La Cosiata

La Cosiata, also known as the Revolution of the Morrocoyes, was a political separatist movement that broke out in the city of Valencia, Venezuela, and carried out by General José Antonio Páez and Miguel Peña Páez on April 30, 1826. They were fighting for Venezuelan secession from Gran Colombia. Initially, the movement fought for the reform of the Cúcuta Constitution and a break with the authorities of Santa Fe de Bogotá albeit while maintaining the protection of Simón Bolívar. Some conclude that these events had been foreshadowed since the birth of the Republic of Gran Colombia, since a centralized system was adopted in the hands of the political and economic elites when it was founded. Under the Cúcuta Constitution, the government had become absolutist, and Venezuelan authorities were subject to the decisions of the centralized Senate of Gran Colombia (New Granada, Venezuela and Ecuador); in Peru and Bolivia there was news about a new (but unpopular) lasting constitution. Several regions, including Venezuela, asked for autonomy and the several years of struggle for independence were not in vain. This movement ultimately marked the birth of the Republic of Venezuela.