Today is Independence Declaration Day in Venezuela. Known in Spanish as ‘Declaración de la independencia’, this holiday commemorates the declaration of a local junta in Caracas on April 19, 1810.
In 1806, there had been a failed attempt to start a revolution in Venezuela by Francsico de Miranda. Despite the failure, the attempt had sowed the seed of insurrection and a few years later, events in Europe would gave the independence movement further impetuous.
In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain and put his brother Joseph on the throne. Many of the Spanish colonies in Latin America remained loyal to the deposed King Ferdinand. On 17 April 1810, news that Ferdinand had been finally defeated by Napoleon reached Caracas, where the people decided independence was better than French rule.
On 19 April 1810 (Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday) Vicente Emparan, the Captain General of Venezuela, was dismissed, giving way to the formation of the Supreme Junta of Caracas, one of the first to form an autonomous government in Latin America.
Francsico de Miranda returned from exile, and pushed further for independence. A few months later, on 5 July 1811, the Declaration of Independence was finally signed, creating the First Republic of Venezuela. The Spanish resisted, however and full independence was not achieved until 1821 under Bolivar.
SIGNZ
Today is the birthday, in 1942, of English musician Alan Price, keyboards with The Animals who had the 1964 UK & US No.1 single ‘House Of The Rising Sun’). As a solo artsit he scored the 1967 UK No.4 single ‘Simon Smith and his Amazing Dancing Bear’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-43lLKaqBQ
