brilliant; and at the beginning of the year 1822, the only point occupied by the Spanish armies was the isthmus of Panama. 759. CARACCAS, or VENEZUELA, remained in quiet subjec*tion to the mother country, until 1806, when general Miranda, a native of Caraccas, made an unfortunate attempt to liberate 1 her from the yoke. An expedition was fitted out at New-York, a landing was effected on the coast, but the force proved inadequate to the desired object. Many were taken prisoners by the Spanish authorities, and several suffered the penalty of death. The defeat was decisive, and gave an effectual blow, for some time, to the project of independence: but in 1810, Spain being overrun by the French troops, the opportunity was seized by the principal inhabitants, to form a republican system of government. For this purpose a congress was convened in Caraccas, composed of deputies from all the provinces, composing the former captain-generalship, with the exception of Maracaibo. trict. 760. At first they published their acts in the name of Ferdinand the VII.; but the captain-general, and the members of the audiencia, were deposed and imprisoned, and the new gov ernment received the title of the confederation of Venezuela. The most violent and impolitic measures were now adopted by the regency and cortes of Spain towards the people of this disThe congress, finding the voice of the people decided in favor of independence, issued a proclamation on the 5th of July, 1811, formally proclaiming it. A liberal constitution was established, and affairs wore a favorable aspect for the cause of freedom, until the fatal earthquake of 1812, which, operating on the superstition of the people, led to a great change in the public opinion. Monteverde, a royalist general, taking advan. tage of the situation of affairs, marched against Caraccas, and, after defeating general Miranda, compelled the whole province to submit. 761. In 1813, Venezuela was again emancipated by Bolivar, who was sent with an army by the confederation of Granada: but in 1814, he was in his turn defeated by Boves, and compelled to evacuate Caraccas. In 1816, Bolivar again returned with a respectable body of troops, and was again defeated;—but undismayed by reverses, he landed again in December of the same year, convened a general congress, and defeated the royalists, in March 1817, with great loss. In the month following, Barcelona was taken by the Spanish troops; and the contest was maintained for some time afterwards with various success; and Bolivar was invested by the congress with ample powers, the situation of the republic requiring the energy of a dictator. 762. On the 17th of December, 1819, an union between the republics of Granada and Venezuela was solemnly decreed, in conformity with the report of a select committee of deputies from each state. This confederation received the title of REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA. In conformity with the fundamental law, the installation of the general congress of Colombia took place on the 6th of May, 1821, in the city of Rosario, lat. 8° N. and 70° W. of London. The first measure considered by this body was the constitution, and it was finally determined that the two states should form one nation, under a popular representative government, divided into legislative, executive, and judicial. In the mean time, President Bolivar was actively engaged in bringing the war to a close. On the 24th of June, 1821, was fought the memorable battle of Carobobo, in which the royalist army was totally defeated, with the loss of their artillery, baggage, and upwards of 6000 men. At the beginning of 1822, only Porto Cabello, in Venezuela, and the isthmus of Panama, in New Granada, remained in the possession of the Spaniards; and at the close of the year, the president of the United States acknowledged their Independence, in his public message; since which time their envoys have been accredited and received by the United States, Great Britain, and France. 763. Notwithstanding these flattering events, the republic was distracted by political intrigues, and the various incident's attendant on a state of war; till, on the 26th of Sept. 1829, Venezuela separated itself from the republic of Colombia, and declared itself independent; placing general Paez at the head of affairs. On the 18th of March, 1831, its first congress met at Valentia, being composed of 15 senators, and 23 representatives. 764. In January, of the preceding year, the hero Bolivar resigned all his military and political offices; and an assembly of 47 deputies met at Bogota, for the purpose of forming a constitution for Colombia conformable to the spirit of the age. On the 25th of April, this new constitution was signed by the members of the congress, and likewise by the executive; three days previous to which, Urdaneta had endeavored to overthrow the then existing order of affairs. 765. On the 4th of May, 1830, the congress met, and elected J. Mosquera as their president; and seven days after, having formed such a republican constitution as coincided with their wishes, they adjourned. But it was not destined to Colombia to enjoy repose, for on the 31st of the same month, general Flores issued a proclamation at Quito, declaring the south part of Colombia an independent government. 766. Party spirit was also carried to such excess, that general Sucre was assassinated within a few days after; and the civil war still raging, a battle took place between the partisans of the government and its opposers, in which the latter were victorious. On the 17th of December, 1830, the celebrated Liberator of Colombia died of a broken heart, aged only 47 years; Simon Bolivar was a man who deserved the eternal gratitude of his countrymen. 767. The death of their hero and chief did not produce peace in Colombia: for, on the 27th of April, the following year, we find that general Caicedo was invested with executive powers, in place of Urdaneta, and during the absence of the president, Mosquera. 