Simon Bolivar, the Liberator by Guillermo A. Sherwell (page 2)

officers and friends, among them Piar and Ribas, himself.

Before leaving Venezuela, the Liberator issued a proclamation, for he never neglected an opportunity to speak to his fellow-countrymen and to the world in order to build up favorable public opinion, by which he hoped to win a final victory. In that document Bolivar emphasized the fact that the Spaniards themselves had done very little harm in the fields of battle to the cause of independence, and that defeats were due mainly to the native royalists. This assertion was intended to produce a change of mind on the part of the native population.

“It seems that Heaven, to grant us at one time humiliation and pride, has permitted that our conquerors be our own brothers, and that our brothers only may triumph over us. The army of freedom exterminated the enemy’s force, but it could not and should not exterminate the men for whose happiness it fought in hundreds of battles. It is not just to destroy the men who do not want to be free, nor can freedom be enjoyed under strength of arms against the opinion of fanatics whose depraved souls make them love chains as though they were social ties…. Your brothers and not the Spaniards have torn your bosom, shed your blood, set your homes on fire and condemned you to exile.”

He then affirmed that he was going to Nueva Granada to render an account of his conduct and to have an impartial judgment, and finished by asserting to the Venezuelans that the people of Nueva Granada would again help them, and that he would always be on the side of liberty.

The East was soon subjected, and all Venezuela was once again under the yoke of Spain, mainly through the work of her own children. During these campaigns Piar and Ribas and the brave General Bermudez, of whom we shall speak later, were united for a while, but at last each one took his own way. The only good thing that occurred at this time was Boves’ death in a battle in December, 1814. Morales was still left as Venezuela’s curse.

Ribas, after a defeat, was traveling with two officers. He was sick and sad. He lay down to rest under a tree while his servant went to a near-by town to obtain some provisions. The servant betrayed his master, and Ribas was imprisoned. In the town he was humiliated and insulted. Then he was killed. His head was sent to Caracas and placed in an iron cage at the entrance of the city. His wife, who was Bolivar’s aunt, locked herself in a room and swore not to go out until freedom was achieved, and she remained true to her vow.

Bolivar and Marino arrived in Cartagena on September 25, 1814. The former was on his way to Tunja to render an account of his Venezuelan campaign, when he learned that some Venezuelan troops commanded by General Urdaneta, who were in the territory of Nueva Granada, were quarreling with the native soldiers. He went directly to the army to try to prevent anarchy and dissensions between the Venezuelans and the natives of Nueva Granada. The news proved to be false. The army of Urdaneta, which had left Venezuela to await in the land of Nueva Granada new instructions from the Liberator, and had obtained the protection of that government, received him with the greatest enthusiasm.

From there Bolivar proceeded to Tunja, where he was very well received by Congress. He requested that his conduct be examined and impartially judged. The President of the Congress answered him with the following magnanimous words:

“General, your country is not vanquished while your sword exists. With this sword you will again rescue her from the power of her oppressors. The Congress of Nueva Granada will give you its protection because it is satisfied with your conduct. You have been an unfortunate general, but you are a great man.”

Then the Congress ordered him to liberate Santa Fe (Bogota), a part of Nueva Granada, which had been separated from the Union. Bolivar with his usual activity proceeded to Bogota, reached the outskirts of the city and, promising immunity of properties and honor, offered a capitulation. The commander of the garrison refused to accept and an assault followed, the result of which was the surrender of the city. Bolivar was rewarded with the title of _Capitan General_ of the Army of the Confederation, and Congress immediately transferred the capital from Tunja to Santa Fe.

Congress asked Bolivar to direct the campaign to protect Nueva Granada against the royalists. So he decided to take Santa Marta, the only place in the country which was still in the hands of the Spaniards; then he planned to fight once more for the liberty of Venezuela. Before adjourning, to meet again in Santa Fe, the Congress at Tunja conferred on Bolivar the official title of Pacificador (Peacemaker), which is frequently used with reference to him, but not so generally as the title he himself used in preference to any other: Libertador.

On this occasion Bolivar could not count on certain troops of Cartagena because of the hostility of Castillo, the commander, who had had differences with Bolivar, and was jealous of his glory. These dissensions hindered Bolivar’s advance towards Santa Marta, and produced delays which resulted in great loss of provisions, and also of men because of an epidemic of smallpox which developed in the army. To avoid further dissension, Bolivar was willing to resign without using force against the Cartagena contingent. He was unwilling to permit the royalists to learn of disagreements in the independent army. He had at last, however, to make ready to take the city and was going to lay siege to it when it was learned that a great Spanish army had arrived in Venezuela. The delay of the independent soldiers before Cartagena permitted some royalist troops to take other cities of Nueva Granada, causing great losses of men and arms on different occasions. Bolivar lost 1,000 men; 100 artillery guns and other armament were also lost, as well as the boats upon which the army counted and which would have been very useful to capture the city of Santa Marta. At last, convinced that there was no remedy for the situation, Bolivar determined to resign, and he called for an assembly of his officers, who accepted his resignation. He embarked for Jamaica, first issuing another warning against the disunion of the patriots.

“No tyrant,” he said, “has been destroyed by your arms; they have been stained with the blood of brothers in two struggles which have produced in us an equal sorrow.”

The departure of Bolivar was very soon to be deplored by the armies of the independents.

We have mentioned that a Spanish army had arrived in Venezuela, and we must give some details concerning that expedition. Never in the history of the Spanish domination and struggles in America did Spain send such a numerous, well-equipped and powerful army as the one mentioned above. It was commanded by Field-Marshal D. Pablo Morillo.

CHAPTER VIII

_Bolivar in Exile and Morillo in Power. The “Jamaica Letter”_

(1814-1815)

At that time Napoleon’s luck was beginning to turn in Europe. He had been forced to free Fernando VII, who had been imprisoned since 1808. Fernando VII started to govern his country as a despot, disregarding the national constitution and the public clamor for greater freedom, and soon decided to assert his power in the New World. For that purpose he organized a powerful army, the total strength of which, exclusive of sailors, was nearly ,000
men, supplied with implements for attacks on fortified places, and with everything necessary for warfare on a large scale. This army was placed under the command of Morillo, who also brought with him a number of warships and transports. The soldiers had had experience in the European war and they had proved equal or superior to the armies of Napoleon. The plan was to seize Venezuela and Nueva Granada, then go southward to Peru, and then to Buenos Aires.

Morillo decided to land in the island of Margarita, whose inhabitants had distinguished themselves by their heroism in the long war for independence to such an extent that, upon becoming a province, the island changed its name to New Sparta. Two men of equal bravery, Arismendi and Bermudez, were in command of a few more than 400 men. Morales was about to lead 5,000 to 6,000 men against the island, with 32 boats, of which 12 were armed with artillery, when Morillo appeared with his huge army. Arismendi decided to surrender. However, Bermudez would not surrender, and, with reckless daring, he got into a small boat, passed between Morillo’s large vessels, insulting the occupants, and then made his escape, going to join the patriots in Cartagena.

Morillo was a very clever soldier; it is said that Wellington himself recommended that he should be chosen, as the Spaniard ablest to subject Venezuela and New Granada. He was as harsh as he was clever, and was ready to wage a war of extermination. By the time Morillo reached the continent, Venezuela was in the hands of Spain. That was at the end of 1814, a fatal year for the cause of independence. From New Spain to the south, the Spanish armies seemed to encounter no resistance. Morillo likened the silence and peace he found everywhere to the silence and peace of the cemeteries. There was no government anywhere, not even military authority. Crime prevailed; cupidity and vengeance were the guiding principles of the chieftains.

After leaving a garrison at Margarita and Cumana, Morillo went to Caracas, where he arrived on the 11th of May, immediately taking Cagigal’s place as captain general. There he published a proclamation announcing that he was ready to go to Nueva Granada with his army, and, after levying exorbitant tributes in money from the citizens and securing in the most outrageous manner all the provisions he could possibly obtain, he sailed from Puerto Cabello for Cartagena with 8,500 men, while Morales with 3,500 advanced by land against the city.

Cartagena resisted the siege in such an admirable manner as to have her name placed side by side with the most heroic cities of history. The besiegers had all kinds of war material; the city lacked all. Still, Cartagena fought constantly during one hundred and six days. The city was then almost in ruins; its inhabitants were starving in the gutters; soldiers and civilians were dying. When Morillo entered its streets he found them almost deserted, and he made the few remaining persons suffer the worst tortures he could devise. The able-bodied men succeeded in escaping by sea.

Several more victories placed all of Nueva Granada in the power of Morillo. The Congress had to dissolve and the Spaniards entered Santa Fe, marking their entrance with the execution of more than 600 Americans, among them men of the greatest prominence and highest social standing. All hope for the liberty of South America seemed to be lost.

Bolivar arrived in Kingston in May, 1815, where he was very well received personally by the governor. But he failed to obtain any substantial help for an expedition to the mainland. Learning of the propaganda being made everywhere against the cause of independence, he once more used his pen to counteract this influence. His most important writing during his stay in Jamaica was a letter addressed on September 6, 1815, to a gentleman of the island, in which he analyzed the causes of the American failure and the reasons he had to hope for the final success of the cause. The “Letter of Jamaica” is counted as one of the greatest documents from the pen of Bolivar.

First, he examines all the errors and crimes committed by the Spaniards in America, describes the partial success of the American armies and the development of the war, as well as the enormous sacrifices made for the cause of independence everywhere, from New Spain to the provinces of the River Plata and Chile. He deprecates the attitude of Europe, which does not intervene to save America from the clutches of an oppressive government, and proves that even for the good of Europe, the independence of America should be secured.

“Europe itself,” he said, “by reasons of wholesome policies, should have prepared and carried out the plan of American independence, not only because it is so required for the balance of the world, but because this is a legitimate and safe means of obtaining commercial posts on the other side of the ocean.”

He very exactly described the true condition of the American people in the following lucid way:

“I consider the actual state of America as when, after the coll of the Roman Empire, each member constituted a political system in conformity with its interests and position, but with this great difference: that these scattered members reestablished the old nationalities with the alterations required by circumstances or events. But we, who scarcely keep a vestige of things of the past, and who, on the other hand, are not Indians nor Europeans, but a mixture of the legitimate owners of the country and the usurping Spaniards; in short, we, being Americans by birth and with rights equal to those of Europe, have to dispute these rights with the men of the country, and to maintain ourselves against the possession of the invaders. Thus, we find ourselves in the most extraordinary and complicated predicament.”

After analyzing slavery in the abstract, he said:

“Americans, under the Spanish system now in vigor, have in society no other place than that of serfs fit for work, and, at the most, that of simple consumers; and even this is limited by absurd restrictions, such as prohibition of the cultivation of European products; the mono of certain goods in the hands of the king; the prevention of the establishment in America of factories not possessed by Spain; the exclusive privileges of trade, even regarding the necessities of life; the obstacles placed in the way of the American provinces so that they may not deal with each other, nor have understandings, nor trade. In short, do you want to know what was our lot? The fields, in which to cultivate indigo, cochineal, coffee, sugar cane, cocoa, cotton; the solitary plains, to breed cattle; the deserts, to hunt the wild beasts; the bosom of the earth, to extract gold, with which that avaricious country was never satisfied.”

