Today in HIstory--July 5th, 1811, Venezuelan Declaration of Independence from Spain
In the Spirit of the American Revolution, whose Declaration of Independence we commemorated yesterday, we express the hope that Venezuela today might soon be liberated from the current oppressive incompetent regime, that misuses and abuses the historical memory of Simon Bolivar by invoking his name as the foundation for their brutal and destructive Dictatorship.
On July 5, 1811, representatives of the Venezuelan provinces met and signed a declaration of independence from the Spanish Empire. A civil war had been raging throughout the colony, and although total independence would not be achieved immediately, Venezuela was still the first Spanish American colony to declare independence.
The first government of Venezuela fell following an earthquake in the capital Caracas and a Spanish military victory. Latin American hero Simon Bolivar launched a campaign to reinstate the free republic but was also defeated. It would not be until 1823 that his efforts were finally successful, and Venezuela became an independent country known as Gran Colombia (along with modern day Colombia, Panama and Ecuador).
We celebrate this day in History by remembering one of the Heroes of the International Conspiracy which launched the American Revolution, participating in it as a Venezuelan who desired Independence for his own and other Countries, such as France, the great Military man Sebastian Francisco de Miranda y Rodriguez de Espinosa. He was the true Founder of the movement for Venezuelan Independence and was the precursor to Bolivar. Every time I pass his Statue on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, I stop to think about him and what he did, and thank him. That statue, BTW, was the gift of the Venezuelan People in 1976, commemorating our Bi-Centennial given by President Carlos Andres Perez. (CAP)
