Misplaced Pages

#499500

71-530: The Legalist Revolution was a civil war in Venezuela that was caused by the "Continuity movement" of President Raimundo Andueza Palacio who wanted to perpetuate himself in power through a constitutional reform. Although it was constitutionally stipulated that his term would end on 20 February 1892, Andueza planned to reform the Constitution in order to prolong his stay in power for two more years, which

142-474: A cruel tyrant who killed countless people, his dictatorship always tried to maintain a constitutional and democratic façade, employing short-term puppet presidents like Victorino Márquez Bustillos and Juan Bautista Pérez , and allowing them to rule directly or indirectly through successive constitutional amendments. Gómez was born into a prominent family of Andean landowners who lived in the La Mulera . He

213-490: A large-scale uprising led by Manuel Antonio Matos , a banker. Matos had spent months forming a coalition of opposition politicians and military personnel, and received support from foreign companies with vested interests in the country. The first to rebel was Governor Mendoza de Aragua on December 19. Castro sent Gómez against Mendoza, facing each other in San Mateo and Villa de Cura on December 21 and 22 respectively. Mendoza

284-812: A new defeat in Los Colorados, on October 4, the government abandoned the capital. Crespo approached with 10,000 soldiers and on October 6 entered Caracas victoriously. In 1897 Crespo organized an electoral fraud to ensure the victory of his supporter, Ignacio Andrade . The defeated candidate and leader José Manuel Hernández rose up on March 17, 1898. The rebels of Hernández and Luis Lima Loreto added up to 700 combatants, but they succeeded in defeating former president Crespo and his 1,500 men in Mata Carmelara, in Cojedes , on April 16. Crespo died in combat. The rebel army quickly grew to 16,000 fighters, while

355-443: A rare occurrence – which permanently rooted a sense of national unity in the country. He brought about the end of civil wars and political insurrections by exerting power over regional caudillos to strengthen his own power, and as a result, Venezuela became a peaceful country for several decades. Ironically, the elimination of the caudillo problem and the choosing of Eleazar López Contreras as his last minister of war and marine paved

426-538: A snide reference to his bushy mustache and outward appearance. They also called him "the Tyrant of the Andes " – a reference to his roots in the mountain state of Táchira . Gómez spent the last year of his term on a military campaign, and José Gil Fortoul served as de facto acting president. Gómez was reelected in 1914, but declined to take office, and Victorino Márquez was elected provisional president in his stead. It

497-464: A threat to regime and suppressed both, denouncing the former as a "plague" and the latter as "a tool of the devil." John Gunther described Gómez as follows: "The Catfish was—let us not gloss over the fact—a murderous blackguard. He made use of tortures of inconceivable brutality; political prisoners, of which there were thousands, dragged out their lives bearing leg irons ( grillos ) that made them permanent cripples, if they were not hung upside down—by

568-478: A total of 166 armed revolts. It is estimated that there were a million war casualties, with 70% of them being non-combatants killed by the plagues, famines, anarchy and political repression that wars brought. Other sources lower the figure to 260,000 killed in combat, plus 62,000 due to earthquakes and pestilence, not counting those killed in the Federal War . There were only two periods in that century that

639-404: Is a controversial period in the country's history. His leadership brought enrichment to the country, particularly after the discovery of oil, which enabled the development of a modern infrastructure. His insistence on road construction and the creation of jobs in the then-new oil industry promoted population mobility and more frequent social contact among Venezuelans of different regions – previously

710-421: Is a docile people"). Although cordial and simple in manner and speech, his ruthless crushing of opponents through his secret police earned him the reputation of a tyrant. He was also accused of trying to make the country his personal fiefdom. Under Gómez, Venezuela completed a degree of independence and financial progress. After oil become determined close to Lake Maracaibo in 1914, Gómez bargained shrewdly with

781-520: Is why he was called a Continuationist. Joaquín Crespo took up arms on March 11 in his power base of "El Totumo", in Guárico state , starting the war that spread to the rest of the country. The government appointed General Sebastián Castañas, commander of the army, to fight the Revolution while Generals Ramón Guerra, Wenceslao Casado and José Manuel Hernández , known as "El Mocho Hernández", joined

