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Captaincy General of Venezuela Capitanía General de Venezuela (Spanish) | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1777–1824 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Motto: Plus ultra "Further Beyond" | |||||||||||||||||||
| Anthem: Marcha Real "Royal March" | |||||||||||||||||||
.svg) Flag of Spain: first national flag, naval flag since 1785 and fortress flag from 1793, and the last Spanish flag to fly in continental America, inSan Felipe Castle[1][2][3] | |||||||||||||||||||
 Captaincy General of Venezuela in 1777 (Projection). | |||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) Map of the Captaincy General of Venezuela in 1777. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Santiago de León de Caracas | ||||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Spanish (official) Wayuu,Pemon,Warao,Yanomamö | ||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Captaincy | ||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||
• Royal Decree | September 8, 1777 | ||||||||||||||||||
| April 19, 1810 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1824 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||||||
• 1810 | 750,000[4] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Spanish colonial real | ||||||||||||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | VE | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
TheCaptaincy General of Venezuela (Spanish:Capitanía General de Venezuela), was an administrative district ofcolonial Spain, created on September 8, 1777, through the Royal Decree of Graces of 1777, to provide more autonomy for the provinces ofVenezuela, previously under the jurisdiction of theAudiencia of Santo Domingo (and thus theViceroyalty of New Spain) and then theViceroyalty of New Granada. It established a unified government in political (governorship), military (captaincy general), fiscal (intendancy), ecclesiastical (archdiocese) and judicial (audiencia) affairs. Its creation was part of theBourbon Reforms and laid the groundwork for the future nation of Venezuela, in particular by orienting theprovince of Maracaibo towards theprovince of Caracas.
In 1494, despite the presence ofindigenous peoples in the Americas,Pope Alexander VI issued apapal decree with theTreaty of Tordesillas that unilaterally granted theCrown of Castile with full dominion over the majority of what is now regarded asSouth America. Following years ofcolonization bycolonial Spain, theBourbon dynasty took steps towards reorganizing their overseas possessions and Venezuela, in particular. When the New Granadan Viceroyalty was reestablished in 1739, the governor-captain general of Caracas was given military jurisdiction over the provinces ofMaracaibo, Cumaná, Guayana, Trinidad and Margarita. The 18th century also marked a period of marked economic growth for Venezuela.Cocoa plantations were established along the littoral valleys, which resulted in largeimportations of slaves. The growth of the cocoa-exporting economy was created by the RealCompañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas, which was granted a fullmonopoly over exports and imports in 1728. The company's second largest export wastobacco. It also promoted the exploration and settlement of Venezuela's frontiers, most famously under the Expedition of the Limits, 1750–1761 headed by José de Iturriaga y Aguirre, which resulted in new settlements inGuayana Province. This growth was not experienced evenly, and the monopoly hurt small farmers, who continued to sell most of their product in the contraband trade. Resentment of the Company exploded in open revolt in 1749 headed byCanarian immigrant Juan Francisco de León.[5]
The Captaincy General, which was essentially a new viceroyalty in all but name, was actually created slowly over time by centralizing fiscal, administrative, military and ecclesiastical rule in Caracas. The first step was the creation of theIntendancy of Caracas, by Minister of the Indies,José de Gálvez in 1776. The new intendancy (superintendencia de ejército y real hacienda) covered the provinces ofVenezuela (Caracas),Cumaná (sometimesNew Andalusia),Guayana,Maracaibo,Trinidad andMargarita. Up to this point Maracaibo, Guayana and Trinidad's governance had been directly supervised by theBogotá Audiencia [es]; the other three provinces by the one inSanto Domingo. The following year a joint governorship-captaincy general with powers over military and administrative matters was established for the same provinces. Regional governors and military commanders were subordinated to the governor-captain general of Caracas. To maintain uniformity in judicial matters, in 1777 the provinces of Maracaibo, Margarita, Cumaná, Guayana and Trinidad were transferred to the Santo Domingo Audiencia, which had taken appeals from the province of Caracas since 1742. Judicial matters were finally centralized in 1786 with the creation of theAudiencia of Caracas [es], which had jurisdiction over these same provinces and the newBarinas Province, which had been established in the intervening years from the frontier regions of Maracaibo Province. TheAudiencia was composed of a regent judge, three judges and a crown attorney. The governor-captain general served as its president. It was to carry out justice and to watch over the action of royal officials in the area of its jurisdiction. It only communicated directly with theCouncil of the Indies in Spain.[6]
Aconsulado was established in 1793 to oversee the new captaincy general's trade. In religious matters all of the provinces were also placed under the direction of the newarchdiocese ofCaracas in 1803. Two newdioceses,Mérida andGuayana were created, as well. Previously areas of the new diocese of Mérida had been part of the archdiocese ofBogotá, and Guayana had been part of the diocese ofPuerto Rico. Control of theProvince of Trinidad was lost to the British in 1797.
The Royal Decree establishing the Captaincy General:
The King.—Inasmuch and keeping in mind what has been reported to me by the current Viceroy, Governor and Captain General of the New Kingdom of Granada and the governors of the Provinces of Guayana and Maracaibo on the inconveniences that are created in the indicated provinces, as well as those of Cumaná and Islands of Margarita and Trinidad, by remaining united as they are to the Viceroyalty and Captaincy General of the indicated New Kingdom of Granada, because of the distance at which they find themselves from its capital Santa Fe, resulting as a consequence the delay in the decisions with the most grave harm to my Royal Service.