* * * * *

“We were never viceroys or governors except by very extraordinary reasons; archbishops and bishops, seldom; ambassadors, never; military men, only as subordinates; nobles, without privileges; lastly, we were neither magistrates nor financiers, and hardly merchants. All this we had to accept in direct opposition to our institutions.

“The Americans have risen suddenly and without previous preparation and without previous knowledge and, what is more deplorable, without experience in public affairs, to assume in the world the eminent dignity of legislators, magistrates, administrators of the public treasury, diplomats, generals and all the supreme and subordinate authorities which form the hierarchy of an organized state.

“The events of the mainland have proved that perfectly representative institutions do not agree with our character, habits, and present state of enlightenment…. So long as our fellow citizens do not acquire the talents and the political virtues which distinguish our brothers of the North, who have a system of government altogether popular in character, I am very much afraid these institutions might lead to our ruin instead of aiding us….

“I desire more than anybody else to see the formation in America the greatest nation in the world, not so much as to its extension and wealth as to its glory and freedom.”

* * * * *

“Monsignor de Pradt has wisely divided America into fifteen or seventeen independent states, ruled by as many monarchs. I agree on the first point, for America could be divided into seventeen countries As for the second point, although it is easier to realize, it is less useful, and, consequently, I am not in favor of American monarchies. Here are my reasons: The real interests of a republic are circumscribed in the sphere of its conservation, prosperity and glory. Since freedom is not imperialistic, because it is opposed to empires, no impulse induces Republicans to extend the limits of their country; injuring its own center, with only the object of giving their neighbors a liberal constitution. They do not acquire any right nor any advantage by conquering them, unless they reduce them to colonies, conquered territories or allies, following the example of Rome…. A state too large in itself, or together with its dependent territories, finally decays and its free form reverts to a tyrannical one, the principles which should conserve it relax, and at last it evolves into despotism. The characteristic of the small republics is permanency; that of the large ones is varied, but always tends to an empire. Almost all of the former have been of long duration; among the latter Rome alone lived for some centuries, but this was because the capital was a republic, and the rest of her dominions were not, for they governed themselves by different laws and constitutions.”

Then Bolivar ventures to prophesy the destiny of all nations of the continent, from Mexico to the River Plata, and he does so with such accuracy of vision that almost to the word the history of the first half century of independence in Latin America was shaped according to his prediction. The tranquility of Chile, the tyranny of Rosas in Argentina, the Mexican empire, all were clearly seen in the future by his genius. Near the close of his letter, he adds these inspired words:

“How beautiful it would be if the Isthmus of Panama should come to be to us what the Isthmus of Corinth was to the Greeks! May God g that some day we may have the happiness of installing there an august congress of the representatives of the republics, kingdoms and empires, to discuss and study the high interests of peace and war with the nations of the other three parts of the world! This kind of cooperation may be established in some happy period of our regeneration….”

He ends this capital document of his career as a political writer, by pleading again for union as the only means of putting an end to Spanish domination, in America.

Nothing better can be said than the following words of a biographer of Bolivar:[1]

“Alone, poor, in a foreign land, when his friends had denied him and had persecuted him, and his enemies had torn him to shreds in blind rage, when everybody saw America carrying once again the yoke imposed upon her, Bolivar saw her redeemed, and from the depth of his soul he felt himself bound to this wonderful task of redemption. His spirit, animated by an unknown breath, and which had lived a superior life, saw Colombia free, Chile established, Argentina expanding, Mexico Peru liberated, the Isthmus of Panama converted into the center of communications and activities of human industry; it saw South America divided into powerful nationalities, having passed from slavery to struggle and to the conquest of her own dignity, and from the times of the sword to those of political civilization and organization of power; national units weighty in the statistics of the world by reason of their products, by their commerce, by their culture, by their wars, their alliances, their laws, their free governments; with names of their own, with famous histories, with supreme virtues. All that Bolivar saw, and of all that Bolivar wrote. Can human intelligence go any farther?”

[Footnote 1: Larrazabal, “Vida del Libertador Simon Bolivar,” Vol. I. page 404.]

CHAPTER IX

_Bolivar’s Expedition and New Exile. He Goes to Guayana_

(1815-1817)

While in Jamaica, Bolivar was as active as he had been in Venezuela. While he used his pen to teach the world the meaning of the South American Revolution, and to try and obtain friends for the cause of freedom, he worked actively in the Island and in other parts of the West Indies to organize an expedition to the continent.

In this work he was very greatly helped by Luis Brion,–a wealthy merchant of Curacao,–who sacrificed practically all of his private fortune in helping the cause of Liberty.

The influence exercised by the Holy Alliance on the governments of Europe had some effect on the authorities of Jamaica, who hindered the assembling of munitions of war by Bolivar. He then decided to go to the Republic of Haiti, after having escaped almost by a miracle, an assassin who, believing that he was asleep in a hammock where he usually rested, stabbed to death a man occupying Bolivar’s customary place. The assassin was a slave set free by Bolivar.

On his way to Haiti he learned of the surrender of Cartagena. The President of Haiti, Alexander Petion, received Bolivar in a most friendly way, and gave him very substantial assistance in the preparations for his expedition to the continent. The men who had succeeded in escaping from Cartagena were also well received by Petion, and treated in a most hospitable manner. Among them many were personal enemies of Bolivar. None the less, Bolivar was elected supreme head of the expedition, and the refugees from Cartagena followed him in his new undertaking, with Marino as Major General of the Army and Brion as Admiral. About 250 persons constituted the party, but they carried enough ammunition to arm six thousand men, whom they hoped to gather together on the continent. Once more Bolivar seemed to undertake the impossible, but, as ever, he had full confidence in the ultimate triumph of liberty. The proportion of his enemies to his followers was 100 to 1. Public opinion was still against him, but he was still the same man who, at that time more than any other, had become a symbol–the symbol of America’s freedom.

Bolivar made his way to the Island of Margarita, where the Spanish commander had systematically carried on a work of destruction of wealth and humiliation of families.

In November of 1815, Arismendi, the man who had submitted to Morillo, again proclaimed independence in the Island and started to fight with no better arms than clubs and farm implements. The Governor determined to destroy the population of the Island, even allowing his anger to fall on Arismendi’s own wife,–but Arismendi continued fighting and, knowing his attitude, Bolivar decided to come to Margarita before touching the continent. On that island Bolivar reorganized the government of the Republic in its third period and was again proclaimed Supreme Chief of the Republic, while Marino was designated Second Chief. Then Bolivar called for the election of deputies and proclaimed that he would stop the War to Death, provided the Spaniards would also stop waging war in a ruthless way. The Captain General answered by offering 10,000 pesos for the head of either Bolivar, Bermudez, Marino, Piar, Brion or Arismendi. From Margarita the undaunted Libertador went to the continent, landing in Carupano, from which place he sent Marino to fight in the east, in the land of his old victories, where he was well known; and organized a military school to prepare officers, and worked with his usual activity in the organization of the army, while a popular assembly gathered in the city and again accepted Bolivar as Supreme Chief.

Marino and Piar, the latter fostering the ambitions of the former, started again to act against the orders of the Libertador. Several partial defeats made the condition of the insurgents so critical that Bolivar made up his mind to leave the east and commence operations in the west, as he had previously done. On July 6, he and his men landed in Ocumare de la Costa, a port north of Valencia, proclaimed the cessation of the War to Death, and offered pardon to all those who surrendered, even though they were Spaniards. He also proclaimed the freedom of all slaves, thereby fulfilling a promise made to President Petion of Haiti.

“Henceforward,” he said, “in Venezuela, there will be only one class of men: all will be citizens.”

From there Brion was sent to do as much damage as possible to the Spanish sea trade, and he also received a commission to get in touch with the government of Washington, and with the patriots of Mexico. The royalists organized a strong veteran army and attacked Bolivar, who, with his inexperienced soldiers, could not resist, and had to leave Ocumare. One of his followers, called MacGregor, who had been sent with some men by Bolivar into the interior of the country, decided to go and join the guerrillas who were fighting the royalists in the interior; and his daring movement was crowned with success, for he and his men advanced through the plains, fighting the royalists, or dodging them when they were too numerous to be fought. In that way they covered a distance of over four hundred miles, at last joining the forces fighting near the Orinoco. Again deprived of his prestige, Bolivar was deposed and Marino and Bermudez were elected first and second chiefs. Bolivar had to return to Haiti. His deposition was not well received by the chiefs of the guerrillas, who were fighting the royalists in the interior. Bolivar–undaunted as ever–thought only of organizing an expedition to assist those who were fighting in Venezuela. Petion once more rendered him substantial aid. He was invited to go to Mexico and help in the War of Independence of New Spain, but he declined, and instead continued to make preparations to go back to fight for his country.

The different commanders had obtained some partial successes, but they soon recognized the necessity of Bolivar’s leadership, and sent Arismendi to Port-au-Prince to ask him to return. Admiral Brion also besought him to go back to Venezuela. At the end of December Bolivar reached Margarita Island with some Venezuelan exiles. Once there, he issued a proclamation convoking an assembly, for his paramount desire was to have the military power subordinated to the civil government.

On January 1, 1817, Bolivar once more set foot on the continent, this time never to leave it. The lessons learned through failures had been well learned, and new plans were taking shape in his mind. He was thinking of the freedom of all America, not only of Venezuela, and started plans for the freedom of New Granada and Peru: all this when he had no soldiers to command, except 400 men under Arismendi, to which 300 were added by conscription. He advanced towards Caracas, but was defeated, and had to return to Barcelona, leaving all his war provisions in the hands of the enemy. He then had 600 men, and he knew that an army of over 5,000 royalists was advancing against the city. At first he thought of resisting the enemy, counting on the help of Marino, who was at that time in the South, and who, in fact, hastened to the rescue. Marino and Bermudez entered Barcelona and Bolivar received them with joy. Nevertheless, he understood that he could not stay in that city. It was clear that the best method of resistance would consist in attacking the royalists from different and unexpected angles. He concluded that he must leave Barcelona and go to the Orinoco Valley and the Province of Guayana (Venezuelan Guiana). Several of his officers opposed the idea so strongly that at last Bolivar was induced to leave some men to protect the city and send the rest to Guayana, under the command of Marino. The men left in Barcelona were sacrificed by the royalists. In April Bolivar crossed the Orinoco and afterwards met Piar, who was besieging the City of Angostura, the most important position of Guayana. Piar had been fighting in that section with some success since the end of 1816.

The inconstancy of Marino showed itself once more, although in this instance his conduct was opposed by Bermudez and other officers. He did not give opportune help to Barcelona, and tried to foster his own ambitions instead of collaborating with Bolivar. Without the support of Marino and with Barcelona lost, Bolivar found himself in a very difficult situation, counting more on his own genius than on human help. Morillo, master of Nueva Granada, had come from Santa Fe and destroyed most of the insurgent forces existing in the western part of Venezuela. He had received more reinforcements from Spain. Bolivar, nevertheless, continued his work with his all powerful faith, trying to have his dreams proved true by the effort of his will. “We shall conquer them and we shall free America,” he used to say. The greatest support that Bolivar found at that time was that of General Piar’s troops.

