Francisco de Miranda is mostly known as a precursor to Simón Bolívar in the independence movements of Venezuela and South America. However, people rarely speak about how his beliefs in freedom also led him to participate in the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolution.
He was born on March 28, 1750, in Caracas, Venezuela at a time when the country still belonged to the Spanish colonial Viceroyalty of New Granada. Most of his experiences are known through his journals, which are 63 bound volumes, where it also wrote about his plans to liberate and unify all Spanish America along with his political, social, and even romantic views.
Francisco de Miranda’s military career
He first got to the United States in 1781 as part of the Spanish army in a mission to expand their territories in Louisiana and Florida, and to recapture Gibraltar. He participated in the Siege of Pensacola on May 9, 1781, for which Miranda was awarded the temporary title of lieutenant colonel. He also contributed to the French success during the Battle of Virginia Capes by helping to raise funds and supplies for the battle.
Miranda was sent to Jamaica to arrange different missions but was accused of being a spy and smuggler of enemy goods. An order was executed for Miranda to be sent back to Spain in 1782, but it didn’t proceed due to administrative problems. During this time, he was supported by superiors in the Spanish Army so he decided to participate in the Capture of the Bahamas.
Because of his proficiency, Miranda was promoted to colonel under the command of the General Commander of the Spanish forces in Cuba, Bernardo de Gálvez, in St. Domingue, which was called by Spanish authorities as Guarico (not to be confused with the Guárico State in Venezuela). The Spanish army was preparing a joint action with the French to invade Jamaica, a major British stronghold in the region. Miranda was in charge of planning operations; nevertheless, the invasion didn’t occur, and a process led by the Inquisition against Miranda started. The Spanish and the French wanted to keep the planned invasion a secret and thought that arresting him was the best option.
Fleeing to the United States
Because of his impending arrest and not having a chance at a fair trial in Spain, he managed to escape to the United States, arriving at New Bern, North Carolina, on July 10, 1783. During his time in the US, he studied their military defenses and even would meet people through the gift or loan of books to examine the culture and customs of places he visited.
He visited Charleston, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City. He met the prominent and politically connected Livingston family (where it’s said Miranda had a romantic relationship with Susan Livingston, daughter of Chancellor Livingston). He also met George Washington, General Henry Knox, Thomas Paine, Alexander Hamilton, Samuel Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.
Miranda left the United Stated for London because he was still being pursued by France and Spain, who wanted to frame him as a traitor and a deserter. However, his work did have an impact in the victory against the British Empire. By being an emissary of the Spanish forces, he helped the American movement distracting some British forces in the Caribbean and Florida. For him, defeating the British Army was an epitome of liberation he would fight endlessly to replicate in his own country.
Miranda’s involvement in the French Revolution
Once in Europe Miranda kept moving and visiting other nations. He visited Prussia, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Greece, Italy, and Russia. In the latter, he met Catherine the Great causing a great impression to the point that he received a Russian passport along with protection from her and all Russian ambassadors in Europe against the persecution of the Spanish Inquisition.
Miranda took an active part in the French Revolution in 1791 as Maréchal de Camp (a general officer rank in the French army). He served as a general in the section of the French Revolutionary Army, fighting in the 1792 battle of Valmy (the first major victory by the army of France during the Revolutionary Wars). Because of his involvement, Miranda was named “Hero of the Revolution” and Marshal of France (a French military distinction awarded to generals for exceptional achievements). For that reason, he is the only person from North and/or South America whose name is in the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
What followed was different episodes of arrests and liberations by the different governments that France had after the revolution. That ended until Miranda left for England in January 1798.
A precursor of the Spanish American wars of independence
To every country he went to, Miranda presented military plans to liberate the Captaincy General of Venezuela from Spanish rule. He even met in private with President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison, but they refused to help, claiming it would be a violation of the Neutrality Act of 1794, which made it illegal for an American citizen to wage war against any country at peace with the United States (it’s been amended several times and remains in force).
Nevertheless, this didn’t stop him. He got private funding for weapons and soldiers to sail to Venezuela in 1806. When he arrived in Coro, he found no support from the residents. Spanish forces arrived, capturing men from Miranda’s expedition, and making him realize his force was too small to achieve independence. He had to retreat though he was once again being pursued by the Spanish and Venezuelan law, even condemned to the death penalty.
He was invited back to Venezuela in 1811 when the country had achieved independence, but it wasn’t recognized by any law yet. The new government had pardoned him for his actions in 1806 and Miranda was received by a delegation led by Simón Bolívar and Andrés Bello, along with a crowd of common people.
Francisco de Miranda was elected to be the first to govern Venezuela in 1812 under the form of a dictatorship. Miranda was called treacherous by Simón Bolívar and his forces and was later handed over to the Spanish Royal Army by Bolívar himself. He lived the rest 4 years of his life in a prison cell at the Penal de las Cuatro Torres at the Arsenal de la Carraca, in Cádiz, Spain.
