Símon Bolívar, the Liberator | Page 8

of his family to Napoleon and

to whomever he might select to rule. Napoleon immediately made his
brother Joseph King of Spain. This occurred in May, 1808. The
Spanish people had never been taken into consideration in all these
dealings. But they wanted to be considered and they decided that they
would be. Murat was governor in Madrid, and on May 2 the people
rebelled against him. Great ensued. Though the rebellion was
suppressed, the fire burning in the Spanish soul was not extinguished.
Everywhere juntas provinciales (provincial assemblies) were organized
against the intruder; they allied themselves with England and declared
that Fernando VII was the legitimate King of Spain and that the nation
was at war with France. In order to unify the actions of the different
juntas, a central junta was established in Aranjuez on September 25,
1808.
All these events had a tremendous effect in the American colonies.
News was received in Venezuela of the abdication of Charles and
Fernando, with orders to the colonies to recognize the new government.
But at the same time an English boat sent by Admiral Cochrane arrived,
and announced to the Venezuelan authorities the establishment of the
juntas and the organization of resistance to the French. The authorities
concluded to obey the orders brought by the French messengers, but the
people rose in Caracas as in Spain, went to the city council and forced
it to proclaim Fernando VII the legitimate monarch of Spain, thus
starting a revolution, which in its inception had all the appearance of
loyalty to the reigning house of Spain, but which very soon was
transformed into a real movement of emancipation.
Some days later the city council asked the governor to establish a junta
in Caracas, similar to those already established in Spain. The Spanish
authorities wanted to have recognized the supremacy of the junta
assembled in Seville, Spain, which had assumed the name of Supreme
Junta of Spain and her Colonies. The Venezuelans insisted that they
should have a junta in Caracas, and in order to foster this idea the most
prominent leaders of public thought met secretly at the house of Simón
Bolívar. Most of the conspirators were young men, united by strong
ties of friendship or family. Among them were the Marquis of Toro and
don José Félix Ribas, a relative of Bolívar, two very distinguished men.

The meetings were sometimes held at the house of Ribas. It was not
long before they were discovered. They determined to petition for the
establishment of a junta in Caracas. The authorities ordered them to be
put into prison; and in spite of their efforts, the Supreme Junta of Spain
and her Colonies was recognized in January, 1809. The Junta Central
declared in that same month that all the Spanish colonies formed part of
the Spanish monarchy itself, which statement apparently was a
declaration of equality. However, in fact, it was not so, since the
elections of deputies to the junta were not to be made by the people but
by the captain general, advised by the city council. The representation
was also very disproportionate. The deputies for Spain were to number
36 while those for America only 12.
In May of that year, a new captain general, don Vicente Emparan,
arrived in Venezuela. This man was more imperious than his
predecessors had been, and immediately alienated the good will of the
city council and the audiencia. He set up still greater obstacles to
commerce, sent many prominent men into exile, declared criminals
those who received printed matter from abroad, and established an
organized system of espionage.
In 1810, when Emparan was exercising his power with the strongest
hand, the patriots were meeting in the country wherever they could
under different pretexts, in order to organize themselves and to work
for their ideals. Bolívar was on the point of being exiled; many
prominent men were either imprisoned or sent out of Caracas. The
French armies seemed to conquer all opposition in Spain, and the Junta
Central had been forced to take refuge in Cádiz. Rumors were
circulated that Cádiz had fallen into the hands of the French. Then the
patriots decided to wait no longer, and Bolívar, Ribas and other friends
planned to take immediate steps.
On the morning of April 19, 1810, Holy Thursday, the city council
assembled to attend the religious services in the cathedral, and Emparan
was invited to be present. Before leaving for the service, the council
told the governor that it was necessary to establish in Venezuela a
government of its own in order to defend the country and the rights of

the legitimate monarch. The governor answered that he would consider
the matter after the service, and left the council. On arriving at the
church he was stopped by a patriot called Francisco