Dear Piarist Tico Vos,
I have enclosed the article “The Influence of Curaçao on the South American Fight for Freedom,” as promised. As noted, it has been well received here and in the Netherlands. I await your comments.
With the usual appreciation,
Pacheco
August 1, 2021
In the second half of the year 1800, Governor Johan Rudolf Lauffer signed an official document and, with this act, voluntarily handed over Curaçao to the English; this was done without notifying or obtaining permission from the Government in Holland.
It was officially agreed that Johan Lauffer would hold the position of Civil Governor and the Englishman Lord Hugh Seymour that of Military Governor. And all this while England was, in fact, at war with the Netherlands. This “voluntary” occupation would end in January 1803 during the so-called Congress of Amiens, during which Curaçao returned to Dutch hands. This raises the question: What motive led to this rather remarkable act? A second question immediately follows: Was there a still greater danger looming?
To provide a clear answer to this question, we need to delve further into the history of the Middle Ages (500 to 1500), one of the darkest times in Europe characterized by a small, rich power, notably the Nobility and the Church, on one side and a vast, impoverished mass on the other.
This unsustainable reality ultimately led to the expected explosion of the so-called French Revolution on July 14, 1789, based on liberty, equality, and fraternity principles. For completeness, it should be noted that the revolt of July 14, 1789, in Paris was prepared by French intellectuals of the Renaissance movement, such as René Descartes, Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Robespierre, the man of the guillotine. As is well known, the word Renaissance is associated with the rediscovery of the greatness of the Greco-Roman civilization by the Western Europeans, leading to a form of mental enlightenment.
Given the previously described oppression and the vast disparity between rich and poor throughout Western Europe and the New World (the American Continent and the Caribbean), the ideas of the French Revolution and its decisive approach spread quickly throughout Western Europe and the Western Colonies. This led to two ideological fronts: the Monarchists or Royalists and the Republicans or Patriots.
In the Netherlands and Curaçao, they were referred to as Prince supporters because the Netherlands was not a monarchy but a principality then. Napoleon, who occupied the country, introduced the monarchy in the Netherlands in 1806. He appointed his brother Louis Bonaparte as King Louis I.
After Napoleon’s final fall in 1814, the Netherlands maintained the monarchy. In the Netherlands, the ideas of the French Revolution were fiercely debated. In January 1795, the Republicans, with the help of the French army, took power and established the Batavian Republic. Prince William V, who was the Stadtholder, then fled to England.
Revolutions in the South
Meanwhile, the New World was ablaze. In 1783, North America fought its way to freedom from England. However, for our argument, it is essential to note the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) and the Guadeloupean, Venezuelan, and Curaçaoan Revolutions, which occurred approximately from 1790 to 1800.
In Curaçao, confrontations between Republicans and Prince supporters were a daily occurrence, with deaths frequently occurring, especially among brawling gangs in Scharloo, Otrobanda, and the surrounding areas.
It should be emphasized that revolutionaries from Haiti and Guadeloupe also participated, naturally on the side of the Republicans. The Guadeloupeans were more dangerous for the Colonial Government because they spread ideological views.
The threat from the Haitians was no less significant since Haiti, at the governmental level, provided support to the revolutionary Republicans on Curaçao. Indeed, once the first revolutionary president, Toussaint L’Ouverture, was firmly in power, he supported revolutionary movements on other Caribbean islands.
Toussaint L’Ouverture
Here in Curaçao, for example, Toussaint L’Ouverture had a political envoy who was the administrator for the companies of one of the most influential Republican families. This described reality now explains Governor Lauffer’s decision to hand over Curaçao to the English in 1800.
He had to choose between the enemy, England, and dangerous revolutionaries, many of whom also came from abroad and posed a great danger to the colonial regime. He did not inform the Government in Holland because he was a Prince-supporter, while the Batavian-Republican Government in The Hague then adhered to a French-revolutionary ideology; it was a sort of vassal state of France.
A serious matter indeed
However, the danger from local revolutionaries or Republicans was equally significant. This group was primarily made up of representatives from South American Republicans residing in Curaçao, the working class, ex-slaves, and various wealthy families.
Two families are essential for further developing our argument: the Brions and the Piars. Each of these families produced a son who was of invaluable importance to the course of the South American struggle for freedom.
Together, they would unmistakably lay the foundation for its eventual outcome! For clarity, before discussing the Brions and the Piars as Republican families, it would be appropriate to describe what the Republican ideology and ideal entails.
The Venezuelan writer/philosopher and intellectual Arturo Uslar Pietri formulated it as follows: Democracy, personal freedom, freedom of the enslaved people, racial and social equality, economic justice, and the fundamental rights of man. A serious matter indeed!
