Venezuelan War of Independence - Aftermath

Aftermath

The Spanish sent a fleet in 1823 to reconquer the country but were defeated at the Battle of Lake Maracaibo. The fight for independence, which killed half of Venezuela's white population, was finally over in Venezuela. In the following years Venezuelan forces, as part of the army of Gran Colombia, continued campaigning under the leadership of Bolívar to liberate the southern parts of New Granada and Ecuador. Once this was accomplished, Gran Colombia continued its fight against the Spanish in Peru and Bolivia, completing the efforts of Chilean and Argentine patriots, such as José de San Martín, to liberate southern South America.