Venezuelan War of Independence more years of war, the country achieved independence from Spain in 1821 under the leadership of its most famous son, Simón Bolívar. Venezuela, along with the countries of Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador, formed part of the Republic of Gran Colombia until 1830, when Venezuela separated and became a sovereign country. The French invasion of Spain in 1808 led to the collapse of the Spanish Monarchy. Most subjects of Spain did not accept the government of Joseph Bonaparte, placed on the Spanish throne by his brother, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France. At the same time, the process of creating a stable
Sucre family a lieutenant in the provincial armed forces of the Venezuelan republics, serving under General Santiago Marino. Sucre later became the first lieutenant to the liberator Simon Bolivar and was widely touted to replace Bolivar as the leader of the newly independent Latin American nations before his untimely death in the hands of royalist rebels in 1830. While Bolivar is described as the charismatic leader who rallied the independence forces to fight, historians recognize Sucre as the military genius behind him. Under Bolivar, he was involved in the purchase of armaments, issuing military orders, recruitment, and personnel assignments. Sucre also run