Leaving his lieutenant, Quero, in command of the city, Boves followed
Bolivar. Quero was a native American and was so bad that Boves' rule was
preferable to his.
With the few men obtained in Caracas, Bolivar organized a small army with
which he protected the emigrants.
From Barcelona he intended to send diplomatic representatives to Europe,
thus showing his unshaken confidence in the ultimate triumph of his cause.
With no more than 3,000 men, he faced an army of from 8,000 to 10,000
at Aragua, commanded by Morales, and was defeated (August 18, 1814).
A battalion composed of the best elements of the youth of Caracas was
entirely destroyed. Bolivar retreated to Barcelona, and Morales entered the
town of Aragua, where he massacred more than 3,500 men, women and children,
for the sole crime of being Americans. Realizing that he could not hold the
city of Barcelona, Bolivar went to the city of Cumana with generals Ribas
and Manuel Piar, the latter famous for his military skill, his daring, his
restlessness and his ultimate sad death, of which we shall speak later.
From there Bolivar went with Marino to Carupano, and then sailed for
Cartagena, having lost his reputation and having been insulted by his own
officers and friends, among them Piar and Ribas, himself.
Before leaving Venezuela, the Liberator issued a proclamation, for he never
neglected an opportunity to speak to his fellow-countrymen and to the world
in order to build up favorable public opinion, by which he hoped to win
a final victory.
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