SECTION 10

#1732802480500

852-869: The Blue rebels , rose up against the Falcón government. They gathered 4,000 soldiers from Guárico, Carabobo and Aragua. These, under the command of Miguel Antonio Rojas, were defeated twelve days later near the capital. The Blue Revolution had begun with autonomous and uncoordinated uprisings. On April 25, 1868, Falcón had to resign, but this did not satisfy the Blue rebels. On May 6 they face each other in Las Adjuntas and four days later in Monte Caballería. The interim government of Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual tried to negotiate, but Monagas concentrated 4,000 soldiers around

923-464: The Venezuelan economy , the ally and servant of powerful outside interests." This is in reference to Royal Dutch Shell and Standard Oil 's appeasement of the dictator in return for exploration rights to the country's oil fields . In Venezuelan politics , Juan Vicente Gómez has come to symbolize political endurance and a right-wing caudillo mentality together with Marcos Pérez Jiménez . Gómez

994-405: The llanos rose several times against governments that he considered had violated existing law or fought against those who tried to overthrow legitimate governments. His only rebellion against legality was La Cosiata , a patriotic reaction against a supranational project that most Venezuelans were not interested in embarking on. Between 1830 and 1903 Venezuela lived through 50 years of war, with

1065-472: The 28th, 1,000 rebels led by Antonio José Vásquez surrendered. The third battalion dissolved in Portuguesa into guerrilla bands. A new rebellion of 150 soldiers broke out on the 31st in the same city, but by mid-August they had surrendered. The brothers José Tadeo and José Gregorio Monagas kept taking turns in power until March 5, 1858, when a revolt, led by the liberal Julián Castro Contreras (with

1136-481: The 90s of the century by a resurgence of anarchy and caudillismo. Both factors were also present in the Federal War (1859–1863) and even earlier, in the Second Republic (1813–1814), when the inability of the ruling classes to fulfill their promises and the aspirations of the common people led to extremely violent popular insurrections that devastated Venezuela. The oldest was under the command of Boves and

1207-522: The Battle of Boquerón took place between 3 and 5 October 1892, and was a defeat for the Continuationists. Mendoza, Pulido and Guillermo Tell Villegas Pulido withdrew and abandoned Caracas on 6 October. The city was left unprotected, and gangs of looters invaded the residences of Raimundo Andueza Palacio , Pulido, Sarria and other leaders of the defeated government, as well as the offices of

1278-593: The Castro government in the 1900's. Before, the Caudillos agreed with, or fought against each government, promoted local revolts or autonomist movements and got involved on different sides (according to their momentary interest) in the national rebellions. Having loyal armies guaranteed their regional pre-eminence. Many of them called themselves defenders of federalism, understood as "maintenance of federal autonomy" and opposition to any centralization of power. Initially

1349-755: The Corianos of Juan Domingo de Monteverde organized an expedition to overthrow the First Republic ; a year later the Andeans of Bolívar and the Orientals or Guianans of Mariño put an end to the monarchical restoration; in 1814 José Tomás Boves and his llaneros destroyed the Second Republic . Páez was supported by the llaneros, Falcón by the Corianos, Castro or Gómez by the Andeans, Rolando Monteverde (liberal, collaborator of Andrade and later Castro, main caudillo of Guayana between 1899 and 1908) by

1420-622: The General Staff. The rebels under the command of General Natividad Mendoza were defeated on Cerro La Esperanza, in Petare , by the government generals Justo Valles and Vidal Rebolledo. From then, the rebels were forced to limit themselves to guerrilla actions. On October 16, Blanco Guzmán negotiated a peace agreement with Mendoza. Two days later the pardon was delivered. After years of political tension, on December 12, 1867 José Tadeo Monagas and disgruntled liberals and conservatives, called

1491-646: The Legalist movement of Juan Crespo. On 15 April 1892, Crespo defeated the Minister of War Sebastián Castañas in the Battles of Jobo Mocho and made him retreat to Calabozo . In autumn Joaquín Crespo advanced towards Caracas at the head of more than 10,000 men, and encountered the Continuationist army of Generals José Ignacio Pulido and Luciano Mendoza at Los Teques . The Battle of Los Colorados and

