History of Venezuela: From Pre-Columbian Civilizations to the Second Republic
Pre-Columbian Civilizations
The Maya
The Maya civilization was located between the region of Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula. The Mayan population was organized in autonomous cities, each ruled by a hereditary monarch called Halachunio. Mayan society had a social organization based on caste differences, and their religion was polytheistic.
The Aztec
The Aztec civilization was located in the center of Mexico, around Lake Texcoco, where they built the city of Tenochtitlan in the fourteenth century. The Aztecs were polytheistic.
The Inca
The foundation of the Inca empire is credited to Manco Capac in the thirteenth century (not the eighteenth). He ruled from the city of Cuzco over a vast territory stretching nearly 5,000 miles from Ecuador to central Chile. The Inca Empire was divided into four provinces ruled by brothers or relatives of the Inca: Chinchasuyu, Antisuyu, Contisuyu, and Collasuyu.
The Voyages of Christopher Columbus
These voyages took place between 1492 and 1504 (not 1499-1519). Some notable voyages include:
- Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci (who ultimately gave his name to the continent): Reached present-day Venezuela in 1499 and gathered information about its wealth.
- Vicente Yáñez Pinzón: In 1499, became the first European to reach the Amazon River and, according to various historians, is considered the true discoverer of Brazil.
These voyages, although limited in their objectives, provided valuable information to the Spanish Crown.
Colonial Venezuela
Early Governorships
Gobernación de Margarita: Created by Royal Decree on March 18, 1525, and assigned to the conqueror Marcelo de Villalobos.
Province of Venezuela: Created on March 27. The Spanish Crown signed a capitulation with the Welser family, granting Ambrose Alfinger the title of first governor and captain of the province.
Government of Trinidad: Explorer Rodrigo de Bastidas was awarded the governorship of Trinidad in 1521 but could not take possession.
Gobernación de Cumaná: Established on May 15, 1568, and granted to the conquistador Diego Fernández de Serpa.
Government of Guyana: A capitulation was signed in 1565 by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and the audiencia of Santa Fe de Bogotá.
Gobernación de Maracaibo: The governorship of Mérida was established in 1622. It later incorporated the territory of Maracaibo and took the name of the Governor of Maracaibo in 1676.
Captaincy General and Institutions
The Captaincy General of Venezuela: In the early eighteenth century, the territory of Venezuela was divided into several autonomous provinces, which depended on the judicial hearings of Santo Domingo and Santa Fe de Bogotá.
The Quartermaster of the Army and Royal Treasury: The Royal Caracas Quartermaster of Finance was established on December 8, 1776, by decree of King Carlos III.
The Real Audiencia de Caracas: Founded on July 31, 1786, to directly address legal and justice issues in Caracas and its provinces.
The Archbishop of Caracas: Created on November 24, 1803, to unify and centralize the activities of the Catholic Church.
Colonial Taxes: Cash contributions were established by the Spanish Crown in America for revenue.
Colonial Society and Miscegenation
El Mestizaje: In the early years of conquest and colonization, the Spanish were unable to establish stable families as was customary in Europe. Over time, colonial society gave rise to various mixed-race groups, such as:
- White with Indigenous = Mestizo
- White with Black = Mulatto
- Indigenous with Black = Zambo
The First Republic (1810-1812)
On April 19, 1810, Caracas erupted in a movement to break with the colonial order imposed by Spain for over three hundred years. The 1811 Venezuelan Constitution was based on the doctrine of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the republican model of the United States of America.
Causes of the Loss of the First Republic
In late 1812, Simón Bolívar outlined the immediate causes of the loss of the republic in his Cartagena Manifesto. These included:
- The federal system
- The tolerance and ineffectiveness of the government
- Military inexperience
- The 1812 earthquake
- Economic waste
- Rivalries among the patriots
However, the main cause of the failure of the first republic was the lack of popular support.
The Second Republic (1813-1814)
Simón Bolívar was proclaimed the Liberator of Venezuela by the municipality of Caracas and invested with absolute powers.
The new republic organized by Bolívar in 1813 differed significantly from the one that emerged in 1811:
- All power was concentrated in the executive branch.
- The legal basis of the republic was based on decrees, laws, and orders.
- The organization of government rested with the military and some civilian leaders.
- Centralism was imposed over federalism.
Dictatorship
In 1813, the ongoing war left the republic in a very unstable state. Bolívar took dictatorial measures that caused discomfort among the population. Some of these included:
- Imposing the death penalty
- Ordering forced recruitment
- Imposing taxes
- Confiscating food
Causes of the Loss of the Second Republic
Among the main causes of the loss of the Second Republic in 1814 were:
- Lack of popular support for the independence cause
- The superiority of royalist troops, led by José Tomás Boves, over the patriot soldiers on the plains
- Division and rivalry among patriot leaders
- Lack of international support for the republic
- The economic crisis that the republic experienced between 1813 and 1814