In order to supplant Bolivar, Marino convoked a congress, which proved to be a farce, having but ten members. Marino solemnly resigned his place of second in command of the army and also resigned on behalf of Bolivar, without the slightest authorization from his chief. The “congress” appointed Marino supreme chief of the army and decided to establish the capital of the republic in Margarita. The other heads of the army refused to recognize the usurper, and many of them, among whom the foremost was Colonel Antonio Jose Sucre, went to Guayana to join the legitimate commander. Marino himself at last abruptly dissolved the congress. Bolivar, with his usual prudence, did not show that he noticed the attitude of his second, and praised General Piar for his triumphs, knowing, nevertheless, by that time, that he could not count on the personal loyalty of the latter.

While attending to the operations of the siege Bolivar did not neglect his usual administrative work. He organized a system of military justice so as to avoid the arbitrariness of the military chieftains and, being aware that Piar had tried to foster the disloyalty of Marino, he endeavored to convince him of his folly, and said very plainly that unless these machinations were stopped, great evils must be expected.

Admiral Brion came with his boats to the Orinoco in order to help in the siege of Angostura. When he arrived in the river, the royalists of Angostura decided to abandon the city, which fell into the hands of the independents, Bermudez being the first to occupy it. Bolivar found himself for the first time behind his enemy and was ready to fight against his foes in the position that his foes had held in the past. He obtained, besides, great resources in cattle and horses, and it seemed possible that he might obtain the cooeperation of the plainsmen of the Apure Valley, the old followers of Boves, now followers of Jose Antonio Paez, a lover of personal liberty and a sworn foe of the Spanish regime.

CHAPTER X

_Piar’s Death. Victory of Calabozo. Second Defeat at La Puerta. Submission of Paez_

(1817-1818)

Morillo, who had lost a great part of his army and his prestige trying to conquer the Island of Margarita, was obliged to withdraw when he discovered that Bolivar had become master of Guayana. The two leaders were soon again confronting each other on the mainland.

Bolivar, who had always been conciliatory towards his personal enemies and who had tried to make friends with all the chieftains, had been constantly preaching union among all the elements fighting for independence. He had, however, met with slight success, and a moment came when he realized that he must use strong measures in order to have discipline in his army. Piar tried to induce certain officers to establish a council for the purpose of curtailing the authority of Bolivar. The Liberator tried persuasion, but failed. Piar decided to leave the army. He pretended to be sick and, offering to go to one of the islands of the Caribbean, requested leave of absence, which was granted.

Once having obtained his leave of absence, he became Bolivar’s open foe; he remained in Venezuela and came back to Angostura, where he intrigued with other chieftains, and tried to get the support of Bermudez to deprive Bolivar of his command. Peaceful means failing again to win over Piar, Bolivar ordered his apprehension. Piar fled to Marino, and began enlisting soldiers to resist. He enjoyed great prestige; he had been a distinguished general and in bravery, daring, skill and personal magnetism, no one surpassed him. Bolivar referred with his officers and, after being assured of the support of all, he ordered the apprehension of Piar, who was abandoned by his own followers and fell into the hands of Bolivar’s agents.

Piar was court-martialed and was sentenced to death. Bolivar confirmed the sentence and Piar died with the same bravery and serenity he had shown on the field of battle. Bolivar deplored the fate of the valiant general, but with this action succeeded in obtaining a greater measure of respect and obedience from the army than he had been able to secure with his former leniency.

As a measure of justice and wisdom, Bolivar, on the 3rd of September, 1817, decreed the distribution of national wealth among the officers and soldiers of the Republic as a reward for their services. A council of state was established, and the General rendered to it an account of his work and presented an exposition of the state of the national affairs. In his address he explained the division of the powers of the state, and freely praised all the generals of the insurgent army, mentioning General Paez, the chieftain of the _llaneros_ (plainsmen), who was the terror of the royalists and whose support was becoming of paramount importance to the Liberator. He declared that Angostura was to be the provisional capital of Venezuela until the city of Caracas could be retaken from the royalists. Then he divided the administration into three sections,–state and finance, war and navy, and interior and justice, putting in each the man best prepared for the position.

In order to carry out his decision to advance against Caracas, he first made sure that he could count on the assistance of Paez. The latter agreed to fight in combination with Bolivar on condition that he would be absolutely independent and have full power in the territory under his command. Paez was one of the most remarkable characters of the revolution of independence and the early years of Venezuela. He was a young man when he came in touch with Bolivar,–strong, attractive, every inch a warrior, who lived with his plainsmen just as they lived, living with, and caring for, his horse as the others did, eating the same food as they did, and fighting whenever a chance presented itself. He was ignorant. He was opposed to discipline and his men knew none,–they followed him because of his prestige and because he was one of them, but better than any of them. His men were the same kind Boves had commanded, and as Boves was terrible with his horsemen, so was Paez, with the exception that Paez fought for the cause of liberty and did not stain his life with the monstrosities of the Spanish chieftain. His name was respected in the southwestern part of Venezuela, and he was ready to fight against the army of Morillo when he received the message of Bolivar.

Morillo concentrated his army in Calabozo, the center of the plains, intending to attack Paez in Apure, and other patriots who operated to the south under Zaraza. Bolivar sent General Pedro Leon Torres to support the latter, but they were defeated in the bloody battle of La Hogaza.

Bolivar began his movement to join Paez, full of confidence in spite of the check at La Hogaza. It was now 1818. He was wont to say “This year will see the end of the Spanish power in Venezuela.” His faith had more foundation than during his exile and the earlier expeditions, when, with a handful of men, he had started to fight against the great armies organized by the Spanish government. Public opinion was now beginning to swing towards him; he had Paez and his plainsmen on his side and he counted on the great resources of Guayana.

His activity was astonishing. In a month and a half, he and his men traveled 900 miles to join Paez. As they advanced, his forces were being disciplined, organized, strengthened and made ready to fight. Owing to his personal prestige, and his unbelievable daring, Paez was of inestimable value. On one occasion he promised Bolivar to have boats at a certain place so that the army could cross the Apure River. When Bolivar arrived at the point in question with the army, he found that there were no boats ready. When Paez was questioned by the Libertador, he replied:

“Oh, yes, Sir, I am counting on the boats.”

“But where are they?” Bolivar asked.

“The enemy has them,” said Paez, indicating some royalists’ launches and canoes across the river.

While Bolivar was wondering what Paez meant by that, the latter called fifty of his men and with them jumped into the river with their unsaddled horses, swam through it, defeated the enemy, and brought the boats across. Bolivar’s forces were then able to pass. Immediately the armies of independence advanced to Calabozo, with such swiftness that Morillo knew of their advance only when they had arrived. The Spaniards were utterly defeated and Morillo himself barely escaped falling prisoner. Bolivar could have advanced and finished the destruction of the royalist army, but Paez and other officers were opposed to this course, and the commander-in-chief had to yield.

Soon after this, Bolivar was again in La Victoria, between Valencia and Caracas, having occupied the rich valley of Aragua, in which he had lived as a young man of wealth, and had passed years of suffering. He immediately sent proclamations ordering all men able to fight to present themselves with arms and horses for the service of the Republic. He called on those who had been slaves to defend their own freedom, and urged the manufacture and repair of arms. His position was by no means secure. Morillo was in Valencia, and don Miguel de Latorre, the victor of La Hogaza, was in Caracas. A triumph of Morillo over some patriots near Valencia forced the Liberator to retreat in haste from La Victoria. When Morillo learned of his retreat, he immediately went on with his persecution and at last met the independent army in a place called La Puerta, where, on March 15, 1818, he inflicted on Bolivar perhaps the greatest of his defeats, although at great loss to himself, and suffering severe wounds. The Spanish authorities thought that Bolivar would never recover from this disaster, but soon the undaunted Liberator was again fighting the royal forces.

The defeat of La Puerta was so costly to the royalists that they did not dare to occupy the position. It was considered so important, however, for the cause of Spain that Morillo was rewarded with the title of Marquis of La Puerta. Morillo waited for reinforcements to be sent to him by the Spanish commander of Caracas, Latorre; and Bolivar, who never despaired, immediately got ready for new struggles. He summoned Paez to his aid and prepared for the defense of Calabozo, so that when Latorre arrived he found a well organized army under command of the Liberator. He withdrew, and Bolivar followed him, fighting an indecisive battle.

Convinced that he could not at that time occupy Caracas, Bolivar decided to consolidate his position in the West, and sent his troops towards the city of San Carlos, while he worked actively in Calabozo, and elsewhere through his lieutenants, to increase his army. Then he went to join Paez, was surprised and defeated on his way, being in imminent danger himself. Furthermore, through a partial defeat of Paez and disasters of other officers, by the end of May the insurgent forces were almost totally destroyed. Morales, of bloody reputation, had taken Calabozo; and, in the East, fate was against the independents, where the weakness of Marino had caused the loss of Cumana. In other sections, the troops had rebelled against the authority of Bolivar, and had begun to fight in the same desultory way as before. All this was not sufficient to shake the constancy and faith of Bolivar. He addressed a letter to Pueyrredon, Supreme Director of the Provinces of the River Plata, using these lofty words:

“Venezuela is now in mourning, but tomorrow, covered with laurels, she will have extinguished the last of the tyrants who now desecrate her soil. Then she will invite you to a single association, so that our motto may be ‘Unity in South America.’ All Americans should have one country.”

Back in Angostura, with his unflinching courage, he went on reviving his army and reorganizing the supreme government, which had been in the hands of the Council of State during his absence. He appointed secretaries of the cabinet and established a weekly paper to spread the new principles of the government. He again entrusted Marino with the command of the province of Cumana, took the necessary steps to suppress the symptoms of indiscipline in the army, and initiated several military operations. Again, when his means were more limited, his thoughts covered a greater field. He seemed unable to assure the liberty of Venezuela, yet he was thinking of giving freedom to Nueva Granada. He sent a proclamation to its inhabitants and directed one of his generals to invade it. He said:

“The day of America has arrived, and no human power can stop the course of nature, guided by the hand of Providence. Join your efforts to those of your brethren. Venezuela goes with me to free you, as you in the past with me gave freedom to Venezuela…. The sun will not end the course of its present period without seeing altars dedicated to liberty throughout your territory.”

This promise came true.

Before undertaking this great task, he convoked a national assembly for January 1, 1819. In his long proclamation summoning the representatives of the people he again made a summary of the work already done, and asked the people to select the best citizens for the places, without regard to the fact that they might or might not have been in the army of freedom.

“For my part,” he stated, “I renounce forever the authority you have conferred upon me, and, while the fearful Venezuelan war lasts, I shall accept none save that of a simple soldier. The first day of peace will be the last of my command.”

Venezuela had lost the best of her blood; she was nothing better than a heap of ruins, and yet, she was preparing for new and greater undertakings.