SECTION 20

#1732802480500

1562-527: The Liberal Ezequiel Zamora , forming an army of 3,000 rebels. The majority of war actions were guerrillas actions and only two major battles were fought. Zamora won the Battle of Santa Inés on December 10, 1859 (2,500 rebels defeated 3,200 government, suffering 200 and 800 casualties respectively). His army grew to 7,000 men with the help of Juan Antonio Sotillo , but he was assassinated on

1633-411: The Minister of War, General Diego Bautista Ferrer, who lost 2,000 men trying to assault the enemy positions. Two days later President Andrade assumed personal command of the war, but Castro launched a coordinated offensive against Caracas. After this, several warlords and their militias deserted to the rebel side: Leopoldo Baptista with 3,000 followers and Luciano Mendoza with 4,500. On October 20, Andrade

1704-811: The Monagas government. Monagas' Liberal-Conservative coalition became fractured as the Conservatives began to concentrate power. Guzmán Blanco disembarked in Curamichate, near La Vela de Coro , on February 14, 1870. He had assembled 52 ships in Curaçao , bringing material to quickly arm an army of some 18,000 rebels. On April 27, after three days of fighting, Guzmán Blanco and six to eight thousand rebels entered Caracas (the city had only 1,600–2,000 defenders, most of them armed civilians). Guzmán Blancothen marched with 6,000 soldiers on Apure , pacifying it at

1775-583: The Orientals. This continuous process is finalized by Cipriano Castro . After his victory in 1899 , a modern professional national army was created that was capable of subduing the militias of Llaneros, Barloventoños , Corianos and Orientales that would confront him in the Liberating Revolution (1901–1903). Caudillismo had already been temporarily placated by Guzmancismo in the 1870's, however, after Guzmáns death, it had resurfaced again, which led to definitive measures being taken during

1846-703: The United States and Europe and economic stability. Though he used the money to launch an extensive public works program, he also received generous kickbacks, increasing his personal fortune enormously. Because of his contributions to the country's development, the Congress bestowed the title of El Benemérito ("the Meritorious One") on him. In contrast, his opponents, who disdained his brutal tactics at home, referred to him as El Bagre ("the Catfish "),

1917-530: The airport). Venezuelan Aviation, later converted into Aviation Museum), Porlamar (now Municipal Police Headquarters, replaced by Santiago Mariño Caribbean International Airport ), Leonardo Chirinos International Airport in Coro, Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport and Mérida's Alberto Carnevalli Airport . Likewise, bridges, customs buildings (such as the main customs office in San Antonio del Táchira ),

1988-610: The battle of Los Araguatos (March 10), Páez fled to the Caribbean where he gathered a new army with 6,000 muskets, seized Maracaibo but was again defeated in Taratara (April 6), having to entrench themselves in Maracaibo . On July 2, 1849, Paez landed at La Vela de Coro and concentrated 2,000 rebels, but was defeated at the battle of Casupo on August 12, surrounded by 4–5,000 government soldiers, and surrendered three days later. He

2059-509: The beginning of 1871 and consolidating his power. The long period of Yellow Liberalism began. The Revolution of Coro or Colinada began in October 1874. The rebels were commanded by General León Colina but by the following February they were defeated. They had been supported by General José Ignacio Pulido Briceño in the East. With this victory, the power of President Antonio Guzmán Blanco

2130-426: The capital. Between July 22 and 25, 3,300 Blues attacked Caracas, defended by 2,300 government soldiers. More than 1,000 combatants on both sides are killed. On June 26, 1868, Monagas entered Caracas, and appointed Guillermo Tell Villegas as interim president. Bruzual fled to La Guaira and then to Puerto Cabello , Monagas with 3,000 men besieged him for ten days until the capitulation on August 14, Bruzual dying in

2201-508: The coffee boom, as did the Andeans Cipriano Castro and Juan Vicente Gómez . Various guerrilla expeditions successively seized Caracas during that century, marking constant changes in the government. This process, in which regional leaders felt dissatisfied with the distribution of power in the capital, took up arms and overthrew weak central governments by taking Caracas , has been continuous since Independence. In 1812

