Revolution of April 19, 1810

Throughout the 18th century, there were several movements of dissatisfaction among the population of present-day Venezuela with the Spanish administration. Although more motivated by economic and social than political causes, they contributed to the development of a national sentiment opposed to Spanish rule. Of these movements, the Rebellion of Andresote (1730–1733), the Rebellion of San Felipe (1741), the Rebellion of El Tocuyo (1744), the Insurrection of Juan Francisco de León (1749–1751), and the Revolt of the Comuneros (1781) stand out.[1]

In addition, there were movements between the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century for political change. These are the movements of José Leonardo Chirino and José Caridad González (1795), the conspiracy of Gual and España (1797), the attempt of Francisco Javier Pirela (1799), and the invasions of Francisco de Miranda (1806).[1]

In 1808, Spain was undergoing a political crisis. Napoleon took advantage of the crisis and forced the Spanish king, Ferdinand VII, and his father, Charles IV, to abdicate. The deposed king and his father were imprisoned and Napoleon's older brother, Joseph Bonaparte, assumed the Spanish throne with the title Joseph I. Consequently, the Spanish people formed several governing juntas that declared themselves loyal to Ferdinand VII and organized to resist the French monarch militarily. On September 25, the juntas unified into the Supreme Central Junta, which manifested itself as Fernando VII's substitute until his return.[2] The Supreme Central Junta was recognized as a legitimate authority by both Joseph I's opponents in Spain and Spanish America,[3] despite attempts in the colonies to establish autonomous governing juntas,[4] such as the Mantuanos Conspiration (1808) in Caracas.[5]

Although the official objective of the Supreme Junta of Caracas was to defend the territory from a possible French invasion,[9] the most prominent members had the intention of making Venezuela completely independent. This was done by sending diplomatic agents to the United States and the United Kingdom, forming secretariats of state, and calling for congressional elections.[7] In addition, the junta took other revolutionary measures, such as representation to African descendants, abolition of the slave trade (but not slavery), and freedom of the press and commerce.[9]

On March 2, 1811, the General Congress of Venezuela was installed, replacing the Supreme Junta of Caracas. On July 5 of the same year, the Congress decides by an absolute majority of representatives (only one deputy opposed) for the declaration of Venezuela's independence, starting the First Republic of Venezuela.[8]

The revolution is conventionally noted as the beginning of Venezuela's struggle for independence.[12][13] In the year 1909, the National Academy of Venezuelan History produced an agreement with fourteen considerations regarding the importance of the date, concluding that the revolution "constitutes the initial, definitive, and transcendental movement of Venezuelan emancipation."[14] In contrast, historians such as David Bushnell and Germán Carrera Damas consider it only as the culmination in Venezuela of a larger crisis that involved the entire Spanish Empire.[15]