The History of Venezuela

In mid-1819, the war for independence in Venezuela was at a stalemate. Royalist and patriot armies and warlords fought all across the land, reducing the nation to rubble. Simon Bolivar looked to the west, where the Spanish Viceroy in Bogota was practically undefended. If he could get his army there, he could destroy the center of Spanish power in New Granada once and for all. Between him and Bogota, however, were flooded plains, raging rivers and the frigid heights of the Andes Mountains. His crossing and stunning attack are the stuff of South American legend.

On August 7, 1819, Simon Bolivar's army absolutely crushed a royalist force led by Spanish General José María Barreiro near the Boyaca River in present-day Colombia. One of the greatest military victories in history, only 13 patriots dies and fifty were wounded, to 200 dead and 1600 captured for the enemy. Although the battle took place in Colombia, it had major consequences for Venezuela as it broke Spanish resistance in the area. Within two years Venezuela would be free.

The eccentric Antonio Guzman Blanco was president of Venezuela from 1870 to 1888. Extremely vain, he loved titles and enjoyed sitting for formal portraits. A great fan of French culture, he frequently went to Paris for extended periods of time, ruling Venezuela by telegram. Eventually the people got sick of him and kicked him out in absentia.

Love him or hate him (Venezuelans do both), you've got to admire Hugo Chavez' survival skills. Like a Venezuelan Fidel Castro, he somehow clings to power in spite of coup attempts, countless squabbles with his neighbors and the enmity of the United States of America. Chavez has been in power since 1999 and shows no intention of ever leaving: the Venezuelan Congress recently amended the constitution to allow him to seek reelection indefinitely.