Cartagena resisted the siege in such an admirable manner as to have her
name placed side by side with the most heroic cities of history. The
besiegers had all kinds of war material; the city lacked all. Still,
Cartagena fought constantly during one hundred and six days. The city
was then almost in ruins; its inhabitants were starving in the gutters;
soldiers and civilians were dying. When Morillo entered its streets he
found them almost deserted, and he made the few remaining persons suffer
the worst tortures he could devise. The able-bodied men succeeded in
escaping by sea.
Several more victories placed all of Nueva Granada in the power of Morillo.
The Congress had to dissolve and the Spaniards entered Santa Fe, marking
their entrance with the execution of more than 600 Americans, among them
men of the greatest prominence and highest social standing. All hope for
the liberty of South America seemed to be lost.
Bolivar arrived in Kingston in May, 1815, where he was very well received
personally by the governor. But he failed to obtain any substantial help
for an expedition to the mainland. Learning of the propaganda being made
everywhere against the cause of independence, he once more used his pen to
counteract this influence. His most important writing during his stay in
Jamaica was a letter addressed on September 6, 1815, to a gentleman of the
island, in which he analyzed the causes of the American failure and the
reasons he had to hope for the final success of the cause.
Pages:
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91