Diary of a Venezuelan Government Official

Dear Diary, 									October 3, 1821 I, Simon Bolivar, have finally fulfilled my duties as the commander of the armies of Venezuela. It was a long, tough job but I have finally overcome the Spanish monarchy and Venezuela is now their own country. Although I thought it was going to be a tough job, it is definitely a rewarding one. To know that I have freed a country that was under an evil and overreaching rule is what makes me feel the best about my conquering. Being able to pride myself upon knowing that I took part in giving Venezuela independence gives me the confidence to also be able to do other things. I clearly remember the fateful day of May 14, 1813 where I led the invasion. Soon before this, the New Granada Congress in Tunja had put me in command of this invasion. Marching through the villages I felt nervous as to if this would come through. Going up against the Spanish monarch couldn't be easy. The fact that Venezuela hadn't ever been an independent country worried me. If we did win, how were we supposed to maintain a successful country? But I had to be confident. If I was not confident, then none of the men following me would be confident. The armies and I arrived in Merida on May 23, 1813 where I was announced as El Libertador. Not that much later, I decided I needed to come up with a plan. A plan of no mercy. I put in place the Decree of War to the Death meaning that anyone who was born in Spain could be killed. I didn't make this just for the war, I made it for the country I was defending. The Spanish had executed thousands of Venezuelans and they stole our property. If i let them get away with this and not have a counter-attack they would think that they have had some sort of advantage over us. If they want to fight a dirty war, then we will fight back dirtier. When I declared the Venezuelan Second Republic, I felt so accomplished. After having fought for months on end it was good to be able to proclaim some sort of separation from the evil Spanish Monarch. But I was dead tired. With no sleep, little food, and uncountable hours of tactical work I didn't know how long I could keep going. Not to mention, that it wasn't an easy thing to go through the streets killing people. It takes away a lot of your morals. I am convinced that anyone who fights for too long, could lose their mind. Looking at these men that I have led, I can already see some of it in their eyes. Their ruthlessness and hunger to conquer. Some could see it as determination to declare independence. But if we wanted to overthrow the government, we had to keep fighting. We couldn't stop. If we wanted to win we needed to fight until they surrender or we fully conquer them. I didn't want to be the loser. I couldn't be the loser. When the Republic fell in 1814, I came back to New Granada where I was assigned to command another force and we then ventured into Bogota. After conquering Bogota we set up camp and we were to wait until dawn to continue on our journey. Late that night, in my tent, I heard leaves rustling. It sounded like many men walking through the woods. My heart started to clench thinking it could be a surprise ambush. If they attacked now, there would be no time for my men or I to defend ourselves. I stayed down in my tent but clenched onto my weapons which gave me the least bit of feeling of safety. The men opened the crack of my tent and I thought I was going to die. But instead they told me they were here to offer me help. I got up from sleeping and looked at six Spanish men looking down at me. Their eyes were full of fear and they were stick thin from hunger. They were part of the army but they said they needed my help. They told me they wanted themselves and their family to be safe. In return from them coming to fight with my army, they wanted to move their families into Venezuela. I did the opposite of what any commander should have done and took their offer. More than a third of my army had dropped already from either disease, hunger, or lack of sleep. I needed the help. My plan to go into Cartagena and take aid from their local forces changed abruptly and we went to Haiti. I met Alexandre Petion and took him and his arm for aid. He actually became a very close friend to me and him and his army came in when we needed it the most. Their materials and presence was something that I am thankful for everyday. In 1819, the Battle of Boyaca led to New Granada being added to the list of no Spanish control. Finally, Venezuela declared it's independence in 1819 which then led it to be one of the territories in Gran Colombia. Gran Colombia also consisted of Quito and New Granada. I was then appointed President of this new territory free of Spanish rule. It was one of the happiest times of my life due to the fact that I helped make this happen. Now I am planning my attacks on other countries and regions which I want to add to the places that I already live over. I am not ready to stop fighting any time soon. I want to be the best and I want to conquer no matter what it takes. I am determined to turn Venezuela around from what the Spanish monarch has done. The Spanish were greedy and they went from neglecting Venezuela, to extending their power too far. I am determined to never let that happen again.