The Brion Family
The Brion Family: Pierre Brion and his wife, Marie Detroix, originally from present-day Belgian Flanders, arrived in Curaçao from Amsterdam in 1777 and quickly amassed a vast fortune. Pierre was a staunch Republican, to such an extent that the administrator of his enterprise, a confidant and later guardian of his minor children, was an envoy from the Haitian revolutionary president Toussaint L’Overture.
His name was Jean-Baptiste Tierce Cadet. In 1800, he would be banished from Curaçao to Guadeloupe, accused of plotting a new slave uprising. Moreover, according to various historians, Pierre financially contributed to a revolt against the Spaniards in La Guaira (Venezuela) in 1797 led by Manuel Gual, José Maria España, and Juan Bautista Picornell. When the rebellion failed, he provided shelter and financial assistance to the leaders mentioned above, who had fled to Curaçao through the intervention of his accountant, Tierce Cadet.
The two eldest sons of the Brions are essential, specifically Theodore Brion and Luis Brion. Theodore was a genuine revolutionary and directly contacted Republicans in Guadeloupe and Haiti. He even brought a few to Curaçao.
The following two letters from the National Archives in The Hague speak clearly on this matter:
- Letter (OAC 142) 1803: Louis Schlemm states that during the raid by revolutionaries from Guadeloupe and Haiti, Theodore Brion had a house plundered to obtain papers belonging to (the exiled) Tierce Cadet, among others.
- Letter (OAC 145) December 13, 1803: Request from Theodore Brion, the brother of Luis Brion, to be allowed to return to Curaçao, from which he had departed with the revolutionary troops of Guadeloupe and Haiti.
Luis Brion (Phillipus Ludovicus Brion: 1782-1821) was no less active as a revolutionary. For example, a letter from an institution named the Executive Authority dated September 1800 speaks of The impending danger of a (new) negro uprising on Curaçao and the affiliation of Luis Brion with the revolutionaries of Guadeloupe and Haiti.
In 1799, Luis was in the Netherlands for educational purposes and volunteered to fight on the side of the revolutionary Batavian Republic against an English invasion army. In October of that year, the English captured him as a prisoner of war at Castricum. Once freed, he returned to Curaçao.
It should be noted that although Luis Brion grew up in material abundance, he had intensive contact with the marginalized colored population. For instance, he had a black Yaya—a mother figure—who must have significantly influenced his upbringing during his childhood.
Additionally, his father, Pierre Brion, was the godfather to a large number of children from dozens of enslaved people and marginal families with whom he and his children regularly interacted. This direct and close social bond of Luis—who never married—with the lower colored population groups is also clearly reflected in his private life.
For instance, his first two children were born from a relationship with his first life companion, Florina, a slave in Margarita (Venezuela), and the others from his relationship with his second life partner, Jeanette Sasluria, an Afro-Curaçaoan. He recognized all his children.
The Piar Family: Fernando Piar, a well-to-do family from the Canary Islands, was the captain of a merchant ship. In Curaçao, he had a form of free relationship with a Curaçaoan mulatto/colored woman named Maria Isabela Gómez. Several children were born from this relationship.
For our argument, the second child, Manuel Carel Maria Piar (1774-1817), is essential, born in the narrow alleys of Otrobanda, around Rifwaterstraat’s current location.
Although Fernando acknowledged his three children with Isabela, as a ship captain, he was more at sea and in other countries than in Curaçao, so Manuel Piar grew up in a “broken home.” It should be noted that even though Manuel’s mother was a mulatto, he had a white appearance and blue eyes. In connection with this, his enemies and haters within the own Independentista movement in Venezuela would later call him ‘the negro with the white mask.’
Although Manuel himself did not experience misery, he witnessed it very closely. The Otrobanda environment in which he grew up was, in a sense, a marginal community area frequently visited by sailors, adventurers, political refugees, entertainment seekers, and others from near and far. It was a place par excellence to intensely encounter and be brainwashed by revolutionary ideas spreading like fire across South America and the entire Caribbean at the time.
It was no coincidence that Maria Isabela Gómez, Piar’s mother, was an active member of a Venezuelan patriotic freedom movement that, under the leadership of Gual, España, and Picornell, rebelled against the Spanish dominion in La Guaira in 1797. Both Piar and his mother participated in this uprising. As noted earlier, this uprising failed. Mother and son fled to Curaçao, where Manuel Piar joined the National Guard as an officer.
