In that document Bolivar emphasized the fact that the
Spaniards themselves had done very little harm in the fields of battle to
the cause of independence, and that defeats were due mainly to the native
royalists. This assertion was intended to produce a change of mind on the
part of the native population.
"It seems that Heaven, to grant us at one time humiliation and pride,
has permitted that our conquerors be our own brothers, and that our
brothers only may triumph over us. The army of freedom exterminated the
enemy's force, but it could not and should not exterminate the men for
whose happiness it fought in hundreds of battles. It is not just to
destroy the men who do not want to be free, nor can freedom be enjoyed
under strength of arms against the opinion of fanatics whose depraved
souls make them love chains as though they were social ties.... Your
brothers and not the Spaniards have torn your bosom, shed your blood,
set your homes on fire and condemned you to exile."
He then affirmed that he was going to Nueva Granada to render an account of
his conduct and to have an impartial judgment, and finished by asserting to
the Venezuelans that the people of Nueva Granada would again help them, and
that he would always be on the side of liberty.
The East was soon subjected, and all Venezuela was once again under the
yoke of Spain, mainly through the work of her own children. During these
campaigns Piar and Ribas and the brave General Bermudez, of whom we shall
speak later, were united for a while, but at last each one took his own
way.
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