![]() ![]() 3 During the Guzmán Blanco era the population increased from about 1.7 million in 1874 to 2.3 million in 1891. The civilized part of the country was actually shrinking. ![]() When Guzmán Blanco seized control the nation was devastated, and many regions were deserted because people had moved to larger cities for protection. He admired both Yankee industriousness and the culture of the Second Empire in France. He wanted to mold his backward and ravaged country in the image of prosperous societies he had come to know across the seas. Venezuela’s second caudillo did not establish independence as Páez had done, but he did have a vision besides the will to power. From 1870 to 1888 Guzmán Blanco dominated Venezuela, although he chose presidents to succeed him temporarily in office. Within two years Guzmán Blanco, now a leader in his own right, formed a heterogeneous coalition that conquered Caracas in a bloody battle and assumed the reins of government securely. The Federalist Period (1863-1868) was cut short when the conservatives seized power again. His son’s success eclipsed him as well as others who had earned their rank on the field of battle. This disputatious opportunist wanted above all to be president. The young general had learned the art of politics from his controversial father, Antonio Leocadio Guzmán. Young and debonaire Guzmán Blanco gained ascendance over the other politicians and became the confidant of President Falcón, taking a key role in all government matters. Among them General Juan Crisóstomo Falcón assumed leadership, but he soon formed a dislike for politics. The liberals, who now championed federalism, had virtually destroyed the conservative leaders of the early republic and the landed aristocracy led by General José Antonio Páez. The victors formed the United States of Venezuela out of the ruins. Increasing in destructiveness, the fighting among factions and rival classes reached a highpoint during the Federal War (1858 to 1863). ![]() 1Īfter separation from Bolívar’s Gran Colombia in 1830, Venezuela enjoyed twenty years of relative peace before it plunged into revolution. ![]() The central figures in this drama are the Liberal Party, in formation since the 1840’s, and Guzman Blanco, one of Latin America’s most colorful caudillos. This essay will sketch the major developments which gave substance to Venezuelan cultural nationalism as it emerged into the present century. Hardly a century later, other empires in Africa and Asia have spawned dozens of new states hardly better prepared for independence than those which sprang from Spain and Portugal. Only gradually did some new states start to form a sense of patriotism and national identity among the various races and classes within the new nations. The differences among the leaders aggravated the underlying obstacles facing the establishment of democratic governments and a sense of civic duty above narrow group interests. While the vast majority of people were little more than pawns, the major power groups such as the church, the military, landed aristocracies, and political leaders were not always in agreement as to the nature or objectives of the new states. O ne of the most interesting developments in Latin America was the growth of nationalism after the achievement of independence. ![]()
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