Therefore, to avoid these and greater harm, which would result in case of an invasion, I have best resolved the absolute separation of said Provinces of Cumaná, Guayana and Maracaibo, and islands of Trinidad and Margarita, from the Viceroyalty and Captaincy General of the New Kingdom of Granada, and add them in government and military matters to the Captaincy General of Venezuela, in the same manner that they are in regards to the administration of my Royal Treasury to the new Intendancy established in said Province and city of Caracas, its capital. In the same manner I have resolved to separate in judicial matters from the Audiencia of Santa Fe, and to add to the old one of Santo Domingo, the two mentioned Provinces of Maracaibo and Guayana, in the same manner that Cumaná and the islands of Margarita and Trinidad are, so that they find themselves under the same immediate Audiencia, Captain General and Intendant, be better ruled and governed with better utility to my Royal Service. Accordingly, I order the Viceroy and Audiencia of Santa Fe restrained from, and to abstain from, the knowledge of the respective matters which corresponded to them before the separation implied here; and order the governors of the Provinces of Cumaná, Guayana and Maracaibo, and Islands of Margarita and Trinidad, to obey as their Captain General, the one that today is, and in the future will be, of the Province of Venezuela, and carry out the orders that in my Royal Service he communicate to them in government and military matters; and that in the same way the governors of the Provinces of Maracaibo and Guayana observe the provisions that in the future my Royal Audiencia of Santo Domingo issues, accepting the appeals that are lodged before it according to and in the manner they have been, or should have been done, before the Audiencia of Santa Fe; such is my will. Given in San Ildefonso on the eighth of September of 1777.—I the King.
As representative of the King of Spain,José de Gálvez signed the Cedula de Poblacion of 1783 opening the island of Trinidad to immigration from, primarily, the French Caribbean islands. Negotiated byPhillipe Rose Roume de Saint-Laurant, the edict consists of 28 articles governing various forms of land grants to encourage population growth, the naturalization of inhabitants, taxation, the arming of slave owners, the duty and function of a militia to protect the island, and trade and mercantile issues.
The Royal Decree (Real Cédula) of June 13, 1786, was the first to establish the Real Audiencia, describe its functions and to define its limits (subsequent ones defined further faculties and appointed members):
His Majesty has resolved in view of everything, that the Province of Maracaibo continue united, as it is, to the Captaincy General and Intendancy of Caracas, keeping what is provided by the Royal Decree [Real Cédula] of February 15 of this year on the addition of the City ofTrujillo and its jurisdiction to the Government of Maracaibo; and the creation for the present of a separateCommand in the Province of Barinas. And to avoid the harm that would arise for the inhabitants of said Provinces of Maracaibo, Cumamá, Guayana, Margarita and Island of Trinidad, comprising the same Captaincy General, of having to recur for appeals in their affairs to the AudienciaPretorial of Santo Domingo, the King has resolved to create another in Caracas, comprised for now of a Regent Dean, three judges [oidores] and a crown attorney [fiscal]; leaving the same number of ministers in the one in Santo Domingo and limiting its district to the Spanish part of that island, the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico; to which end His Majesty will of course name the ministers who should serve in one and the other.
The independence movement for Venezuela began with the establishment of theCaracas Junta in 1810. After theVenezuelan Declaration of Independence in 1811, the provinces of Caracas, Cumaná, Barinas, Margarita, and the newly separated ones ofBarcelona,Trujillo, andMérida established aRepublic of Venezuela, which claimed the area of the Captaincy General. The provinces of Maracaibo and Guayana, along with the city of Coro, rejected the republic, and after a year of war against the royalists, this First Republic collapsed. The provinces that had created the Venezuelan Republic were reconquered by Frigate CaptainDomingo de Monteverde, who usurped power from the appointed Captain GeneralFernando Miyares. Because of this theCortes of Cádiz erected the province of Maracaibo into a separate Captaincy General with Miyares at its head, but did ratify Monteverde as Captain General of the smaller Venezuela. During this period, the province of Maracaibo elected a representative to the Cortes,José Domingo Rus, who served from March 3, 1812, to May 10, 1814, and continued to represent the province before the crown afterFerdinand VII abolished the Cortes.[7][8] With Ferdinand VII's return, Venezuela was reunited in one captaincy general.
In 1812 a new Audiencia appointed by the Cortes was able to return in Caracas. Under the leadership ofDominican-born Regent José Francisco Heredia (father of Cuban poetJosé María Heredia y Heredia), the Audiencia put up fierce resistance to Monteverde's attempts to rule the Captaincy General undermartial law. After an interruption due to therestoration of the Republic and attempts byPablo Morillo to suspend the Audiencia, both the Audiencia and the Captaincy General continued to function until 1821.
Independence for Venezuela was consolidated in 1821 as part ofGran Colombia. TheCongress of Cucuta looked to the territorial area of former Viceroyalty of New Granada (during the period of 1739–1777) as the basis for its territorial claims, and created a state composed ofregional departments. Venezuela became theDepartment of Venezuela through this territorial reorganization. The rising animosity betweenVenezuelans andNew Granadians, due to irreconcilable differences in opinion as to how the new republic ought to be governed, led to the inevitable collapse ofGran Colombia in 1830. After 1830, the provinces within the old Captaincy General of Venezuela constituted the territory of the new independent republic ofVenezuela.
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