Venezuela (second republic)

Infobox Former Country
conventional_long_name = Republic of Venezuela
native_name =
common_name = Venezuela
continent=South America
region = Andes
country = Venezuela
status = Unrecognized State
era= South American Independence Wars
year_start = 1813
year_end = 1814
event_start =Bolívar's War
date_start = August
date_end = July 16
event_end = Conquest
p1 = Viceroyalty of New Granada
flag_p1 = Flag of Spain (1785-1873 and 1875-1931).svg
s1 = Viceroyalty of New Granada
flag_s1 = Flag of Spain (1785-1873 and 1875-1931).svg






image_map_caption = The Second Republic of Venezuela
common_languages = Spanish
capital = Caracas
government_type = Republic
title_leader = "President"
leader1 = Simón Bolívar

The Second Republic of Venezuela ("Segunda República de Venezuela" in Spanish) is the term used by historians for the reestablished Venezuelan Republic declared by Simón Bolívar on August 7, 1813. This declaration followed the defeat of Domingo Monteverde by Bolívar during the Admirable Campaign in the west and Santiago Mariño in his campaign in the east. The republic came to an end in the following year, after a series of defeats at the hands of José Tomás Boves.

Use of the term in Venezuelan history

It is during this period that the term "Republic of Venezuela" is officially used by Simón Bolívar's government. During the First Republic, upon which Bolívar rested the legitimacy of his actions, the government referred to the Venezuelan state as either the "American Confederation of Venezuela" or the "United Provinces of Venezuela" (both terms are used interchangeably in the Declaration of Independence, [In Spanish: [http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/04476838628769323836591/p0000001.htm Venezuelan Declaration of Independence] , Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes] or as the "United States of Venezuela" (a term used interchangeable with "the Confederation") in the Constitution of 1811. [In Spanish: [http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/02461621981246052976613/index.htm Federal Constitution of 1811] Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes]

Historians use the term Third Republic of Venezuela to refer to the period from about 1817 to 1819, when a rump government, organized by Bolívar began functioning in the Venezuelan "Llanos". The year before, various Venezuelan guerilla forces managed to permanently established themselves in the "Llanos" and captured the city of Angostura, which became their headquarters. This period culminated with the formation of the Congress of Angostura, which wrote a new constitution for Venezuela, replacing the one from 1811, which in theory, was still valid, although suspended since the collapse of the First Republic in 1812. At the end of 1819 the Angostura Congress decreed the union of Venezuela with New Granada in a new Republic of Colombia, (Gran Colombia) bringing an end to the Third Republic.

After the dissolution of Gran Colombia, Venezuela became once again the Republic of Venezuela, and although undergoing various changes in constitutions and forms of government, Venezuela permanently maintained its independence from this moment on. This period is known as the Fourth Republic. It is light of this use of numbered republics to divide historical periods in Venezuela (much like in modern France), that Hugo Chávez chose to name his political party the Fifth Republic Movement, to imply that electoral success for him and his party would entail a marked, positive (in their view) break with the past.

See also

*Captaincy General of Venezuela
* Venezuelan War of Independence
*First Republic of Venezuela
*Gran Colombia
*Venezuela