After publishing the proclamation, he started for Cumana. Learning that Marino had been defeated, he sent him to Barcelona, and returned to Angostura to organize new armies. Spain, he knew, was trying to obtain the help of the other nations of Europe to regain possession of her American colonies. He felt it expedient, therefore, once more to manifest to the world the attitude of Venezuela regarding her new relations with the mother country. He published a decree on November 20, 1818, reaffirming the principles of independence proclaimed on July 5, 1811. This decree was published and translated into three languages, to be distributed all over the world. After stating the reasons for its publication, he emphatically declared that Venezuela was free and did not contemplate further dealings with Spain, nor was she willing ever to deal with Spain except as her equal, in peace and in war, as is done reciprocally by all countries. He concluded with the following words, which represent clearly his character and that of his followers:

“The Republic of Venezuela declares that from April 19, 1810, she has been fighting for her rights; that she has shed most of her sons’ blood, that she has sacrificed her youth, all her pleasures, and all that is dear and sacred to men, in order to regain her sovereign rights and in order to keep them in their integrity, as Divine Providence granted them to her; the Venezuelan people have decided to bury themselves in the ruins of their country if Spain, Europe and the world insist on subjecting them to the Spanish yoke.”

Immediately afterwards, Bolivar had to go to the West, where Paez had been proclaimed supreme director of the republic by some dissenters. Bolivar talked with Paez in private, induced him to return to obedience and submission, and promoted him to major general in command of the independent cavalry. The Liberator then returned to install the national congress and to make preparations for the liberation of Nueva Granada.

CHAPTER XI

_The Congress of Angostura. A Great Address. Campaigning in the Plains_

(1819)

Congress did not meet until February 15, 1819, on account of the late arrival of some representatives. There again Bolivar spoke, and on this occasion he excelled himself in expressing his ideas regarding freedom.[1]

[Footnote 1: Bolivar has been accused of verbosity. Of all the accusations, this is one of the most stupid. Bolivar’s style is the style of his epoch. The Spanish and French writers of that period wrote exactly in the same form, and if his words do not appear as modern and sober as we might wish them at this time, we must remember that times alter customs, and styles also, and that if a document of Bolivar’s were judged with no knowledge of the work realized by the great man of the South, it might appear bombastic; when his life is known, his words seem altogether natural. He was proud, and his words show it, but his pride was a collective pride rather than an individual one. He praised the work of the liberators, while he was the Liberator _par excellence_, with this title conferred upon him officially. When he mentioned his own person and his own glory, he did not exceed the language of men of his time, and employed words even inferior to his own merits. He was as emphatic as his race is, but he was never pedantic, and as for the vanity of which Lorain Petre accuses him and his race, it never existed. Lorain Petre’s pamphlet is a work of passion masquerading as one of wisdom and of impartiality.]

“Happy is the citizen,” he said in his address, “who, under the shield of the armies he commands, has convoked national sovereignty to exercise its absolute will…. Only a forceful need, coupled with the imperious will of the people, could force me into the terrible and hazardous position of Dictator and Supreme Chief of the Republic. I breathe freely now when I return to you this authority, which, with much danger, difficulty and sorrow, I have succeeded in keeping in the midst of the most horrible misfortunes which can befall a people.”

Among the most remarkable parts of this document, the following will bear close and careful study:

“The continuation of authority in one individual has frequently been the undoing of democratic governments. Repeated elections are essential in popular systems, because nothing is so dangerous as to permit a citizen to remain long in power. The people get used to obeying and he gets used to commanding it, from which spring usurpation and tyranny.” … “We have been subjected by deception rather than by force. We have been degraded by vice rather than by superstition. Slavery is a child of darkness; an ignorant people becomes a blind instrument of its own destruction. It takes license for freedom, treachery for patriotism, vengeance for justice.” … “Liberty is a rich food, but of difficult digestion. Our weak fellow citizens must greatly strengthen their spirit before they are able to digest the wholesome and nutritious bread of liberty.” … “The most perfect system of government is the one which produces the greatest possible happiness, the greatest degree of social safety, and the greatest political stability.”

The following study of the balance of powers in a country shows keen political penetration:

“In republics, the executive must be the stronger, because all conspire against him; while in monarchies, the legislative power should be the stronger, because all conspire in favor of the monarch. The splendor of the throne, of the crown, of the purple; the formidable support given to it by the nobility; the immense wealth which generations accumulate in the same dynasty; the fraternal protection which kings mutually enjoy, are considerable advantages which militate in favor of royal authority and make it almost boundless. These advantages show the need of giving a Republican executive a greater degree of authority than that possessed by a constitutional prince.

“A Republican executive is an individual isolated in the midst of society, to restrain the impulses of the people toward license and the propensities of administrators to arbitrariness. He is directly subject to the legislative power, to the people; he is a single man, resisting the combined attack of opinion, personal interests and the passions of society.”

Elsewhere in his address, he remarks:

“The government of Venezuela has been, is, and must be Republican its foundation must be the sovereignty of the people, the division of powers, civil freedom, the proscription of slavery, the abolition of monarchy and of privileges.” … “Unlimited freedom, absolute democracy, are the rocks upon which Republican hopes have been destroyed. Look at the old republics, the modern republics, and the republics now in process of formation; almost all have aimed to establish themselves as absolutely democratic, and almost all have failed in their just desires.” … “Angels only, and not men, could exist free, peaceful and happy, while all of them exercise sovereign power.” … “Let the legislative power relinquish the attributes belonging to the executive, but let it acquire, nevertheless, new influence in the true balance of authority. Let the courts be strengthened by the stability and independence of the judges the establishment of juries, and of civil and criminal codes, not prescribed by old times, nor by conquering kings, but by the voice of nature, by the clamor of justice and by the genius of wisdom.” … “Humankind cries against the thoughtless and blind legislators who have thought that they might with impunity try chimerical institutions. All the peoples of the world have attempted to gain freedom, some by deeds of arms, others by laws passing alternately from anarchy to despotism, from despotism to anarchy. Very few have contented themselves with moderate ambitions constituting themselves in conformity with their means, their spirit and their circumstances. Let us not aspire to impossible things, lest, desiring to rise above the region of freedom, we descend to the region of tyranny. From absolute liberty, peoples invariably descend to absolute power, and the means between those two extremes is social liberty.” … “In order to constitute a stable government, a national spirit is required as a foundation, ha for its object a uniform aspiration toward two capital principles; moderation of popular will and limitation of public authority.” … “Popular education must be the first care of the paternal love of Congress. Morals and enlightenment are the two poles of a republic; morals and enlightenment are our first needs.”

Then Bolivar recommended the sanctioning of his decree granting freedom to the slaves.

“I abandon to your sovereign decision the reform or abrogation of all my statutes and decrees, but I implore for the confirmation of the absolute freedom of slaves as I would implore for my own life and the life of the Republic.”

This document might well be quoted in its entirety. Very few in the history of mankind can compare with it. “No one has ever spoken like this man,” says an author.[1] The peoples of America have been marching steadily, though at times haltingly, but always in a progressive way, towards the ideals of Bolivar. The Congress of Angostura carried into effect many of these sublime principles.

[Footnote 1: Larrazabal–Vida de Simon Bolivar. Vol. 2, p. 177.]

“An assembly of tried and illustrious men, the Congress of Angostura, responded to the important requirements of the revolution, and when it gave birth to Colombia, powerful and splendid, it realized no longer a task Venezuelan in character, but rather an American mission.”[1]

“The address of the Liberator in Angostura may be considered as a masterpiece of reason and patriotism.”[2]

At the beginning the Congress was formed of twenty-six deputies, which number was increased to twenty-nine, representing the provinces of Caracas, Barcelona, Cumana, Barinas, Guayana, Margarita and Casanare. This last province belonged to Nueva Granada and the others forming the same vice-royalty were expected to be represented as soon as freed from Spanish domination. Its president was don Francisco Antonio Zea.

As was proper Bolivar immediately divested himself of the civil authority, handing it to the President of the Congress and then resigned his command of the army, offering to serve in any military position, in which he pledged himself to give an example of subordination and of the “blind obedience which should distinguish every soldier of the Republic.” The Congress, as was to be expected, confirmed Bolivar in his command and sanctioned all the commissions he had given during the campaign. He was also elected President of the Republic, with don Francisco Antonio Zea as Vice-President to take charge of the government during the campaigns of the Liberator. He organized the government, made the appointments for the cabinet and sent commissioners to England to obtain arms, ammunition and a loan of a million pounds sterling, undertakings in which the Republic did not meet with success at that time.

[Footnote 1: Discurso de Bolivar en el Congreso de Angostura,–Caracas.–1919.]

[Footnote 2: Larrazabal–Vida de Simon Bolivar. Vol. 2, p. 177.]

The installation of the Congress made a great impression at home and abroad, in spite of the attacks and ridicule with which the Spaniards tried to discredit it. On that eventful day Bolivar saw his dream of a great nation, Colombia, take shape, even though it were in danger of dying shortly after its birth.

After asking all the members of the government and prominent persons of Angostura to remain united in the cause of liberty, he went to join the army in the western section.

During his stay in Angostura and afterwards he had been receiving foreign contingents, especially from England. The Foreign Legion played from that time on a very important role in the War of Independence and helped substantially to obtain the triumph. By means of the British contingents, the plainsmen of Paez, the regular armies of Bermudez and Marino, and the genius of Bolivar, which united and directed all, the final victory was achieved.

After a rapid march, Bolivar joined Paez and for a while waged a constant war in the plains, consisting of local actions by which he slowly, but surely, destroyed the morale of the royalists and did all the harm he could, the climate being a great factor in his favor. He was impetuous by nature, but for a while he imitated Fabius by slowly gnawing at the strength of his foe. He tired him with marches and surprises. He burned the grass of the plains, cleared away the cattle, and drove Morillo to the point of desperation. Meanwhile he lived the same life as the _llaneros_, for he could do whatever the semi-barbarous plainsmen did. He could ride on the bare back of a horse against the foe, or just for the exhilaration of crossing the endless plains with the swiftness of lightning; he could groom his horse and he did; he swam the rivers, waded marshes, slept on the ground and associated freely with his men in the moonlight in front of the camp fires.

At this point of the war, Paez again distinguished himself by an act of supreme daring. With 150 of his horsemen, he crossed the river Arauca, which separated the independent army from the royalists, and then feigned a retreat along the river, which in very few places could be waded. Morillo, considering him and his men easy prey, sent 1,200 men, including all his cavalry, against the retreating horsemen. When they were far from the main body of the army Paez rushed against the attacking party, without giving them time to organize, and at the first inrush he destroyed the column. The defeated royalists fled to their camp and Morillo decided to withdraw, which he did during the night. This action, fought on April 3, 1819, and known as the Battle of Las Queseras del Medio, covered Paez with glory and Morillo with discredit. Bolivar conferred all the honors and praise possible on the brave Paez and on his men.

At that time the plains began to be flooded. In the northern part of South America, the season of rain, called winter, lasts from May until October. The Valley of the Orinoco becomes in places an interior sea. The cattle go up to the highlands and, where horses walk in the summer, small boats ply in the winter, going from village to village and from home to home. The villages are built on piles, and traveling on horseback is very difficult during this season. On these plains, Bolivar and his men would travel, riding or swimming as required. They would drive cattle with them and kill them for food, pressing the remaining meat under the saddles, and continuing the march. To all of this the plainsmen were accustomed; and to this, Bolivar, born among the greatest comforts and reared amid all the refinements of life, showed no apparent repugnance.

