Spanish Invasion of New Granada
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Spanish Invasion of New Granada in 1815-1816 was part of Bolívar's War in South America.
Shortly after the bulk of the Napoleonic wars had ended, the restored monarchy in Spain decided to send military forces to retake most of their South American colonies, which had been lost to rebellious forces such as those led by Simón Bolívar and other personalities.
In 1815, Spain decided to send to its seditious colonies perhaps the strongest expeditionary force that had ever crossed the Atlantic at that point in time. Its chosen commander was Colonel Pablo Morillo, a veteran of the Spanish struggle against Napoleon. The expeditionary force was made up of approximately 10,000 men and nearly 60 ships. Originally, they were to head for Montevideo in the Viceroyalty of La Plata, but soon it was decided to send these forces to the Viceroyalty of New Granada (present-day Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela).
Leaving the port of Cádiz on February 17 1815, the Spanish force initially landed at the island of Margarita in April, where no resistance was encountered. After leaving the island, Morillo's forces reinforced existing Royalist activities in the Venezuelan mainland, entering Cumaná and Caracas in May. A small part of the main corps set off towards Panamá, while the main contingent was directed towards the coastal city of Santa Marta which was still in Royalist hands.
Hearing news of the arrival of the expeditionary force, diverse positions were assumed by the republican leaders. Internal divisions, which had developed during the previous years of struggle, softened but still remained a considerable obstacle. In the end, they prevented an easy unification of efforts by the different factions, despite some attempts to do so. One of the matters of conflict was the fact that representatives of Great Britain and of the United States would still not promise a sufficient amount of aid or of political recognition. Several notable individuals in Venezuela and modern day Colombian decided to exile themselves, while others stayed in their respective locations and tried to reorganize their military and political activities in order to face the new threat.
Due to these internal conflicts, in May 8 1815 Simon Bolivar left his command in New Granada and turned to Jamaica and later Haiti, a small republic that had freed itself from French rule, where he and other leaders were given a friendly reception. Eventually, the growing exile community would also receive money, volunteers and weapons.
After having picked up supplies and militia volunteers in Santa Marta since July 23, the Spanish expeditionary forces then besieged and took Cartagena after a siege that lasted from September to December 1815.
By 1816, the combined efforts of Spanish and colonial forces, marching downwards from Cartagena and upwards from the surviving Royalist stronghold in Quito, completed their reconquest of New Granada, taking Bogotá in May 6 1816. A permanent war council was set up to judge those found guilty of treason and rebellion, resulting in the execution of more than a hundred notable republican personalities, such as Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Francisco José de Caldas and José María Cabal.
While Spain was again in control of its Viceroyalty of New Granada, the struggle for independence continued in the remote border areas of both New Granada and Venezuela, where irregular bands where established, and eventually it would also spread towards other colonial areas of Spanish possession.