Legalist Revolution - Misplaced Pages Continue

2272-523: The color blue, and the liberals, beginning with the supporters of the government of Juan Crisóstomo Falcón , continued to use yellow. Another point of difference was that the Liberals supported a federal system, while the Conservatives supported a centralized one. Although that was only theoretical, because many liberals in power exercised an authoritarian mandate, centered on their people, such as Antonio Guzmán Blanco , founder of Yellow Liberalism , who

2343-574: The conservatives and liberals, who marked the entire nineteenth century with their wars for power in the Andes, sought to identify themselves with the colors of the Venezuelan flag – yellow, blue and red from top to bottom. The former, supporters of Páez, used red to differentiate themselves from the latter, supported by Caracas intellectuals, veterans frustrated at not having received land, and llaneros, who wore yellow . However, in 1867 an alliance

2414-440: The country became impoverished and suffered demographic stagnation. These civil wars were above all combats between armed militias, each one organized by its place of origin, reflecting the alliances of the regional power groups with the government or the rebels at each moment. There were cases in which the inhabitants of neighboring towns or even of the same town clashed on a small scale during these civil wars. Each party sought

2485-495: The country until his death. The Generation of 1928 was a group of students who led protests in 1928 against Gómez in the capital city of Caracas. Members included Rómulo Betancourt , Jóvito Villalba , Joaquin Gabaldon Marquez , Juan Oropeza , Raúl Leoni , Andrés Eloy Blanco , Miguel Otero Silva , Pedro Sotillo , Isaac J Pardo , Juan Bautista Fuenmayor , Germán Suárez Flamerich , and Gustavo Machado . Gómez

2556-437: The country's last civil wars (1899 and 1901–1903) everyone called themselves Liberals: the caudillo José Manuel Hernández defined his party as "Nationalist Liberal"; also the dictator Castro, who defeated the "yellow liberals and the red and blue, or white, or tricolor liberals." Guzmán Blanco was the dominant figure of the last decades of the nineteenth century, the subsequent weakening of his figure would be followed during

2627-467: The country's wealth ended up in the hands of Gómez and his cronies, and, according to Woddis, Wall Street . Indeed, at the time of his death, he was by far the richest man in the country. While he brought more peace and prosperity than most living Venezuelans had known, it came at the expense of democracy. He held basic civil liberties in disdain, and his secret police were ubiquitous. He also did little for public education (believing that "an ignorant people

2698-490: The end of Spanish colonial rule. This was due in part to the weakening of the ruling class, the Mantuans who had already ruled the country since colonial times. During the first half of the century, the only character who managed to become a factor of relative stability was José Antonio Páez , a military leader with great power whose political career would only end with his defeat on the battlefields. The popular caudillo of

2769-497: The famous Admirable Campaign in 1813, the forces of the rebels called Restorers or Tachirenses grew, as they entered the center Venezuelan Andean to overthrow the unpopular Andrade government. Initially Castro and his 57 companions, soon numbering 700, defeated 5,000 government troops at Paso Yegüines and entered Mérida. On September 12, with 2,000 troops, he defeated 4,000 or 4,600 government soldiers in Tocuyito commanded by

2840-455: The fighting. Monagas then sent Rojas to pacify the west. The so called Yellow Revolution happened on August 14, 1869, when the Yellow liberal Antonio Guzmán Blanco tried to seek support to confront the Monagas government and was attacked by the army. He had to take refuge among the foreign delegations and went into exile. The rebellion broke out after two years of political anarchy during

2911-645: The first passenger terminal of the intercity bus line were built, the first intercity bus line was called the Venezuelan Airbus or the Venezuelan Airmail Bus. The famous Transandean Highway was also built, a route that starts from Las Adjuntas station (near Caracas Metro Station) and ends at the main land customs office in San Antonio del Táchira. The Venezuelan military was organized on the modern basis. Despite being considered

