Hello, and welcome to Revolutions.

Episode 5.15 The Centaur of the Plains

The cause of Spanish-American independence was going quite well in the fall of 1817.

Jose de San Martín had just led his army on a remarkable push through the Andes Mountains,

and after a brilliant campaign, had liberated Chile, and Bernardo O'Higgins had now been

installed as dictator of Chile.

Once Bolivar is making his approach to Peru, I'll go back and give you a bit more of

the play-by-play because it really is something.

Most especially because San Martín had already recognized the power of the non-Criollo

population, and his liberating army was almost entirely non-white.

And then up north, as we saw last week, the campaigns of Bolivar and the Eastern Caudíos

had one control of huge swathes of territory in Venezuela, and after capturing Angostura

in July 1817, now had a proper capital for the still somewhat ephemeral Third Republic.

Meanwhile on the other side, the Spanish were starting to have a hell of a time of it.

Now everything had started out according to plan.

Moreo had landed in Venezuela in April 1815 at the head of 10,000 men and 60 ships,

and easily reasserted Spanish authority.

Then he had moved on over to Cartagena and captured it in December 1815.

And then his Bolivar and company were returning to Venezuela in 1816.

Moreo had led his men up the Magdalena River and taken Bogota, crushing the Union of

New Granada and reinstalling a vice-regal government.

The patriotic leaders who had collaborated with Bolivar were forced to scatter and many

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