Brion and Piar, two legitimate sons of the Curaçaoan people, predestined by providence to be at the forefront of renowned historical and universal figures of the American Continent and the entire Caribbean area; two boys from Otrobanda, living barely 400 meters apart. Luis in a grand house at the corner of Breedestraat (O)/Naniestraat and Manuel in a working-class neighborhood behind the beautiful facades on the other side of the street; two native sons separated by vast socio-economic and socio-cultural differences, yet united by an all-consuming-and-inspiring-ideal-which-would-ultimately-manifest-in-unconditional love for their Country and People through the unconditional adherence to the essence of Republican ideology and who were willing to give their lives for it.
The Battle with the English Fleet
Both proved this on their soil when the English enemy made a serious attempt to bring their mother island to its knees: It was midnight on January 31, 1804, when Curaçao was attacked by an impressively sizeable English fleet for that time, consisting of numerous warships with more than 1200 men on board, coming through Piscaderabaai.
The English demanded the Island’s surrender, but Curaçao refused, and all hell broke loose! While the English bombarded the Island from their ships and Fort Waakzaamheid, over 1000 soldiers advanced towards the city. Curaçao rapidly mobilized its forces under the leadership of Brion with Piar by his side. A fierce battle took place at the start of Roodeweg. Many were killed and wounded on both sides.
Curaçao defended itself heroically, and on February 26, 1804, after more than three weeks of relentless fighting, the English fled. Piar, as an officer of the National Guard, participated in the battle and pursued a group of English whose escape route to the sea had been cut off, defeating them first at Dein and then at Groot-Kwartier.
The Afro-Curaçaoan comprised most of the combatants and were credited with exemplary conduct. At the same time, Brion and Piar were honored for their heroic performances on behalf of the Country and People! Curaçao rejoiced and celebrated its Dia di Viktoria (Day of Victory) on February 26 in grand style for many years after that.
An island of less than 20,000 souls had heroically forced a Military Superpower to its knees. In their desperation, the English contributed to the glory of this great victory of the Curaçaoan people by dubbing Curaçao The Indomitable Island, the Untamable Island, or the Impregnable Fortress, a unique event in People’s history!
Piar and Brion in the South American Struggle for Freedom
On New Year’s Eve of 1806/1807, the English finally managed to take control of Curaçao. At that time, neither Piar nor Brion was on the Island. Many historians believe they had left for help, convinced as military men that the English would return and be better prepared. Naturally, the fall of Curaçao cut off their way back home.
Brion traveled on to the United States, while Piar, at some point, appeared in Haiti as the captain of a war schooner under President Alexandre Pétion, with whom he was personally acquainted. At the end of 1806, he participated under the leadership of General Francisco de Miranda in the first invasion of the Venezuelan coast, quickly rising to the rank of Lieutenant at Sea on Miranda’s staff. The decisive contribution of the Curaçaoan people through their heroic sons Manuel Piar and Luis Brion to the struggle for freedom in South America had definitively begun.
In January 1813, Piar—the second-in-command behind Francisco Mariño—participated in a second invasion of Venezuela, this time from the east coast. At that time, Venezuela was divided into two relatively independently functioning regions. Mariño, Piar, and their forces focused mainly on liberating East Venezuela, while Bolívar, Brion, and others operated in West Venezuela.
Soon, Piar’s genius as an unbeatable military leader would manifest itself. His first major battle and victory was on March 20, 1813, against the Spanish commander Zuazola at Aragua de Cumaná. His second was against the bloodthirsty Spanish general De la Hoz at Maturín on April 18, 1813. In May, he faced Monteverde, the Spanish Supreme Commander in Venezuela, who sent him an ultimatum.
Piar’s Response
There was a time when deceitful promises could mislead the Americans and atrocities could be committed, of which – as the whole world knows – many respectable families have fallen victim. However, the blindfold has now been torn from their eyes, and the dark cloud that a leader like you hid from their sight has lifted. Now they see you as the one who, with a serious face, delivers innocents to the fury and rage of unscrupulous bandits. Being aware of this, the city of Maturín, its brave inhabitants, and the leaders in command have made the praiseworthy decision to defend freedom to the death.
(Revised Translation: Dr. J. Hartog).
All hell broke loose due to this categorical refusal by Piar, and the bloodthirsty Monteverde was ultimately hacked to pieces. Subsequently, almost all other Spanish generals followed in succession.
Piar’s courage, genius, and military insight were such that even his direct military enemies praised him. Here is Don Pablo Morillo, Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish forces in Venezuela, in a letter to his friend La Torre: “Except Piar, all the military leaders, officers, and troops are not worth a cent; they are nothing but loafers and cowards…..” Morillo then continues describing the deeds and Piar’s person, which seems more like an ode in his direction. The Spanish General Boves is no less complimentary: “This man is unbeatable. He employs a tactic between open field and guerrilla warfare: The pique y juye and vuelven cara tactic.”