Legalist Revolution - Misplaced Pages Continue

2982-403: The following January 10 and was succeeded by Juan Crisóstomo Falcón , after which many rebels deserted. The liberal army included 3,000 veteran eastern llaneros. The liberals were decisively defeated in the Battle of Coplé (February 17, 1860) by León de Febres Cordero . The remaining 5,000 liberal soldiers switched to guerrilla warfare that plunged the country into deep anarchy. This conflict

3053-457: The former dictator while only 3,000 remained loyal to president Valera. Guzmán Blanco divided his army into three forces and sent General José Gregorio Cedeño with 2,300 soldiers to La Victoria , where the decisive battle took place on February 6. More than 2,000 combatants died and barely 300 men loyal to Valera remained capable of fighting. On February 13, Cedeño entered Caracas and Guzmán Blanco again became President until 1884. Guzmán Blanco

3124-593: The government had 20,000, including loyalist warlord militias. The Minister of War, Antonio Fernández, was also defeated on June 5. Finally, President Andrade entrusted Ramón Guerra with the campaign. He forced Hernández and the rebels to capitulate on June 12 in El Hacha, in Yaracuy . Venezuelans exiled in Colombia under the command of Cipriano Castro returned to their country in an expedition on May 23, 1899. Like

3195-520: The government in the battle of Ciudad Bolivar on 21 July 1903. Gómez seized power from Castro in a coup d'état on 19 December 1908, while Castro was in Europe for medical treatment. As president, Gómez managed to deflate Venezuela's staggering debt by granting concessions to foreign oil companies after the discovery of petroleum in Lake Maracaibo in 1918. This, in turn, won him the support of

3266-467: The governments were stable and lasting: from 1835 to 1848 and from 1870 to 1887. The period of instability ended with the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez who ruled Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935, thus ensuring a strong base for state power. Gómez extinguished the regional caudillos by passing power to the central high command of the Armed Forces of Venezuela . Due to these wars,

3337-488: The later directed by Zamora , two caudillos who died on the way to gain power. Instead, from the fragmentation of Gran Colombia to the Federal War, the dominant figure in Venezuela was Páez , a key figure in trying to impose a stable regime in the country. The main ones are highlighted in bold . The federal caudillos led by Santiago Mariño rose up against the conservative government of José María Vargas with

3408-616: The main supporter of the government and managed to pacify the country by May 1847. The power of the conservatives was weakened and an agreement had to be reached so that a liberal like José Tadeo Monagas assumed power, the beginning of the Monagato or Liberal Oligarchy (1847–1858). The Páez rebellion broke out on February 4, 1848, when the caudillo raised his llaneros against the liberal government of Monagas. They are joined by Zamora and Soublette and formed an army of 3,000 men. Monagas sends 6,000 soldiers to confront them. Defeated in

3479-599: The newspaper La Opinión Nacional . A few hours later, Crespo entered the capital, marking the triumph of the Legalist Revolution. Crespo immediately took charge of the national executive power and would remain President until 1898. On 21 June 1893, a new Constitution was signed that would stipulate in its article 63, direct and secret voting, and a Presidential period of maximum 4 years in its article 71. Venezuelan civil wars After independence and

3550-687: The petroleum corporations of the United States , United Kingdom , and the Netherlands for the gain of Venezuela . He persevered to preserve precise family members with overseas countries and controlled to cast off all overseas indebtedness. He exercised control over the neighborhood caudillos ("bosses") and the Roman Catholic Church , launched many public works programs, and prepared a 'green' administration. A staunch anticommunist, Gómez viewed both communism and trade unions as

3621-564: The southwest). In September 1867 General Luciano Mendoza rose up in Bolívar against Falcón , dissatisfied with that government. In December, Generals Miguel Antonio Rojas and Pedro Arana did the same in Aragua and in Carabobo . Falcón sends Generals Pedro Manuel Rojas to the southeast and José Loreto Arismendi and José Eusebio Acosta to the east. Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual was in charge of

SECTION 50

#1732802480500

3692-515: The subsequent dissolution of Gran Colombia in Venezuela, there was no strong government with sufficient authority and power to guarantee order, nor an idea of a nation, or civic experience. This led to a phenomenon of caudillismo and militarism in which local political-military chiefs were able to confront and defeat the central government together with popular masses that supported them, following their particular ideological interests. Similar processes occurred throughout Hispanic America after

