State of Venezuela
Venezuela, 1830–1864. Draft, not yet reviewed
The State of Venezuela was the official name of Venezuela adopted by the constitution of 1830, during the government of José Antonio Páez. Although the 1830 Constitution prescribed democracy, tradition and practical difficulties militated against the actual working of a republican form of government, and in practice an oligarchy governed the nation. Three days after José Tadeo Monagas' resignation, Julián Castro seized the Presidency in a coup d'état. In the Constitution of 1864, the United States of Venezuela was established.
Seat of power: Caracas
Rulers
José Antonio Páez
President of Venezuela, 1830–1835
Páez dominated the country's politics for most of the next three decades once the country had achieved independence from Gran Colombia, serving either as president or as the power behind puppet presidents. In 1830, Páez declared Venezuela independent from Gran Colombia and became president.
Portrait of José Antonio Páez: John J. Peoli, Public domain, file
José María de los Dolores Vargas Ponce
President of Venezuela, 1835–1836
He was elected in the 1834 Venezuelan presidential election, the first free and fair elections in South America. Vargas was Venezuela's first civilian president. He was overthrown in 1835, returned to office, and resigned in 1836 amid pressure.
Portrait of José María de los Dolores Vargas Ponce: Martin Tovar y Tovar, Public domain, file
Santiago Mariño
President of Venezuela, 1835–1835
He became an important leader of eastern Venezuela and for a short while in 1835 seized power over the new state of Venezuela.
Portrait of Santiago Mariño: Martín Tovar y Tovar (1827 - 1902), Public domain, file
Andrés Narvarte
President of Venezuela, 1835–1835
As Vice President of the Republic, he assumed executive power between 20 January 1835 (when the new Legislative Assembly was finalised) and 9 February 1835 (when José María Vargas was elected as president).
Portrait of Andrés Narvarte: Martín Tovar y Tovar (1827-1902), Public domain, file
Carlos Soublette
President of Venezuela, 1837–1839
He was the 7th and 9th president of Venezuela, from 1837 to 1839 and again from 1843 to 1847, and a hero of the Venezuelan War of Independence.
Portrait of Carlos Soublette: Martin Tovar y Tovar, Public domain, file
José Antonio Páez
President of Venezuela, 1839–1843
His second term as president ran from 1839 to 1843.
Portrait of José Antonio Páez: John J. Peoli, Public domain, file
Carlos Soublette
President of Venezuela, 1843–1847
He proved an honest but lackluster president, in some ways a foil to Páez, and he could not prevent the "election" of Monagas to the presidency in 1847.
Portrait of Carlos Soublette: Martin Tovar y Tovar, Public domain, file
José Tadeo Monagas
President of Venezuela, 1847–1851
As a member of the Liberal Party, he abolished capital punishment for political crimes. In 1848 Páez led a rebellion against Monagas but was defeated by General Santiago Mariño in the 'Battle of the Araguatos', imprisoned, and eventually exiled.
Portrait of José Tadeo Monagas: Martin Tovar y Tovar, Public domain, file
José Gregorio Monagas
President of Venezuela, 1851–1855
During his presidency, Monagas proclaimed Venezuela to be a nation free of slavery, in an edict signed on 24 March 1854. This decision was one of the main causes of the Federal War.
Portrait of José Gregorio Monagas: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
José Tadeo Monagas
President of Venezuela, 1855–1858
During José Tadeo's second term, the Monagas brothers attempted to end term limits and extend presidential terms to six-years, which instead ended with the overthrow of José Tadeo at the hands of Julián Castro and his Liberal and Conservative allies.
Portrait of José Tadeo Monagas: Martin Tovar y Tovar, Public domain, file
Pedro Gual
President of Venezuela, 1858–1859
He was the president of Venezuela for three periods (1858, 1859, and 1861) and a member of the Conservative Centralist party. In 1861, he was ousted from power in a military coup.
Portrait of Pedro Gual: Carlos Rivero, Public domain, file
Julián Castro
President of Venezuela, 1858–1859
In March 1858 he led a movement against Monagas, who quit as president on 15 March, and Castro became president on 18 March. His presidency was troubled, with scandals (the Urrutia Protocol affair, among others), coup attempts, and the beginning of the Federal War (February 1859), led by Ezequiel Zamora and Juan Crisóstomo Falcón.
Portrait of Julián Castro: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Manuel Felipe de Tovar
President of Venezuela, 1859–1861
He was president of Venezuela from 1859 to 1861.
Portrait of Manuel Felipe de Tovar: Martín Tovar y Tovar (1827 - 1902), Public domain, file
José Antonio Páez
President of Venezuela, 1861–1863
José Antonio Páez was called backed from exile in the United States, and ruled as dictator from 1861 to 1863; but could no longer rule as a powerful caudillo and was forced to surrender to the leader of the federalists, Juan Crisóstomo Falcón.
Portrait of José Antonio Páez: John J. Peoli, Public domain, file
Juan Crisóstomo Falcón
President of Venezuela, 1863–1868
At the outbreak of the Federal War, he returned to Venezuela as the supreme chief of the rebel movement in August 1859. The Federal War ended in a victory for the Federalists in 1863, and the Treaty of Coche made him the new President of Venezuela.
Portrait of Juan Crisóstomo Falcón: Martín Tovar y Tovar (1827 - 1902), Public domain, file
Culture
- José Gregorio abolished slavery in 1854, and José Tadeo abolished capital punishment.
- The eastern llanos produced many caudillos because its economy was open to international trade and the exports from that region (cattle, hides, coffee) were staples of the Venezuelan economy.
- There were elections, but these were held at the municipal level and of course the pardos had no vote.
Picture
The National Pantheon of Venezuela, a final resting place for national heroes, was created in the 1870s on the site of the ruined Santísima Trinidad church.
Image: Wilfredor, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.