The Federal War In Venezuela is the longest and most important armed conflict experienced by this country during its republican history.
Due to its importance, it has been denominated to him"War of the Five Years","Long War"and"The Great War". S Between 1859 and 1863, due to the political instability left by the independence struggles and fundamentally, raised the flag of the rejection of the form of distribution of the lands and to the centralization of the power in the capital of the country.
Combat of Maiquetía, within the Federal War.
You may also want to read about the 4 causes of the Federal War, most outstanding , To better understand the origin of this conflict.
10 fundamental characteristics of the Federal War in Venezuela
1- Causes
To understand the origin of this conflict, we must describe the conditions in which Venezuela was at that time:
- Only a few military caudillos, participating in the Independence process, had the right to own land and livestock.
- Many peasants returned to the houses where they served to get out of the poverty situation in which they were.
- Venezuela was experiencing a deep economic crisis, as a result of the decline in export earnings. Fundamentally due to the fall in the prices of such products due to the crisis of 1858 in the international market.
- The tension between the people and the conservatives (in power) and the landlords.
- The liberal discourse on social equality, in the midst of this environment of tension.
- The expulsion of the country from the liberal leaders (members of the future Patriotic Junta of Venezuela).
- Tensions between the economic and political groups of the country.
- Different armed movements in rural areas
- The fundamental letter adopted by conservatives and liberals (who remained in the country), on December 31, 1858, in which there was no room for a federal system of government.
All of these aspects led to the exiled federalists beginning to conspire against the conservatives in power, while in the central states there were armed and disconnected struggles that they found in Ezequiel Zamora A leader who unified them.
2- Home
On February 20, 1859, in the city of Coro (Falcon state), northern Venezuela, federalists proclaimed the creation of a federation, the abolition of the death penalty, universal suffrage and political pluralism. As a result, fighting broke out in various parts of the country, starting the war.
3- Bandos
Basically, this war was fought between conservatives and liberals.
Liberals
Liberals were also called federal because they proclaimed federation as the ideal form of government and distribution of power and land.
These were commanded by Ezequiel Zamora, who had the support of a large part of the population, especially by the poorer classes who later became part of the armies of the confederation.
Conservatives
On the other hand, the conservatives, led by José Antonio Páez , Defended the central government and the maintenance of the order of things as they left the struggle for independence.
Its supporters consisted of the commercial elite concentrated in Caracas, old landowners and the new privileged groups thanks to their role in the wars of independence.
4- Participating States
Many people from the interior of the country joined the struggle, but the states that openly joined the war were Barinas, Portuguesa, Cojedes, Apure, Miranda and Guárico.
5- Settlements
"Land and free men"was the slogan that prevailed in the speech of the feds. Under this motto was the struggle that demanded social reforms, the distribution of land, the division of power of Caracas and the strengthening of local authorities in each of the provinces.
6- Deadly Balance
It is estimated that the total number of dead almost reaches 100,000. It was a brutal conflict in which both sides committed crimes, which today are considered against humanity, against peasants in a rural country.
7- Battles
The federal war was characterized by the guerrillas that were provoked in the interior of the country, reason why it only had two important battles: the one of Santa Ines and the one of the Coplé.
Battle of Santa Agnes
The Battle of Santa Inés, took place on December 10, 1859, and won the feds under the command of Ezequiel Zamora.
From this moment, the troops of Zamora besieged San Carlos in January of 1860, with the objective to continue advancing towards the center of the country.
During this siege Ezequiel Zamora falls dead and Juan Crisostomo Falcon takes his place and begins the advance toward the city of Valencia with the intention of taking it, but the weakening of his troops forces him to avoid the combat with the government troops and to deviate to Apure.
Battle of Coplé
A month later, on February 17, 1860, the battle of Coplé took place, in which the conservative side in charge of the Lion of Febres Cordero was victorious.
After this defeat, Chrysostom Falcon divided his army to execute guerrilla war in the different parts of the country while he looked for support in Colombia and other countries of the Caribbean. That search was successful and allows Falcón to enter Venezuela in July of 1861 displaying an intense military activity.
8- Weapons used: the percussion rifle
During the Venezuelan federal war, different types of weapons were used, given the disparity in the profile of the combatants. Nevertheless, one of the weapons most used in the conflict was the rifle of percussion.
It is a weapon that was popularized from 1830, which fires with the mechanism of percussion key. This system consists of a hammer-striker that strikes a copper bowl (piston) fitted over the mouth of a pipe (called a chimney) that communicates with the inside of the back of the barrel of the rifle.
The bait, which was already inside the bowl, exploded with a hammer-strike blow, releasing a flame through the chimney, which ignited the charge of gunpowder compressed in the barrel and shot.
This firing system has the advantage that 90% of the firing attempts will hit, even in unfavorable atmospheric conditions. The disadvantage: the soldier must load the weapon of foot, exposed to the enemy fire, because it must do it by the mouth of the cannon.
9- Consequences
Although the economic or social structure of Venezuela did not change significantly with this war, it did lead to the establishment of a federal system that in the 1990s still supported the national Constitution.
Among others, the main consequences of the Venezuelan federal war were:
- Abolition of the death penalty.
- Establishment of the Federation, with the entry into force of the Constitution of 1864.
- Shortage of the agricultural activity in the plains due to the fires, the death of cattle or the abandonment of those in charge of working the land.
- Decrease in foreign trade.
- Coffee boom as an export product.
- Reduction of the central government army.
10- End of the war
In December 1862, civil and economic wear and tear forced the search for a negotiated solution, which materialized with the Car Treaty signed in April 1863.
References
- "Federal War (Venezuela, 1859-1863)."Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Retrieved from: encyclopedia.com.
- Retrieved from: ecured.cu.
- Latin American unity: the great victory at Americas Summit (2014). Federal War. Retrieved from venezuela-us.org.
- Recalling our historical memory: The Federal War of Venezuela (2013) - Recovered from: barinas.net.ve.
- The Americas. South American Colonial Settlements. Federal war. Retrieved from: historyfiles.co.uk.
- Wikipedia.com.