republic · South America
First Republic of Venezuela
Origins
After the Caracas junta of 19 April 1810 removed the captain-general of the Captaincy General of Venezuela, a congress met in 1811. Urged on by Francisco de Miranda and the young Simón Bolívar of the Patriotic Society, it declared independence on 5 July 1811, the first such declaration in Spanish America.
Rule and society
A federal constitution was adopted in December 1811, with an executive triumvirate including Cristóbal Mendoza. The republic abolished titles and the slave trade, but kept slavery and property qualifications for voting. Provinces such as Coro, Maracaibo and Guayana stayed royalist. On 26 March 1812 an earthquake destroyed Caracas and other patriot towns, and clergy presented it as divine punishment.
Decline and legacy
The royalist commander Domingo de Monteverde advanced on Caracas. Miranda, named dictator, capitulated at San Mateo in July 1812. He was handed to the Spanish by fellow officers, Bolívar among them, and died in a Cádiz prison in 1816.
Lineage
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- First Republic of Venezuela was conquered by Spanish Empire1812 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). First Republic of Venezuela. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/first-republic-of-venezuela
- MLA
- “First Republic of Venezuela.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/first-republic-of-venezuela. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “First Republic of Venezuela.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/first-republic-of-venezuela.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘First Republic of Venezuela’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/first-republic-of-venezuela (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