According to Venezuelan historians of the so-called ‘Nueva Onda’ after World War II, Piar won 24 battles (large and small) in a row without ever being defeated. This is also the opinion of Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Galindo, who would act as his defender when he was tried on October 15, 1817, due to the actions of Simon Bolivar and his associates. More on this later.
However, Piar was more than a gifted commander. He was probably the first true socialist (social democrat) of the New World. His core soldiers were impoverished llano dwellers, Indians, and so-called Haitian Cossacks, veterans of the Haitian revolution, and his statements are unequivocal: “I am the People, and I will prevail. For my honor, I have solemnly sworn that I will achieve freedom for so many innocents who shed their blood because they are chained to the despicable shackles of slavery; those who possess nothing more than the strength in their arms!” These were not empty words for him, as Piar proved when, on October 6, 1814, as the Acting President of the Eastern Venezuelan Republic, he issued a decree abolishing slavery in the liberated part of Eastern Venezuela.
This is a historic act, the first of its kind on the American continent! Piar was fighting a battle within a battle! While others were essentially fighting a nationalist struggle aimed at liberating South America from Spanish colonial oppression, his direct and sacred secondary goal was the liberation of those who, in his view, lived in despicable slavery and poverty and worshipped him as a demigod.
However, the magnificent victory at San Felix on April 11, 1817, was by far the most significant achievement of Piar, who had risen to General en Jefe by then. With this victory, he effectively sealed the liberation of Eastern Venezuela.
The people welcomed him in the city of Angostura as the Liberator and gave him the title of ‘The Liberator of the East.’ Undeniably, Eastern Venezuela’s liberation was of extreme importance not only for the further liberation of Venezuela but also for the other countries in South America that would later form what is known as Gran Colombia.
Besides liberating almost the first territory in South and Central America, it created a “Safe Haven” within which freedom fighters could move freely—with all the associated benefits—and launch guerrilla actions against the enemy.
Additionally, the liberated area was rich in agriculture and livestock, which provided a solution for the ever-growing liberation troops’ great need for consumption. Equally important was the abundance of donkeys in the area, as donkeys were an essential part of war logistics at that time. From a psychological standpoint, the liberation of Eastern Venezuela was also of great importance.
It indeed proved that the Spaniards could be defeated sustainably. At that moment, the liberation of all of Venezuela was no longer a question of ‘if’ but merely a matter of time.
However, General en Jefe Manuel Piar’s determining success in Eastern Venezuela also heralded the definitive intensification of the already smoldering power struggle between Piar and Bolívar and his allies regarding leadership in Eastern Venezuela. This would ultimately lead to Piar’s capture, trial, and execution.
Abandoned by friends and comrades and pursued by the enemy, in his desperation, he requested a passport to return to his homeland. He is said to have expressed himself: “I want to return to my Island. There are no false souls there. There, they love me dearly.”
Lieutenant Colonel Fernando Galindo conducted the defense of Piar before a Court Martial consisting only of Piar-haters. His plea, in which he crushed every accusation directed at Piar, was masterful.
We quote a tiny part of it:
Gentlemen, the most precarious and delicate matter in which the Republic of Venezuela has ever found itself is the case being dealt with today. The chosen son, the conqueror and terror of the Spaniards, one of the most stable pillars of our Fatherland, General Piar, appears before this venerable Council as the most criminal and detestable man among us…
How is it possible that Colonel Sanchez dares to call Piar a vile monster; he who has contributed the most to the restoration of the Republic, who is the Liberator of the East, the hero of Maturín, the victor at Corocillos and the terror of the Spaniards in Cumanacoa, and who by his name and his courage alone became a victor at El Juncal and who in San Felix managed to destroy the proud followers of Morillo and has never been defeated among the Generals of Venezuela… who so many times has risked his life for the Republic, who has broken the chains that so many Venezuelans were shackled to… whose sword is feared by the Spaniards more than that of Napoleon and in whose presence all tyrants of Venezuela have trembled.
And yet, shots rang out on the late afternoon of October 16, 1817, and the body of General en Jefe Manuel Carel Piar slumped against the wall of the Angostura Cathedral. His last words were heroic. The people present returned home in despair and wept in silence behind closed doors for their General en Jefe, their eternal Liberator.
