Colonial Venezuela of the Junta as a step toward outright independence. The Venezuelan War of Independence ensued. It ran concurrently with that of New Granada. On 17 December 1819 the Congress of Angostura declared Gran Colombia an independent country. After two 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 separate sovereign country. Colonial Venezuela Spanish expeditions led by Columbus and Pepito Perez
Bulgarians in the Republic of Macedonia 3.5%. Throughout the Middle Ages and up until the early 20th century the Slavic speaking majority in the Region of Macedonia was more commonly referred to (both, by themselves and outsiders) as Bulgarians. Until the Balkan wars the majority of the Slav population of all three parts of the wider region of Macedonia had Bulgarian identity. In 1913, the region of present-day Republic of Macedonia became a part of the Kingdom of Serbia, thus becoming "Southern Serbia". During World War II, when most regions of Macedonia were annexed by Bulgaria, a pro-Bulgarian ideology existed among the Slavic majority. However, harsh