Federal War
1859 CE to 1863 CE
The Federal War, is a civil war in Venezuela between the conservative party and the liberal party concerning the monopoly of the conservatives over the land and the government positions; their reluctance to grant any reforms drives the liberals to seek greater autonomy for the provinces.
The Federal War is mainly a guerrilla war largely without a centralized command for the Federalists, who unleash social resentment of the oppressed classes against the Bourgeoisie.
Just over three major conventional battles are fought: The Battle of Santa Inés (December 10, 1859), in which Federalist army leader Ezequiel Zamora and 3,400 men defeat the Central Army of 2,300 men, with about 1,200 casualties altogether both sides; the Battle of Coplé (February 17, 1860), a victory of the government forces of general León de Febres Cordero over a Federalist army of 4,500 men, commanded by Falcón, and the Battle of Buchivacoa (December 26-December 27, 1862).
The hostilities end with the signing of the Treaty of Coche in April 1863.
It is the biggest civil war Venezuela has had since its independence.
Hundreds of thousands die in the violence of the war, or from hunger or disease, in a country with a population of just over a million people.
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Venezuela's elite factions fail to agree on a replacement for Monagas, however, precipitating twelve years of intermittent civil war so chaotic that few history texts bother to chronicle the details.
Between 1858 and 1863, local caudillos engage in a chaotic power struggle known as the Federal War because the Liberals favor federalism.
In the end, the Liberals triumph, and General Juan Crisóstomo Falcón is named president.
Venezuela has since 1848 been under the dictatorial rule of José Tadeo Monagas or his younger brother, José Gregoria Monagas, who have alternated in the country’s highest office and have tried to extend the presidential term from four to six years.
In March 1858, the brother autocrats are been overthrown in a revolution engineered by Conservatives and Liberals, who are both vying for power.
Civil strife erupts promptly among ambitious caudillos (military leaders) in the provinces, and Venezuela becomes embroiled in the so-called Federalist Wars, mainly pitting Conservatives against Liberals, with the former wanting a centralized government and the latter federalism and democracy.
Juan Crisóstomo Falcón, a member of the liberal Venezuelan Federalist Party, first serves as president of Venezuela as the supreme chief of a rebel movement in August 1859, but the rebellion is soon crushed.
Fighting in Venezuela’s Federalist Wars is fierce, and the government has changed hands several times until 1861, when former president José Antonio Páez is recalled from exile to form a Conservative ministry.
The Federalist War is the biggest and bloodiest civil war that Venezuela, a country with a population of just over a million people, has had since its independence.
It is mainly a guerrilla war, largely without a centralized command for the Federalists, who professed to ride on social resentment.
Just three major conventional battles have been fought: The Battle of Santa Inés (December 10, 1859), in which Ezequiel Zamora and thirty-four hundred men defeated the Central Army of twenty-three hundred men, with about twelve hundred combined casualties; the Battle of Coplé (February 17, 1860), a victory of the government forces of general León de Febres Cordero over a Federalist army of forty-five hundred men, commanded by Juan Crisóstomo Falcón, and the Battle of Buchivacoa (December 26-December 27, 1862).
The hostilities end with the signing of the Treaty of Coche in April 1863, but the rule of the country remains dictatorial: as a result of the war, political power is centralized in the federal government.
Under the presidency of Falcon, Venezuela becomes in 1863 the first country to abolish capital punishment for all crimes, including serious offenses against the state.