3763-564: The support of José Antonio Páez in June 1835. Mariño and his followers were defeated in March 1836. The conservatives maintain power for more than a decade. New liberal rebellions, on a smaller scale, would break out in June and September 1844. Occurred in September 1846, animated and directed by the liberal Ezequiel Zamora against the conservative president Carlos Soublette . Páez became

3834-461: The support of the conservatives, broke out in Valencia , soon having more than five thousand armed followers. On March 18, Castro Contreras entered Caracas, three days after the resignation of the Monagas. The alliance between Liberals and Conservatives was short-lived, triggering a new and worse conflict the next year. A massive insurrection broke out on February 20, 1859, under the command of

3905-540: The support of the regional caudillos, who held the real power at the time. The economic disorganization of independence was deepened by civil wars, and long anarchy. Páez and Soublette based their economy on cocoa, typical of their region, the plains. In those years the Orientals, the Llanos and the Corianos disputed the hegemony in rapid succession. Guzmán Blanco , a man from Caracas, managed to stay in power thanks to

3976-417: The testicles—until they died. Others became human slime, literally. Gómez was quite capable of choosing one out of every ten by lot, and hanging them— by meathooks through their throats! " (Emphasis in the original.) Former Venezuelan President Rómulo Betancourt said in his book Venezuela: Oil and Politics that "(...) Gomez was something more than a local despot, he was the instrument of foreign control of

4047-660: The way to the emergence of modern democracy; see Generation of 1928 . He repaid all foreign and internal debt using excess reserves; his fiscal conservatism helped the country get through the Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression , and led to an increase in the value of the bolívar to the point of becoming hard currency . On the other hand, he is considered by some as one of the prominent examples of U.S. economic domination over Latin America . During his reign, most of

4118-589: The west until the decisive defeat at Táriba (14–15 May), allowing the rebels Castro and Juan Vicente Gómez to enter Mérida at the head of 3,000 soldiers. After this success, Crespo went from mobilizing small bands of fighters to important contingents throughout the country. On June 17, Andueza Palacio resigned from the presidency and Tell Villegas remained as interim. On July 1, in La Cortada del Guayabo, two armies of 5,000 combatants each, face each other. 9,000 rebels assaulted Villa de Cura on August 9. After

4189-664: Was president on three occasions during this time, ruling through puppet governments in between. Important public works were carried out during his dictatorship . He founded the country's first airline, Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela and the Venezuelan Air Force . He commissioned the construction of Venezuela's first airports: Maracaibo International Airport "Grano de Oro", La Fría, Encontrados, Sucre Base (now Florencio Gomez National Airport in Maracay, Aragua), Aragua Meteorological Air Base (the cradle and birthplace of

4260-400: Was also an anticlerical, supporter of economic liberalism and benefactor of the powerful who supported him to the power. In the last decades of the century, the conservatives were gradually left out of the game for power, now dominated by the liberals. From then on, civil wars were fought between factions of liberals, for example, some faithful to federalism and others in favor of centralism. In

4331-618: Was defeated and persecuted. On February 7 a new great rebellion took place. The Mochistas were in revolt in the center and west of the country, the Yellow Liberals in the east, and the Ciudad Bolívar garrison had risen up led by Nicolás Rolando. After the decisive battle of La Victoria (October 12, 1902) the rebels begin to be subdued, the powerful army of 12,000 to 16,000 combatants that they had concentrated, suffered 3,000 casualties. Castro barely had 6,000 soldiers. This

SECTION 60

#1732802480500

4402-642: Was exiled until 1858. In August 1853 in Cumaná a thousand conservatives had risen up demanding the return of Páez, they were quickly crushed and the government decided to increase the army to 10,000 men. A new revolt in Barquisimeto broke out on July 12, 1854, under the command of Juan Bautista Rodríguez, with 3,000 men mutinying; he immediately divided them into three battalions for a combined offensive inland. Fifteen days later, Rodríguez and 1,700 soldiers were defeated near his city by 2,500 government troops. On