CHAPTER XII

_Bolivar Pays His Debt to Nueva Granada. Boyaca, A Dream Comes True_

(1819)

Paez was commissioned to get fresh horses with which to advance against Barinas, when Bolivar got in communication with the province of Nueva Granada–where Santander, a very able general, had organized an army, which was fighting successfully against the royalists. Bolivar perhaps recalled his promise made to Nueva Granada before leaving Angostura, or perhaps he obeyed a long prepared plan. The fact is that he decided to do nothing less than cross the flooded plains, go to the viceroyalty, free that country from the Spanish domination and return to emancipate Venezuela. The man who could not consider himself even the equal of Morillo again dreamed of the impossible, and decided to convert it into fact.

He convoked his officers, communicated to them his plan of leaving some men to distract Morillo’s attention while he, himself, should go quickly to Nueva Granada and give it freedom, and on May 25, 1819, he started to carry out his project, one perhaps more difficult than those of Hannibal and Napoleon.

He left Paez to hold the attention of the royalists, and, besides that depletion, had to suffer the loss of many of his plainsmen who refused to accompany him across the Andes. But Colonel Rook, the head of the British Legion, assured Bolivar that he would follow him “beyond Cape Horn, if necessary.” After spending a month painfully wading through the flooded plains, he ascended the Andes and crossed them, in spite of inexpressible suffering. The men had lost most of their clothing in the marshes below; very few soldiers had even a pair of trousers in good condition. Leaving the torrid climate of the plains, these men had to climb up the Andes almost naked, on foot,–because they could not use their horses,–and to suffer the freezing cold of the summits. Many died, but the faith of Bolivar sustained the rest. The Liberator himself suffered all the fatigue of the road. He was worn out, but he was always going forward.

Then he began his fight with the royalists in the land of Nueva Granada. At this time he had no horses and his men had had to abandon most of the provisions and ammunition. While in these straits, he learned that a royalist army of 5,000 well disciplined men was approaching. Bolivar had three days only in which to get ready, but at the end of that short period he had arms and horses provided and his men prepared to fight. Then he attacked the enemy, at first by the system of guerrillas and later in formal battle, in which his genius succeeded in defeating the disciplined strength of his foes. On entering the emancipated cities he was received with the greatest enthusiasm and acclaimed as their liberator. New recruits joined him everywhere.

These pitched battles would receive greater mention in history were it not for the fact that another one took place almost immediately afterwards which, by its magnitude and its results, made the others sink to a secondary place. The royalists took position in a place called Boyaca. They were commanded by Barreiro, and formed the vanguard of the army of the viceroy Samano. Bolivar attacked them with an army only two-thirds their size and was victorious. Among the independents was Jose Antonio Anzoategui, a major general, who fought like a hero and succeeded in breaking the stubborn resistance of the enemy. Death spared him on the field of battle, but his glorious career ended a few days after the victory of Boyaca, following a short illness. He was thirty years old. A member of a very distinguished family, his culture was brilliant, his character was pure, his loyalty and patriotism were unsurpassed. His loss was equivalent to a great defeat. Barreiro, the commander of the royalists, fell prisoner to Bolivar’s troops. This battle occurred on August 7, 1819, and was not only a complete victory for the forces of independence, but also meant practically the end of the Spanish regime in Nueva Granada.

Regarding the crossing of the Andes and the victory of Boyaca, J.E. Rodo (Uruguayan), one of the greatest thinkers of recent years, says:

“Other crossings of mountains may have been more adroit and more exemplary strategy; none so audacious, so heroic and legendary. Twenty-five hundred men climb the eastern slope of the range, and a smaller number of specters descends the other side; these specters are those of the men who were strong in body and soul, for the weak ones remained in the snow, in the torrents, on the heights where the air is not sufficient for human breasts. And with those specters of survivors, the victory of Boyaca was obtained.”[1]

One of the elements required for the upbuilding of Colombia–the independence of Nueva Granada, was created by the victory of Boyaca. This was by its effects the greatest triumph of Bolivar up to that moment. The Liberator advanced to Bogota and was received there in a frenzy of admiration and love.

The whole march and campaign lasted 75 days. This is the time a man would require to traverse the distance covered; but it was completed by an army, fighting against nature and man, and conquering both. Immediately after the triumph of Boyaca, Bolivar sent troops to the different sections of Nueva Granada, and felt the satisfaction of repaying this country for what she had done when she placed in his hands the army with which he first achieved the freedom of Venezuela. In Bogota, he obtained money and other[1] very important resources with which to continue the war in Venezuela. As elsewhere, he used his marvelous activity in the work of organization, and in conducting his armies on the field of battle. A great assembly of the most prominent men of Bogota conferred upon him the title of Liberator of Nueva Granada, and bestowed the same title on all the men composing his army, each one of whom also received a cross of honor called the Cross of Boyaca. A Vice-President of Nueva Granada was appointed, General Francisco de Paula Santander, the man who had organized the troops which Bolivar joined when he invaded the viceroyalty. Bolivar considered all the inhabitants as citizens of Colombia, without asking questions about their previous conduct, and issued passports to those who cared to depart.

[Footnote 1: J.E. Rodo–Bolivar.]

After Boyaca, the campaigns of Bolivar were very swift, very successful and on a very different footing from his past campaigns. His enemies henceforth had to give up calling him the chieftain of rebels and bandits, and to treat him as an equal. He, however, by word and act showed to the world that he was not their equal, but very far their superior. After Boyaca “victory is always true, and grows, and spreads as the waters of a flood, and from peak to peak of the Andes, each mountain is a milestone of triumph.”[1]

[Footnote 1: J.E. Rodo–Bolivar.]

The royalists retreated from Bogota, and Samano fled to Cartagena. As for Bolivar, he soon returned to Venezuela, leaving the business of Nueva Granada in the hands of Santander, recommending him to respect the rights of everyone, because, as he said, “Justice is the foundation of the Republic.”

In Angostura, there had arisen dissensions, and opposition to the vice-president, and even to Bolivar, himself. Some wanted him to be treated as a deserter because he had undertaken the campaign of Nueva Granada without the permission of Congress; some pronounced him defeated; some declared that he was fleeing to safety. Marino, who had been called to occupy his seat in Congress, seconded by Arismendi, was the center of ill feeling against Bolivar. The vice-president was forced to resign, and Arismendi was elected in his stead. His first action was to appoint Marino head of the army of the East. The substitution of a military president for a civilian was a vicious precedent which, unfortunately, has been followed in many instances by the Spanish American countries. Arismendi proved, nevertheless, a good vice-president, and retained the cabinet appointed by Bolivar. Affairs were in this condition when news arrived of Bolivar’s victory in Boyaca.

The Liberator had learned of the disturbances in Angostura on his way to Venezuela. He received also at this time the distressing news of the execution, ordered by Santander, of Barreiro and the other Spanish prisoners taken in Boyaca. Bolivar had proposed to the viceroy an exchange of prisoners, but the viceroy had not even answered Bolivar’s communication. The Liberator had never agreed that the cause of freedom should be stained by the blood of prisoners, except in those very exceptional cases, already mentioned, when the War to Death decree was in effect. On some occasions, individual chieftains had not hesitated to commit crimes as heinous as those of the royalists. Though at times Bolivar had to ignore such actions, lest he be left alone by his followers, whenever he could prevent them, he did. He had recommended justice to Santander, who, though otherwise a distinguished officer, an able general and patriot, marred the fame he had acquired by this stupid act of cruelty, an act not to be justified even by the fact that Barreiro had ordered, without any form of law, the execution of many prisoners of war. Once, when a priest was imploring that the lives of prisoners be spared, Barreiro answered: “I am shooting them as I should shoot Bolivar were he ever to fall into my hands.” Santander published a proclamation in which he tried to vindicate his conduct, but history has been just in its severity, condemning him unreservedly.

Once back in Angostura, Bolivar feigned ignorance of what had happened, and comported himself with much prudence and circumspection. Arismendi presented his resignation with words of modesty, and promises which he fulfilled thereafter. On December 14, Bolivar appeared before the Congress, and in an address gave a short report of his victory in Nueva Granada, voicing his constant aspiration for the union of Venezuela and Nueva Granada to form the republic of Colombia. He said:

“Its aspiration (that of Nueva Granada) to join its provinces to those of Venezuela is … unanimous. The New Granadians are entirely convinced of the enormous advantages which would result to both countries from the creation of a new republic composed of these two nations. The union of Nueva Granada and Venezuela is the only purpose I have had since my first battles; it is the wish of the citizens of both countries, and it is the guaranty of the freedom of South America…. It behooves your wisdom to decree this great social act and to establish the principles of the pact on which this great republic is to be founded. Proclaim it before the whole world, and my services will be rewarded.”

The vice-president endorsed the proposition of Bolivar with eloquent words, incidentally praising the victorious general and his troops. Among the persons who came to compliment him was an old foe named Mariano Montilla, a colonel in the army. Bolivar knew well how to discover real qualifications even in the hearts of his enemies, and he availed himself of this opportunity to establish strong bonds of friendship between himself and his former foe. He gave Montilla full powers to go to Cartagena, still in the hands of the Spaniards, with instructions to take it. Montilla proved worthy of Bolivar’s trust. After fourteen months’ siege, he captured Cartagena, as we shall see later.

On the 17th of December, 1819, Congress decreed the creation of Colombia by the union of Venezuela, Nueva Granada and Quito into a single republic. Bolivar was then elected president. Don Antonio Zea was elected vice-president for Venezuela, and Santander for Nueva Granada (also called Cundinamarca). No vice-president was elected for Quito. The organization of Quito was deferred until the army of freedom should enter that city.

The dream of Bolivar had come true again, and his prophecy made in Jamaica in 1815 had become a reality.

CHAPTER XIII

_Humanizing War. Morillo’s Withdrawal_

(1820)

Meanwhile, in Spain, a great expedition was being prepared to come to America, an expedition which was intended to surpass even the army of Morillo. Fernando VII was determined to reestablish his absolute power, not only in Spain but in the colonies. Morillo, in Venezuela, was asking for reinforcements. In his pleas for more men he stated that he wanted them to conquer Bolivar, “an indomitable soul, whom a single victory, the smallest, is enough to make master of 500 leagues of territory.” Fernando VII was very willing to send this expedition, not merely to support his authority, but also to get rid of many officers who were accused of liberal principles. The army, gathered in Cadiz, was very soon undermined by subversive ideas. An officer named Rafael Riego led the insurrection, and on New Year’s Day, 1820, instead of being on its way to America, the army was in revolt in the name of constitutional freedom. The ultimate result of this was that the expedition did not sail, and that Fernando VII had frankly to accept a constitutional program. Although Morillo endeavored to convey the idea that the events in Cadiz had little importance, the news which reached Bolivar after some delay strengthened his hope, for it seemed evident that Spanish soldiers were unwilling to come to America to fight against the insurgents.

In January, 1820, Bolivar again crossed the plains, where Paez was in command, and journeyed towards Bogota, with the object of publishing the law establishing the Republic of Colombia. It was proclaimed there with solemnity by Santander, who, on communicating the event to the President, praised the latter with the following words: “Colombia is the only child of the immortal Bolivar.” In March Bolivar was in Bogota, where he gave the final orders for the various military operations to be conducted in the North and South.

