José Ceballos was a Spanish

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

during the

Venezuelan War of Independence The Venezuelan War of Independence (, 1810–1823) was one of the Spanish American wars of independence of the early nineteenth century, when independence movements in South America fought a civil war for secession and against unity of the S ...

and Governor of

Coro Province Coro Province (1811 - 1864) was a province in the Zulia Department of Gran Colombia, and later one of the provinces of Venezuela, after Venezuelan independence in 1830. In 1864 it became one of the States of Venezuela, as Coro State, and was r ...

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 ...

in 1810 at the outbreak of the revolution.

Biography

He was a protégé of the Captain General of Venezuela Vicente Emparan, and remained faithful to Spain at the outbreak of the Spanish-American independence revolution in 1810. He defeated a Patriot army under command of the Marquis del Toro on 28 November 1810. In March 1812, he sent a column under the command of frigate captain Domingo de Monteverde, who led a dazzling military campaign that concluded with the fall of the

First Republic of Venezuela The First Republic of 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 ...

in 1812. José Ceballos insisted on the need to attract the mestizos and slaves to the Royalist cause. In October 1813, he marched at the head of a division of 1,300 men, from Coro heading towards Barquisimeto. On the 19th of the same month he defeated a Republican detachment commanded by Colonel Manuel Aldao in Bobare, near Barquisimeto. Aware of this offensive, General Simón Bolívar advanced towards

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 ...

and there, on 10 November, he was defeated by Ceballos. Bolívar retired to Valencia, where he reorganized his forces against Ceballos, who had advanced to Araure prior to the incorporation of the column commanded by José Yáñez. On 5 December, Ceballos presented battle to Bolívar and was defeated by the Republicans in the Battle of Araure. He returned to Coro and at the beginning of 1814 he marched again with about 1,000 combatants against the Patriots. He gained two victories at

and Arao near San Carlos, but was decisively beaten at the Battle of Carabobo (1814). In 1815, General Pablo Morillo appointed Ceballos as temporary governor of Caracas until he was relieved due to disagreements. He was replaced on 4 June 1816 by the expeditionary leader Salvador de Moxó y Quadrado who added the governorship of Caracas to his position as Captain General of Venezuela. Nothing more is known of Ceballos after this date.DHV : Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceballos, Jose People of the Venezuelan War of Independence Spanish generals Royalists in the Hispanic American Revolution 19th-century Spanish military personnel Year of birth missing Year of death missing