Second Republic of Venezuela

Origins

In 1813 Simón Bolívar invaded Venezuela from New Granada in the Admirable Campaign, while Santiago Mariño liberated the east. Bolívar issued the Decree of War to the Death in June 1813 and entered Caracas in August, where he was acclaimed as the Liberator.

Rule and society

Bolívar ruled as dictator in the west and Mariño in the east, with little formal constitution. The war became extremely brutal. José Tomás Boves raised the llaneros, plainsmen of mixed race, against the Creole patriots, turning the conflict into a social war. In February 1814 Bolívar ordered the execution of hundreds of Spanish prisoners at La Guaira.

Decline and legacy

Boves defeated Bolívar at La Puerta in June 1814, and the population of Caracas fled east in the Emigration to the East. Boves was killed at Urica in December 1814, but the republic had collapsed, and Bolívar withdrew to New Granada and in 1815 into exile in Jamaica.