradictory orders of the President, sowed chaos in the government army that ended by withdrawing.
* 16 September: The rebels took
Valencia
Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
. As a result of the result of the Battle of Tocuyito, senior government leaders began to negotiate the outcome with Castro. Finance Minister
Manuel Antonio Matos
Manuel Antonio Matos Páez Tinoco (8 January 1847 – 5 December 1929) was a Venezuelan politician, banker, military leader and diplomat.
Biography
Matos held a great political and economic influence on the country, during the late 19th and earl ...
acted as intermediary.
* 19 October:
Ignacio Andrade
Ignacio Andrade Troconis (31 July 1839 – 17 February 1925), was a military man and politician.[ ...]
decided to abandone the Presidency. He boarded the boat ''Bolívar'' and left for exile on the
Island of Saint Thomas. Vice President
Víctor Rodríguez Párraga assumed power temporarily.
* 22 October:
Castro triumphantly entered
Caracas
Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
, definitively defeating the government.
See also
*
1908 Venezuelan coup d'état
References
{{Venezuelan topics
Wars involving Venezuela
1890s in Venezuela
Civil wars involving the states and peoples of South America