In his absence, the Congress of Angostura decreed that he should use the official title _Libertador_ before the word _Presidente_, and consider this title as his own on all occasions of his life. Many other honors were conferred upon him and his men. Grateful at heart, Bolivar devoted his attention to the stupendous task of organizing the country.

Meanwhile, Morillo, waiting for the Spanish reinforcements which never arrived, distributed his armies on the plains and in the southwest, in order to be in a position to fight Bolivar whenever the opportunity occurred. There were still nearly 15,000 men under Morillo, besides those who were in Nueva Granada occupying Cartagena and other smaller places, and those in possession of Quito. Bolivar organized another army, determined to try his forces once more against those of his powerful foe.

As a result of the revolution in Spain, Morillo had to proclaim and swear to the Spanish constitution in the provinces that he governed. This fact wrought a marked change in the position of the contending armies. The representative government established certain rights for provinces, and at the same time created the hope among the Spaniards that the revolution would end by conferring the privilege of representation on the American colonies.

The Spanish government initiated peace negotiations with the patriots, and Morillo was made president of a commission which went to talk this matter over with the heads of the Colombian revolution in July, 1820. A “Junta Pacificadora,” or assembly to establish peace, was set up by Morillo in Caracas. Its first work was to send communications to the various generals to suspend military operations for a month, while settlement was being reached, and Bolivar was approached. On this occasion, Bolivar was addressed as “His Excellency, the President of the Republic.” He was no longer the rebel, the insurgent or the bandit.

Bolivar was not to be deceived by any conciliatory attitude on the part of the government. He decided that all his subordinate officers should furnish every means for the conferences with the royalists, but always on the basis of the independence of Colombia.

“It will never be humiliating,” he wrote in a letter to one of his officers, “to offer peace on the principles established in the declaration of the Republic of Venezuela,[1] which ought to be the foundation of all negotiations; first, because it is ordered by a law of the Republic, and second, because it is necessary according to the nature and for the salvation of Colombia.”

[Footnote 1: That of November, 1818.]

Consequently, Congress answered the commissioners who came to deal with Bolivar that the sovereign congress of Colombia would listen with pleasure to all the propositions of the Spanish government, provided they were founded on the acknowledgment of the sovereignty and independence of Colombia, and that it would not admit any departure from this principle, often proclaimed by the government and people of the republic.

Latorre, one of the most distinguished and gentlemanly of the Spanish commanders, sent a personal note to Bolivar, in which he expressed the hope that Bolivar would some day give him the pleasure of embracing him as his brother. Bolivar answered accepting the armistice, but reiterated that he would listen to no proposition not based on the independence of Colombia.

The proposal of the Spanish commanders was that the provinces should adopt the political constitution of the Spanish monarchy; the King would permit the present chieftains to retain command in the provinces they were then occupying for an indefinite time, but subordinate either to the general of the Spanish army or directly to the Spanish government. The representative of Bolivar, for Bolivar did not attend the meeting through necessities of the campaign, declined to accept the proposals, and added:

“The champions of justice and liberty, far from feeling flattered by promises of unlimited command, feel insulted to see themselves identified with the low element which prefers to oppress and be powerful to the sublime glory of being the liberators of their country.”

Meanwhile, the diplomatic representatives of Colombia were strengthening the credit of the country in London. The public debt was recognized and a system of payment was decided on. Colombia, whose freedom was not yet accepted by the world, had at the time better credit than that of some of the European countries. On the other hand, some diplomatic movements were badly conducted in Europe. The royalist system was so deeply rooted in the spirits of men that many did not hesitate to take steps to establish independent kingdoms in America, with European princes at their heads. As a matter of fact, at that time, the Spanish colonies, with the exception of Colombia, showed very marked monarchical tendencies.

Mexico had given indication of her desire for a Spanish prince, and at last fell into the hands of Iturbide. In Buenos Aires also, a monarch was wanted, and it is well known that San Martin, the hero of Argentina and Chile, was very much in favor of the monarchical system. Colombia alone continued to support Bolivar in his idea concerning the establishment and the conservation of the Republican system. It is true that Bolivar wanted a president for life and an hereditary senate, but these ideas were rejected by his fellow citizens. He defended them with great vigor, and, if we are to judge by the history of anarchy succeeded by long periods of tyranny through which many countries of Spanish America have passed, we may believe that Bolivar’s ideas were based on a knowledge of all the weaknesses characteristic of the Spanish American people of his time. He wanted to live up to the lofty words of Henry Clay, who, in the House of Representatives of the United States, proposed that Colombia should be recognized as a free country, “worthy for many reasons to stand side by side with the most illustrious peoples of the world,” a solemn utterance which had little weight at that time in the United States, but which showed for the first time in a semi-official way that the United States was taking notice of the important movement of the South.

Bolivar, after an expedition to inspect the military operations of his army, sent a communication to Morillo, notifying him that he was ready to communicate with him. In a later letter, he asked Morillo to give instructions to his commanders to enter into a treaty to regularize the war, the horrors and crimes of which up to that time had steeped Colombia in tears and blood. The first arrangement made by the commanders of both sides was the agreement to an armistice to last during six months, covering all Colombia, and designating the lines where the contending armies should stay. It was also agreed that a treaty would be drafted providing for the continuance of war in accordance with international law and the usages of civilized countries. The initiative for these improvements was due to Bolivar, who was also the author of the basis of the treaty proposed by the Colombian delegates. Among the clauses of this agreement were some providing for the safety, good-treatment and exchange of prisoners; the abolition of capital punishment against deserters apprehended in the ranks of the enemy; the inviolability of lives and property in the sections tentatively occupied by the troops of the two armies; and the burial or incineration of the bodies of the dead on the field of battle. No treaty of the same nature entered into before that time had been so advanced in character. As Bolivar had previously said, the Venezuelans had nothing to lose; they had lost everything already; but the new treaty prevented further misfortune or abuse.

Subsequent to the signing of the treaty, Morillo expressed a desire to meet Bolivar personally, and Bolivar agreed. The two met in a town called Santa Ana, accompanied by a very few officers. Latorre also attended the meeting, but the presence of officers particularly distasteful to Bolivar was prevented by Morillo. Each of these two men represented in its noblest aspect the cause which he defended. It is strange that neither of them seemed to have been prepared by circumstances of early life for the role he was playing. Morillo was born of humble parentage, and from the lowest rung of the ladder he climbed to the highest place in the army, always in defense of the monarchy, until he received the titles of Count of Cartagena and Marquis of La Puerta; Bolivar, born in wealth, destined to become a millionaire and to be the recipient of every honor if he remained on the side of the oppressors of his country, sacrificed everything, lost his personal property to the last penny, and shared privations of every kind with his soldiers. When he had money, he gave it away; when he had no money, he gave away his food and clothing. His generosity was unlimited. On one occasion, when he learned that the man who had helped him to secure a passport after the surrender of Miranda was in prison and his estate about to be confiscated, Bolivar immediately asked that his own private property be taken instead of that of his friend.

But both Bolivar and Morillo were very much above the common chieftains, the bloodthirsty Boves, the ignorant Paez. They were the best representatives of what was truest and loftiest in Spanish power and in independent energy.

The interview was cordial. The two men embraced one another, had a long friendly conversation, and parted with a high mutual regard. They decided that a monument should be erected to commemorate their meeting. Bolivar’s toast at a dinner tendered him on that occasion indicated clearly how he desired the war to be fought in the future. Lifting his glass, he said:

“To the heroic firmness of all the fighters of both armies; to their constancy, endurance and matchless bravery; to the worthy men who support and defend freedom in the face of ghastly penalties; to those who have gloriously died defending their country and their government; to the wounded men of both armies who have shown their intrepidity, their dignity and their character … eternal hatred to those who desire blood and who shed it unjustly.”

Morillo answered in these words:

“May Heaven punish those who are not inspired with the same feelings of peace and friendship that animate us.”

From that day on the correspondence between the two men was very respectful and cordial.

Morillo knew well that he could not conquer the independent army, and he decided to return to Spain before he had lost his reputation in Venezuela. He asked to be recalled, and was succeeded by D. Manuel de Latorre, of whom we have already made mention. Transfer of the command was effected on the fourteenth of December, 1820.

CHAPTER XIV

_The Second Battle of Carabobo. Ambitions and Rewards. Bolivar’s Disinterestedness. American Unity_

(1821)

Sucre had been placed by Bolivar in command of the army of the South, with instructions to go to Guayaquil,–a section which was not covered by the armistice,–in order to negotiate its incorporation with Colombia. San Martin desired to have the province of Quito form part of Peru, and there is no ground for believing that he did so without sound and patriotic reasons. Bolivar, on his part, insisted that Quito and Guayaquil should belong to Colombia. Sucre had a very delicate mission, for he represented a man totally opposite in ideas to San Martin, although inspired by the same lofty motives and with the same noble purpose of freedom. Sucre went by sea to Guayaquil and prevented its invasion by the royalists, who had Quito in their possession.

Meanwhile, new commissioners came from Spain to undertake peace negotiations. On that occasion Bolivar wrote a very courteous letter to Latorre; and in a private communication he sent these friendly words to him:

“I feel happy, my dear General, at seeing you at the head of my enemies, for nobody can do less harm and more good than you. You are destined to heal the wounds of your new country. You came to fight against it, and you are going to protect it. You have always shown yourself as a noble foe; be also the most faithful friend.”

He also sent commissioners to Spain with a very polite and cordial letter to Ferdinand VII, so as to do his best to obtain the freedom of Colombia and its acceptance by Spain, avoiding, if possible, further fighting.

Maracaibo, which, as we have seen, had always been a royalist city, also decided to break with Spain; on this occasion, Latorre thought that Bolivar had broken the armistice, a thing that Bolivar denied, for he had not intervened in the movement, although he was ready to support the city in its labors towards freedom. He was willing to submit the decision of the question to arbitration, but Latorre did not acquiesce. Bolivar then notified him that hostilities were resumed. He was convinced that the Spanish Government never thought seriously of granting peace to the former colonies through accepting their independence. He immediately concentrated his forces, organized an expedition against Maracaibo, called the cavalry, ordered invasion of the province of Caracas, obtained incorporation of Paez and his plainsmen, and advanced towards the enemy. On opening the campaign, he published a proclamation offering pardon to the Spaniards and promising to send them to their country, and in all respects to obey the treaty on regularization of warfare. He also ordered his soldiers to obey the stipulations of that treaty.

“The Government,” he said, “imposes on you the strict duty of being more merciful than brave. Any one who may infringe on any of the articles on the regulation of war will be punished with death. Even when our foes would break them, we must fulfil them, so that Colombia’s glory may not be stained with blood.”

It must not be forgotten that these enemies of Bolivar were very different from the murderers commanded by Yanez or Boves.

The new Colombian Congress convened in the city of Rosario de Cucuta. Bolivar, as usual on such occasions, submitted his resignation in order to leave the Congress free to give the command to whomever it might select. Among the members of the Congress there were some men openly hostile to Bolivar, and in his communication he not only presented the usual reasons for resigning, but also stated frankly that he was tired of hearing himself called tyrant by his enemies. The Congress answered very cordially, asking him to remain in his position and assuring him of the gratitude of the Assembly for his valor and constancy.