768. BUENOS AYRES was erected into a viceroyalty in 1778, and from that period its trade progressively increased until the war between Spain and England, when a material interruption was given to it. No event, however, of great moment appears in its history, until July, 1806, when a British army, under general Beresford, suddenly invaded the country, and took the capital by surprise. The British enjoyed their triumph but a few weeks, when a small body of the militia, under command of general Liniers, invested the city, and forced them to surrender, on the 12th of August. Soon after the surrender of Beresford's army, about 5000 troops, under Sir Home Popham, arrived from the Cape of Good Hope; who, after taking fort Maldonado, at the mouth of La Plata, laid siege to Monte Video. The Spanish garrison made a resolute and glorious defence, and finally compelled the besiegers to withdraw disgracefully from the contest. 769. Sir Samuel Auchmuty arrived some time afterwards, and the number of the British bearing a vast superiority over that of the garrison, another attempt was made, and the town was finally carried by storm, after a defence which reflects the highest honor upon its little garrison. It was next determined by the British commanders to proceed against Buenos Ayres, as soon as certain reinforcements arrived. In May, 1807, these succors arrived under general Whitelocke, who assumed the chief command, and was joined, on the 15th of June, by general Crawford. The invading army now amounted to 12,000 men, all regular disciplined soldiers. On the appointed day they embarked in boats, and sailing up the river, debarked below the capital. They were permitted to approach the town without molestation; but no sooner had they entered it, than they were received by the indignant inhabitants with one tremendous and well-directed fire of grape-shot and musketry. Every house was converted into a fortress, from which vengeance was poured out upon the invaders of the soil. The British troops were thrown into confusion, and endeavored to find safety in a disgraceful flight. General Whitelocke, finding that the patriotism of the people was not to be overcome, and having no means of escape, surrendered this formidable army prisoners of war to the militia of Buenos Ayres: and thus terminated the second British invasion of this province. 770. The important services which Liniers had rendered the people, elevated him to distinction. The viceroy Sobremonte was deposed, and the French general placed in his stead. The invasion of Old Spain, however, and the deposition of Ferdinand VII., produced a counter-revolution in the public opinion. Liniers was desirous of establishing the authority of the emperor Napoleon in America, as well as in Old Spain; but don Josef de Goyenoche, who had been sent out by the junta of Cadiz, caused the inhabitants of Buenos Ayres to proclaim Ferdinand advising, at the same time, that a junta should be immediately formed. So powerful and well-concerted were his measures, that on the 1st of January, 1809, the people rose in all parts of the city, and demanded the establishment of a junta. They were, however, dispersed, and the leaders punished by the troops, who still remained faithful to Liniers. : 771. This temporary triumph was not of long continuance; in August, 1809, Cisneros, the new viceroy, arrived from Spain, and Liniers was deposed by the junta, which now solemnly declared their rights. Liniers was then exiled to Cordova, but the spirit of insurrection had now spread itself too widely to admit of the new viceroy continuing long in the exercise of his functions. Commotion succeeded to commotion, and a provisional government assembled on the 26th of May, 1810, deposed the new viceroy and sent him to Spain. Against this measure the inhabitants of the interior provinces, and city of Montevideo, protested. Liniers formed an army in the neighborhood of Cordova, and another was assembled in Potosi, under general Nieto. To check these, a force marched from Buenos Ayres: Liniers and Nieto were defeated, and themselves and six of the principal officers beheaded. 772. These decisive measures did not extinguish the spirit of disaffection to the cause of emancipation. A force was put in motion in Paraguay, under the governor Velasco; who was defeated, taken prisoner, and sent to Buenos Ayres. Montevideo still remained faithful to the mother country; but in December, 1816, a body of Portuguese troops entered the Banda Oriental, and took possession of the city. All the principal places on the eastern shore of the Uraguay, and of the country between the Parana and the Uraguay, fell into their hands, and the province still remains in their possession. Buenos Ayres, though independent in fact, after the revolution of 1810, was not so in name. The junta professed allegiance to the court of Spain, and all decrees were issued in the name of Ferdinand VII. 773. On the 9th of July, 1816, the minds of the people being fully prepared for the event, a formal declaration of independence was made by the general congress. No opposition was made to the measure in Buenos Ayres, as no Spanish troops had remained there since 1810. But an unfortunate dissension broke out between the provinces on the east bank of the La Plata, and the general confederation, which arose from a dispute between the government of Buenos Ayres and general Artigas, one of the officers appointed to reduce Montevideo. The contest between them continued for several years, and many engagements took place, in most of which Artigas was successful. The province of Paraguay, likewise, though professedly favorable to independence, refused to make common cause with Buenos Ayres, and adopted a kind of non-intercourse with the whole world. 774. Since the declaration of independence, political revolutions have been frequent in Buenos Ayres. All parties, however, favor the cause of republicanism. The most important events in the recent history of this republic, are the annexation of the Banda Oriental to the kingdom of Brazil, and the recognition of the independence of Buenos Ayres by the Portuguese government, by Great Britain and the United States in the year 1822. 775. Unfortunately for the prosperity of both countries, the war was continued for several years with varied success; during which period also Buenos Ayres was much distracted by the claims of rival chieftains, who aimed at establishing an absolute authority for themselves, in preference to a love for the welfare of their country. At length, on the 18th of June, 1830, a treaty of peace was ratified at Montevideo, by the governor, general Lavelleja, and general Rivera, by which the latter ac R |