July 5: 211th Anniversary of Venezuela's Independence Day

Venezuela’s independence was a political process that took place between 1810 and 1830, when the Captaincy General of Venezuela achieved its emancipation from the Spanish Crown. 

"Compatriots, arms will give you independence, laws will give you freedom," Simón Bolívar said in one of his iconic phrases dating back to 1811, when on July 5, Venezuela signed the Act of Independence in the Santa Rosa de Lima Chapel in the city of Caracas. This was one of the first Latin American territories to declare its independence.

While this was happening in Venezuela, the Spanish War of Independence was taking place in Spain within the context of the Napoleonic Wars. The wars pitted the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal against the First French Empire, whose aim was to install Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte, on the Spanish throne after the abdications of Bayonne. These conditions offered Venezuela a favorable circumstance to try to emancipate itself from Spanish domination.

In 1810, Venezuelan patriots formed their first government of their own and the following year signed the Act of Independence. This began a long period of wars against the royalists and political instability that only came to an end in 1830. This year, after the dissolution of Gran Colombia, Venezuela became a sovereign and independent state.

Preparation and approval of the Minutes by the Congress

On July 3, 1811, in the Santa Rosa de Lima Chapel, the debate of the Congress began. On July 5, 1811, the vote was taken, resulting in the approval of the independence with forty votes in favor. Immediately, the president of the Congress, Deputy Juan Antonio Rodríguez, announced that the "Absolute Independence of Venezuela was solemnly declared."

On the afternoon of July 5, the Congress held another session, in which it agreed to draft a document, the preparation of which was entrusted to Deputy Juan Germán Roscio and the Secretary of the Congress, Francisco Isnardi.

The document was ratified by the Congress on July 7, 1811, presented to the public in Caracas and read in what is now Plaza Bolivar on July 14, 1811, and entered into the book of Acts on August 18, when the last signatures were affixed. 

The new nation that this declaration proclaimed would be the American Confederation of Venezuela. Later with the promulgation of the Federal Constitution of 1811, the name of the nation would be made official as the States of Venezuela.