Knowing that Latorre had advanced to Araure, the General moved with his army towards the town of San Carlos, where he received some reinforcements. As other independent commanders were harassing Latorre at different points, the Spaniard had to send some of his troops to repel these attacks, and so was forced to weaken his own army. Then he placed himself on the plain of Carabobo, where Bolivar, in 1814, had defeated the royalists commanded by Cagigal and Ceballos. There he was attacked by Bolivar on June 24, 1821. At eleven o’clock in the morning the battle began, and it developed with the swiftness of lightning. In an hour the royalist army was destroyed, not without great losses to the independents. In one hour not only the royalist army was defeated, but the Spanish domination in Venezuela had come to an end. In this battle, a very decisive role was played by the British legion, and by the brave _llaneros_ commanded by Paez.

As the battle of Boyaca practically secured the independence of Nueva Granada, the battle of Carabobo secured the independence of Venezuela. Boyaca and Carabobo were up to that moment the greatest titles of glory for Bolivar, but his work was not completed, and America had still more and brighter glory in store for him. He, in his vigorous style, described the battle in a communication to the Congress, in which he said, among other things:

“Yesterday the political birth of the Republic of Colombia was confirmed by a splendid victory.”

Then he praised Paez, whom he immediately promoted to the rank of full General of the Army, and paid last homage to General Cedeno, who died in action,–

“none braver than he, none more obedient to the Government … He died in the middle of the battle, in the heroic manner in which the life of the brave of Colombia deserves to end….

“The Republic suffers an equal pain in the death of the most daring Colonel Plaza, who, filled with unparalleled enthusiasm, threw himself against an enemy battalion to conquer it. Colonel Plaza deserves the tears of Colombia … The Spanish army had over 6,000 picked men. This army does not exist any more; 400 of the enemy’s men entered Puerto Cabello today.”

The struggle for Venezuelan independence opened on April 19, 1810, in Caracas, and closed on June 24, 1821, at Carabobo.

The Congress decreed the highest honors to the conquerors of Carabobo, ordered a day of public rejoicing throughout the whole country, and set the following day for the funerals of all those who had fallen on the field of battle.

After the battle of Carabobo, Venezuela was divided into three military districts, which were placed under the command respectively of Marino, Paez and Bermudez, who had also been promoted to the rank of general. In this way, Bolivar tried to satisfy the ambitions of his officers, who, in more than one respect, considered their conquests as private property.

This was especially true of Paez. The Liberator had to be very careful in dealing with them, constantly impelled by the fear that through peace their restlessness would become a danger to the stability of the country. Bolivar summarized the situation when he exclaimed:

“I am more afraid of peace than of war!”

His attention was then turned to the campaign of the South. He had been informed that San Martin was inclined to deal with the royalists, and he wanted to hasten there to avoid any such compromise. At this time he learned that the independence of Mexico was a fact, and he became impatient to finish the emancipation of Colombia by means of the freedom of the Isthmus of Panama, which he used to call the “carrier of the universe.”

Upon the organization of Colombia, as a result of the union of Nueva Granada and Venezuela, Bolivar was made president, and in that capacity he signed the constitution of 1821. In his communication to the Congress of Rosario de Cucuta, he reiterated his desire to resign the command. On this occasion, his declaration could not be more emphatic.

“A man like me is a dangerous citizen in a popular government. He is an immediate threat to the national sovereignty. I want to be a cit in order to secure my own freedom and the freedom of everybody else. I prefer the title of citizen to that of Liberator, because the latter comes from war and the former comes from the law. Change, I beg you, all my titles for that of _good citizen_.”

Of course, no one would think of accepting his resignation at a moment when his genius was most needed for the organization of the country.

We have mentioned very often the resignation of the Liberator from his command, and the invariable nonacceptance of it. Some enemies of Bolivar have declared that he never resigned in earnest, and have gone so far as to pronounce him an ambitious man who wanted all glory and power in Colombia and South America. The declarations made by Bolivar were made before the whole world. He had gained sufficient glory to be termed a great man, even though he left the army. If his resignation had been accepted, it is absolutely certain that he would have abandoned the power in order to keep untainted his reputation as a warrior, as an organizer, and as a self-sacrificing patriot. At that time he was praised by the North American press, as well as by men in every part of the world. The press of the United States opposed his resignation, considering it premature. General Foy said:

“Bolivar, born a subject, freeing a world, and dying as a citizen, shall be for America a redeeming divinity, and in history the noblest example of greatness to which a man can arrive.”

The Archbishop of Malines, Monsignor de Pradt, said:

“The morality of the world, weakened with so many examples of violence, baseness, ambition, covetousness and hypocrisy, was in need of a stimulus like Bolivar, whose moderation and whose unheard-of abnegation in the full possession of power have rendered ambition hate The example of this great, virtuous man may serve as a general purification, strong enough to disinfect society.”

The author of this monograph has been very keen to find all papers and documents in which appears disparaging criticism of the life of Bolivar. He declares that he has never found one which is not invalidated by reasons of personal interest, political antagonism or prejudice. Bolivar’s life was always consistent with his words. He was a man of power. Whenever occasion demanded it, he became a real dictator. At times necessity made him rather weak in dealing with the stormy elements of his own party, and only in exceptional circumstances, as in the sad case of General Piar did he rise to the plane of severity in letting justice take its course. A careful study of the life of Bolivar has produced a great change in the mind of the author of this work. He has come to realize that he was studying not merely the life and deeds of a great American, or even of a great man among all men, but the history of one of those exceptional beings selected by God to perform the highest missions and to teach great lessons. The student, upon leaving the subject, feels the same reverence experienced upon leaving a sacred place, where the spirit has been under the influence of the supernatural. Bolivar’s ambition was the legitimate desire for glory, but he never wanted that power which consists in the oppression of fellowmen and the acquisition of wealth.

We have seen that General Sucre had gone by sea to Guayaquil, while Bolivar decided to go by land to Quito. He considered this campaign as decisive, but while he was making his preparations, he did not neglect the diplomatic relations of his country, the organization of finance nor the domestic service. He continued to dream of the unity of America. He never succeeded in attaining it, but that dream was the star to which he had hitched his chariot. He had been in communication with the statesmen of Argentina and Chile, and, as we have seen, in his proclamation sent to the inhabitants of Nueva Granada he expressed a desire that the motto of America should be “Unity in South America.” He sent one plenipotentiary to Mexico, and another to Peru, Chile and Argentina. In his instructions to the latter he said the following words, which sound today, a century later, as though they had been uttered yesterday:

“I repeat that of all I have expressed, there is nothing of so much importance at this moment as the formation of a league truly American. But this confederation must not be formed simply on the principles of an ordinary alliance for attack and for defense; it must be closer than the one lately formed in Europe against the freedom of the people.

“It is necessary that our society be a society of sister nations, divided for the time being in the exercise of their sovereignty, on account of the course of human events, but united, strong and powerful, in order to support each other against aggressions of foreign powers.

“It is indispensable that you should incessantly urge the necessary to establish immediately the foundations of an amphictyonic body or assembly of plenipotentiaries to promote the common interests of the American states, to settle the differences which may arise in the future between peoples which have the same habits and the same customs, and which, through the lack of such a sacred institution, may perhaps kindle deplorable wars, such as those which have destroyed other regions less fortunate.”

In the projected treaty carried by the same representative, the following appears:

“Both contracting parties guarantee to each other the integrity of their respective territories, as constituted before the present war, keeping the boundaries possessed at that time by each captaincy general or viceroyalty of those who now have resumed the exercise of their sovereignty, unless in a legal way two or more of them have agreed to form a single body or nation, as has happened with the old captaincy general of Venezuela and the kingdom of Nueva Granada, which now form the Republic of Colombia.”

Similar instructions were given to the representative sent to Mexico.

The treaty arranged with Peru was similar to another entered into afterwards with Chile. In both documents it was stipulated: that an assembly should be organized with representatives of the different countries; that all the governments of America, or of that part of America which had belonged to Spain, should be invited to enter into that union, league, or perpetual confederation; that the assembly of plenipotentiaries should be entrusted with the work of laying the foundation for, and of establishing, the closer relations which should exist among all of those states; and that this assembly should “serve them as a council in great conflicts, as a point of contact in the common dangers, as faithful interpreter of their public treaties when difficulties occur, and as an arbitral judge and conciliator in their disputes and differences.” In this way, two great principles were sanctioned by Bolivar: the principle of _uti-possidetis_ and the principle of arbitration, which was proclaimed in America, for the first time, by Bolivar as president of Colombia.

Before leaving for the campaign of the South, the Libertador Presidente received the good news of Cartagena’s fall into the hands of Montilla after fourteen months of siege, and of the insurrection of Panama, which became independent and formed the eighth department of Colombia.

The importance of the independence of Panama cannot be exaggerated. Bolivar wisely deemed it of greatest moment, and what has occurred during the twentieth century has proved that Bolivar was absolutely right in his judgment.

CHAPTER XV

_Bombona and Pichincha. The Birth of Ecuador. Bolivar and San Martin Face to Face_

(1822)

In January, 1822, Bolivar was in Cali, assembling his army to invade Quito by land.

This campaign proved to be the most difficult he had undertaken with respect to natural obstacles. Between Quito and his army, the Andes form a nucleus of mountains called the Nudo de Pasto. All the difficulties with which he had had to contend in the campaigns of Venezuela and Nueva Granada,–such as the flooded plains, the deep ravines between Venezuela and the Colombian valleys, the narrow and rugged passages, the wild beasts,–sink into nothingness as compared with the almost unconquerable obstacles which he was to face on his way to the South. In no other part of the continent do the Andes present such an appalling combination of ravines, torrents, precipitous paths and gigantic peaks. Furthermore, nowhere on the continent was the population so hostile to freedom as were the _pastusos_ (inhabitants of the _Pastos_). Men, women and children cordially hated the cause of the Republic, and stopped at no crime to destroy the armies of Bolivar. Despite all this opposition, Bolivar made ready to throw the glories he had earned in Boyaca and Carabobo into the balance, risking everything to obtain the freedom of the peoples of the south, and the union of Quito and Colombia. This campaign presented difficulties greater than Napoleon himself ever found in his path. The Alps do not compare with these American mountains,–which rank with the Himalayas.

On the 8th of March, Bolivar began his advance to the South, being forced to leave a thousand men in the hospitals on the way. Scarcely two thousand men formed the army when it approached the formidable Nudo de Pasto. Sucre, who had been stationed in Guayaquil, moved so as to distract the attention of the Spaniards, thus helping Bolivar, and this was the only favorable circumstance.

Two thousand men were awaiting Bolivar in the city of Pasto, men who knew the country and who had the support of the inhabitants in their war against the independents. The commander of Pasto was a Spanish colonel named D. Basilio Garcia.

The two armies met in a place called Bombona, where all the advantages were on the side of the royalists. Bolivar found himself about to attack an army made almost invulnerable by nature; forests, roads, ravines–all protected it. In such a position, Bolivar merely said these words: “We must conquer and we will conquer!”