4473-402: Was formed between conservative and liberal sectors to support the revolution of José Tadeo Monagas , who had used power for personal benefit along with his brother, José Gregorio , during the previous years in which they ruled. To embody this new union, yellow and red chose the central color of the flag: blue . From the second half of the 19th century, conservatives identified themselves with

4544-546: Was generally understood, however, that Gómez continued to hold the real power; he ruled the country from his home in Maracay . He returned to office in 1922, ruling until 22 April 1929. Though he was reelected by Congress, he declined to return to the capital, and Juan Bautista Pérez assumed the presidency, though Gómez remained the final authority in the country. On 13 June 1931, Congress forced Pérez to resign, and elected Gómez president again. This time, he resumed office, ruling

4615-404: Was more established, until 1877 when he had to leave power in favor of his opponents. Francisco Linares Alcántara led a government very opposed to his predecessors Guzmancism , but he was assassinated on November 30, 1878. On January 3, 1879 Guzmán Blanco rose up against his successor José Gregorio Valera . Quickly the bulk of the Venezuelan army deserted, and more than 10,000 soldiers joined

4686-661: Was never married; however, he had two mistresses. The first one was Dionisia Gómez Bello, with whom he had seven children: José Vicente, Josefa, Alí, Flor de María, Graciela, Servilia, and Gonzalo. The second one was Dolores Amelia Nunez Linares' de Cáceres, with whom he had nine children: Juan Vicente, Florencio, Rosa Amelia, Hermenegilda, Cristina, Belén, Berta, Manuel Antonio and Juan Crisóstomo Gómez. Gómez also fathered many other children in brief relationships: at least 64 and possibly as many as 99. He appointed many of his children to public office, sparking charges of nepotism . Gómez did not drink or smoke. Gómez's rule of Venezuela

4757-852: Was overthrown in a coup and forced into exile in Curaçao . With 10,000 soldiers, Castro entered the capital on October 23 with the generals and caudillos Luciano Mendoza (Yellow liberal), Samuel Acosta and Luis Lima Loreto (liberal nationalists or "Mochistas", meaning faithful to Caudillo José Manuel "Mocho" Hernández ). At first, on July 26, 1901, a group of 1,000 Venezuelan exiles in Colombia and 5,000 Colombian soldiers led by Carlos Rangel Garbiras attempted to invade Venezuela. However, they were unsuccessful and faced defeat in San Cristóbal . In response to Castro's efforts to consolidate political and military authority, several regional leaders, known as caudillos, began to rebel. Initially, these rebellions occurred in isolated areas, but eventually grew into

4828-429: Was succeeded by his lieutenants in the continuing governments. On March 11, 1892 the liberal Joaquín Crespo rebelled with his llaneros in Guárico . The government of Raimundo Andueza Palacio sends General Sebastián Casañas with 4,000 men to suffocate the movement, focusing the fight on Táchira , where Governor Cipriano Castro joined the rebels. After some initial victories, the government forces began to fall back in

4899-416: Was the bloodiest of all those experienced, between 20,000 and 100,000 people died. The Treaty of Coche on May 23, 1863, put an end to the war with the victory of Juan Crisóstomo Falcón . After the fall of Guanare (April 5, 1863), the conservatives had no way to resist. The liberals controlled Coro , Maracaibo , Barquisimeto and Guayana , with two armies (4,000 men in the Venezuelan west and 3,000 in

4970-463: Was the firstborn son of Pedro Cornelio Gomez and Hermenegilda Chacon Alarcon. In 1899, he joined the private army of Cipriano Castro , with whom he had been friends since Castro's exile in Colombia . This army swept down on Caracas in 1899 and seized control of the country. He became Castro's vice president and, in 1902, head of the military, responsible for suppressing several major revolts against

5041-538: Was the last civil war in the country, that ended on July 21, 1903, after three days of siege, when Rolando's troops surrendered in Ciudad Bolívar. Cipriano Castro seized absolute power until he was overthrown by Juan Vicente Gómez in 1908. Juan Vicente G%C3%B3mez Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military general , politician and de facto ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He

#499500