Pedro Louis Brion
That Brion only became actively involved in the South American freedom movement in 1813—seven years after Piar—does not imply that his contribution was of any lesser quality. One of the most spectacular historical achievements of Luis Brion was that he managed to establish an extremely effective fleet in a short time, which formed an impenetrable cordon along the entire Venezuelan coast. This reality posed a crucial problem for the Spanish troops on the mainland because it made any form of new reinforcements of soldiers and war materials impossible.
With this action, Brion effectively cut the lifeline of the Spanish troops in Venezuela, with all the fatal consequences for the oppressor and enormous advantages for the liberation forces. The following statements by the Spanish Commander-in-Chief Pablo Morillo (1818) to his superiors in Spain are very telling and also prove that Brion never lost any form of naval combat against the Spaniards: “The extensive coastline from the mouth of the Orinoco to the Isthmus of Panama is completely in the hands of the pirates (thus Brion). With inferior ships and fewer resources, they have waged a cruel war against us; they are our only enemies. For if we had managed to destroy their corsairs (ships), the landings of Bolivar, the occupation of Guayana, nor the multitude of unfortunate events would ever have occurred.”
Bolivar goes even further in this regard: “The support from the naval forces is of essential and absolute importance. Without this support, our actions on land would be fruitless and ultimately lead to nothing.” Moreover, Brion was the principal financier of the war.
For example, in 1815, he used one of his best ships to cross over to England, where he purchased many weapons for the freedom struggle using his funds. He also had a significant number of Brion Firm’s merchant ships converted into warships and made them available to the fleet over which he commanded as Gran Almirante. Several Curaçaoans served on these warships. Dr. Roberto Palacios (ambassador/historian) says this: “Brion was Bolivar’s most important comrade-in-arms in terms of the struggle for sea dominance, the logistics of the war, the financing of the war, and the sacrifice.”
The fact is that Brion was undeniably the great man behind and beside Bolivar. Multiple times, Brion had to hoist him back into the saddle. After all, Brion kept Bolivar in power on the evening of February 7, 1816, in Haiti when a group led by General Mariño and Captain Louis Aury strongly resisted Bolivar’s sole leadership. Brion then made it a strict condition that he would only finance the invasion expedition to the coast of Venezuela if Bolivar were to be the Commander-in-Chief.
Moreover, Brion was the one who, on that occasion, persuaded Alexandre Pétion—the then president of Haiti—to provide Simon Bolivar with assistance in his fight against the oppressors. Pétion then stipulated that Bolivar must abolish slavery in the liberated areas. Near the Los Frailes Islands, close to the Venezuelan coast, the expedition encountered several Spanish warships on May 2, 1816. A fierce battle ensued, going down in history as ‘La batalla de Los Frailes.’ The exceptional courage and genius of Brion as a commander were such that Bolivar appointed him Admiral.
A clear understanding of Luis Brion’s historical greatness and the central and decisive position he held regarding the course of the liberation war in South America would require writing a voluminous book. However, that is not the purpose of this discourse, which is why we suffice here with the following telling statement by Simon Bolivar: “Gran Colombia (Venezuela/Panama/Colombia/Ecuador/Bolivia/Peru) owes half of its freedom and happiness to the deeds of Gran Almirante Luis Brion.”
It couldn’t be more precise!
In early August 1821, Brion returned to Curaçao weakened, broken, penniless, and deeply disappointed. To acquaintances in Venezuela, he had previously expressed himself as follows: “I want to exchange my sword for a rake and hoe to till the soil of my ‘Tera Patria’ (Homeland).” However, it never came to that because on September 27, 1821, at 9 p.m., he breathed his last in the house on the waterfront of Scharloo, which now houses the Maritime Museum.
The people, who had previously filled the streets of Punda and Otrobanda cheering during two earlier visits by Brion as Gran Almirante, now stood bewildered and in mournful silence along the sandy road. Some knelt in the sand, others removed their hats and bowed their heads deeply when their idol slowly and dignifiedly passed by on his way to his final resting place at Plantage Rozentak.
It has been emphasized several times that Brion and Piar have been invaluable to the South American struggle for freedom, as both unmistakably and decisively laid the foundation for its future course! Opinions on this may vary.
These are usually dependent on the judge’s ideological, nationalist, and emotional orientation, and unfortunately, all too often due to a chronic lack of information about the subject. Aware of this hidden danger for himself, the author of this discourse has consistently based himself on hard historical facts in writing this argument. Let these facts speak for themselves.
Curaçao, July 15, 2021.
Pacheco Domacassé
Tico Vos is a professional photographer, producer, and tourism specialist. He has been documenting the History, Culture, and News of Curaçao. This site is a documentation of the history of Manuel Carlos Piar.