On the 7th of April the battle of Bombona occurred. It lasted the entire afternoon and part of the night. The independent army rose to the occasion, and accomplished what it had never before realized. The light of the moon witnessed the retreat of the royalist army, defeated and destroyed, seeking shelter in the city of Pasto; and the name of Bombona was written in history beside those of Boyaca and Carabobo as among the most momentous, the most significant battles fought for the cause of independence.[1]

[Footnote 1: Before the battle, General Pedro Leon Torres misunderstood an order from Bolivar. The latter instructed him to surrender his command to a colonel. Torres took a rifle and answered:

“Libertador, if I am not good enough to serve my country as a general, I shall serve her as a grenadier.”

Bolivar gave him back his command; Torres ordered the advance of his men and threw himself against the enemy, falling fatally wounded.]

The city of Pasto was unanimous against the Liberator, who now asked Garcia to surrender. Garcia at first refused, but finally accepted capitulation. He was a brave man and a creditable representative of Spanish heroism.

Bolivar entered Pasto. He was in such grave danger from the hostility of the inhabitants that he had to be escorted by Spanish soldiers, who, in this way, displayed their loyalty to their word and their high sense of honor.

This occurred on the 8th of June, 1822. The battle of Bombona had taken place two months before, and in the interval another great event occurred in favor of the independent army. General Sucre, who had come to help Bolivar in the movement, had taken several cities as he advanced towards Quito. On the 24th of May he fought a decisive battle on the volcanic mountain of Pichincha, by which the independence of Quito was secured. The battle of Pichincha made Sucre the greatest general in the Republican army, after Bolivar. He captured 1,200 prisoners, several pieces of field artillery, guns and implements of war, and even made prisoner the Spanish commander, Aymerich. On the 25th of May, Sucre entered the city of Quito, two hundred and eighty years after the Spaniards arrived in that city for the first time.

With Sucre in Quito and Bolivar in Pasto, many bodies of royalist troops surrendered.

In the United States, the question of recognizing the independence of the South American countries finally came before Congress. On March 8, 1822, with James Monroe as President and John Quincy Adams as Secretary of State, the ideas expressed by Henry Clay in 1820 were carried to full fruition. The press had been working in favor of independence, and the message of Monroe in favor of recognition was an interpretation of public opinion at that time. In the report presented to Congress was the following expression:

“To deny to the peoples of Spanish America their right to independence would be in fact to renounce our own independence.”

The independence of the South American countries was recognized by a congressional vote of 159 out of 160. It is better to forget the name of the man who opposed it. Spain fought against this measure but still it held. Colombia, Mexico and Buenos Aires entered into the concert of free nations.

Bolivar proceeded to organize the province of Los Pastos, and, with the help of the Bishop of Popayan,–a former foe to the cause of independence, who had wanted to return to Spain when the insurgents took possession of the city, but who was persuaded to remain by the noble words of Bolivar–finally obtained the consolidation of the republic in that section. A few days later Bolivar left Los Pastos for Quito, where he was received in triumph. The authorities of the old kingdom of Quito declared the city’s desire to be reunited with the Republic of Colombia,–to become a part of the latter. Upon receiving the minutes of the assembly in which this decision was taken, Bolivar decided that this resolution should be placed before the proper representatives of the people, so that it might be given greater emphasis by their approval.

In the organization of the country, Bolivar formed the department of Ecuador of three old provinces. Sucre, promoted to the rank of major general, was appointed governor of this department. Then Bolivar addressed a letter to San Martin, at that time Protector of Peru, telling him that the war in Colombia had come to an end and that his men were ready to go wherever their brothers would call them, “especially to the country of our neighbors to the South.”

There was a serious problem to be solved in the South, and it had to be worked out in Guayaquil. Two great men were going to come face to face. It is necessary to study, even briefly, the personality of the other noted man of the South, General San Martin.

D. Jose de San Martin was born on the 25th of February, 1778, of Spanish parents, in the little village of Yapeyu, in the missions established among the Indians in the northeast part of what is now the Argentine Republic. His father was lieutenant governor of the department. Jose was educated in Spain among youths of noble birth. At eleven years of age he entered the army. He fought in Africa, against the French, and in Portugal. In the campaign in Portugal he was a brother-in-arms of don Mariano Montilla, the hero of Cartagena. He rose to the position of lieutenant colonel. In 1811 he met Miranda in London, and then decided to come to Buenos Aires. He arrived there in 1812, and placed himself at the disposal of the revolutionary government, which gave him the grade of lieutenant colonel of cavalry. He immediately showed his talent as an organizer of men; he instructed his officers and disciplined his soldiers.

At the beginning of the Argentine revolution, the idea of independence was vague, and it was San Martin who first suggested that the revolutionists should call themselves “independents,” so as to have a cause, a flag and principles by which they might be known. It is necessary to remember that the revolution in this section of America was always of a monarchical tendency, and San Martin was always an ardent supporter of monarchical ideas. The only battle in which he took part in Argentina was one in which he, with 120 men, defeated 250 foes. The independence of the viceroyalty of the River Plata caused very little bloodshed, except in the northern part, which is now the republic of Bolivia. San Martin was sent to fight the Spaniards in this section, but he well knew the futility of attacking by land, because the greatest stronghold of the Spaniards on the entire continent–the viceroyalty of Peru–was on the other side. He then feigned illness, and was sent as governor to the province of Cuyo, at the foot of the Andes, where he worked constantly and efficiently to organize a large army. He succeeded, not with the brilliancy of Bolivar’s genius, but through the constancy of his own methodical soul.

San Martin was reserved. It was very difficult to know his thoughts and his feelings. He was successful in battle as well as in his deception of the enemy. In many respects he was the opposite of Bolivar.

In 1817 San Martin had 4,000 soldiers in Mendoza ready to invade Chile, where the insurgent armies had been defeated in Rancagua by a Spanish army sent from Peru. The remnants of the Chilean patriots dispersed, and some of them crossed the Andes and presented themselves to San Martin in the city of Mendoza. He received some and rejected others. Among the former was D. Bernardo O’Higgins, upon whose loyalty San Martin was certain he could depend.

San Martin crossed the Andes, and defeated the Spaniards at Chacabuco. Later, he fought the decisive battle of Maipo, passing then to Santiago, where he was proclaimed director of the state, from which position he immediately resigned, using all his influence to have O’Higgins appointed in his stead, which was done. O’Higgins was an honest man and an excellent administrator. He immediately appointed San Martin general-in-chief of the army, and together they planned the invasion of Peru by sea.

With the help of Admiral Cochrane, San Martin reached the shores of Peru, where he landed. After some delay, due to the desire to enlist public opinion in the cause of independence, he took the city of Lima on July 8, 1821, and was appointed Protector of Peru. He wished to unite Guayaquil and Peru, in which plan he was opposed by Bolivar.

Guayaquil had declared itself independent of Spain in October, 1820. We have seen that Sucre was sent there by Bolivar because that section had not been included in the armistice agreed to with Morillo in Santa Ana. In Guayaquil there were three parties, one on the side of Peru, one on the side of Colombia, and a third which desired the independence of that section. There were several movements in favor of and against these conflicting views, when Bolivar sent messages to Sucre, O’Higgins, San Martin, and other prominent men, in an endeavor to form a combination to bring about an early and successful end to the war for independence. In all the difficulties of Guayaquil, Sucre displayed exceptional prudence and tact, but when he was obliged to leave the city in order to draw to himself the attention of the Spaniards and thus facilitate the movement of Bolivar against Pasto, the intrigues increased, and Bolivar had to intervene, sending a message to the Junta of Guayaquil, asking them to recognize the union of Guayaquil and Colombia. San Martin was on the point of declaring war on Colombia, a fatal step which was prevented by the pressure of other more urgent matters, and perhaps because the victories of Bombona and Pichincha were too recent to encourage any disregard of the conquerors.

As soon as Bolivar arrived in Quito, he decided to go to Guayaquil to take the situation in hand. He arrived on July 11, and was received in triumph, his presence producing a decided effect in favor of the union with Colombia. He published a proclamation inviting expressions of popular opinion as to union, and was waiting for the day on which the representatives of the province were to meet, when General San Martin appeared in the city, surprising everybody, for, although he had sent Bolivar a letter notifying him of his intended visit, Bolivar had not received it. He was most cordially received by the Liberator, who, in a previous communication, had declared his friendship for the Protector of Peru. San Martin landed on the 26th of July, and that night had a long personal conference with Bolivar, concerning which opinions varied. There were no witnesses of that interview. It is certain that the men discussed the union of Guayaquil, and the conflicting ideas of both leaders. Again the intellectual superiority of Bolivar was evident. One thing, however, is known: forty hours after landing in Guayaquil, the Protector left the city and went to Peru, where he resigned his position and then sailed for Chile, whence he went to the Argentine Republic. Later, he proceeded to Europe, where he died in the middle of the century, a great man, the victim of the ingratitude of his fellow citizens, always modest and reserved, and, in many respects, an unsolved mystery. He harbored no resentment towards Bolivar. When he arrived in Callao after the interview, the papers published the following words over his name:

“The 26th of last July, when I had the satisfaction of embracing the Hero of the South, was one of the happiest days of my life. The Liberator of Colombia is not only helping this state with three of his brave battalions, united to the valiant division of Peru under the command of General Santa Cruz, to put an end to the war in America, but he is also sending a considerable number of arms for the same purpose. Let us all pay the homage of our eternal gratitude to the immortal Bolivar.”

CHAPTER XVI

_Junin, a Battle of Centaurs. The Continent’s Freedom Sealed in Ayacucho_

(1822-1824)

After the victories of Bombona and Pichincha Bolivar again evidenced his disinterestedness and his generosity in praising his officers. He reiterated his desire to resign his power. He expressed in a letter the need he felt for rest, and a belief that a period of repose might restore his former energy, which he felt slipping away from him.

Writing to a friend about Iturbide, he said:

“You must be aware that Iturbide made himself emperor through the grace of Pio, first sergeant.[1] … I am very much afraid that the four boards covered with crimson, and which are termed a throne, cause the shedding of more blood and tears and give more cares than rest…. Some believe that it is very easy to put upon one’s head a crown and have all adore it; But I believe that the period of monarchy is pass and that thrones will not be up-to-date in public opinion until the corruption of men chokes love of freedom.”

[Footnote 1: Augustin de Iturbide was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico as the result of a mutiny led in Mexico City by a sergeant called Pio Marcha.]

Regarding the battle of Pichincha, he said: “Sucre is the Liberator of Ecuador.”

No better praise could be given his worthy lieutenant.

Once in Quito, he received the alarming news from Peru, which province had been left by San Martin, that several serious defeats had been suffered by the independents. He immediately made ready to free the viceroyalty from Spain, realizing that while Peru remained under Spain the independence of Colombia would be in danger. The viceroy of Peru had 23,000 European soldiers and all the resources necessary to carry on war.

Peru was the last South American country to proclaim its independence. Although there had been some movements of insurrection in 1809 in Alto Peru (now Bolivia), they were soon quelled and the country once more placed under the dominion of Spain. As a result, Peru was in position to send reinforcements to the royalists in Chile and was a constant menace to Colombia. The patriots of Chile, after obtaining their freedom, organized San Martin’s expedition to invade Peru. When San Martin entered Lima early in July, 1821, the viceroy (Pezuela) was deposed by an assembly, and Laserna was appointed to take his place. Once in Lima, San Martin entered upon a period of inactivity which resulted in heavy losses to the independents. He was even ready to communicate with the Spaniards in order