Miranda, Francisco

Francisco Miranda was born on March 28, 1750 in Caracas - the capital of the Spanish colony of Venezuela. His father Sebastian de Miranda Ravelo was a native of Orotava on the island of Tenerife and a descendant of the Guanches . After moving to Caracas, Sebastian in 1749 married a local native of Francisco Anthony Rodriguez de Espinosa, who also had Canary ancestors ^{[comm. 1]} .

In 1764, Francisco de Miranda entered the University of Caracas . In 1771, the young man left for Spain . Two years later he joined the Spanish army and received the rank of captain - but, at the same time, maintained contacts with the separatist circles of Cuba and Venezuela , who advocated independence from Spain.

Intending to rely on the help of European states in the fight against Spain, Miranda left for England in 1785 , and then took trips to the capitals of Europe . In total, during his wanderings and promoting the idea of ​​independence of Latin American countries, he met many important figures of his time, such as Napoleon Bonaparte , George Washington , Frederick II of Prussia , Arthur Wellington , William Pitt , Stanislav Ponyatovsky , Gilbert Lafayette , and also found like-minded people from Latin America itself ( Simon Bolivar , Jose de San Martin , Bernardo O'Higgins ).

In 1786 - 1787, Miranda visited Russia and obtained financial subsidies and diplomatic support from the Russian government. The protection given to Miranda by Catherine II was due to the fact that at the end of 1786 Catherine decided to send a squadron to the shores of America under the command of Captain Mulovsky . Given the possibility of an armed clash with Spain on this basis, the Russian government sought to take advantage of the Latin American separatists (and in particular Miranda). However, the war with Turkey, and then with Sweden, forced the Russian government to abandon the Mulovsky expedition.

In Russia, Miranda met with Suvorov and Potemkin ; during the diplomatic conflict between Russia and Spain, he was granted the rank of colonel of the Russian service. During the Tauride voyage of the Empress on February 14, 1787, he was received by Count Bezborodko in the Kiev Palace ^[5] .

In March 1790, Miranda personally invited the British government to organize an expedition to Spanish America, with the aim of provoking an uprising against Spain. He proposed creating a constitutional monarchy in the liberated lands, led by one of the descendants of the Inca dynasty ^{[comm. 2] [6]} . In the form of compensation for helping the separatists, Great Britain was supposed to receive a number of trade privileges and the Spanish part of the West Indies . The Miranda project was favorably received by the British ministers. The question of the expedition's equipment was basically resolved, but in connection with the signing of a trade agreement with Spain (October 1790), it was postponed.

In 1792, Miranda came to revolutionary France , where he became close friends with the Girondins ^{[comm. 3]} . Soon he received the rank of brigadier general and commanded a division in the Northern Army. On November 29, 1792, French troops, led by Miranda, took Antwerp .

After which he was appointed commander of all French troops in Belgium. From February 21 to March 2, 1793, the Miranda corps unsuccessfully besieged Maastricht , defended by Prussian troops. On March 18, Miranda suffered a serious defeat from the Austrian forces at Nervinden.

He was summoned to Paris, where he was accused of treason and relations with Dumourier , who had switched over to the enemy at that time. On April 20, 1793, Miranda was arrested and appears before the Revolutionary Tribunal , which acquitted him on May 16. However, after the overthrow of the Girondins, Miranda was again arrested (June 9, 1793) and released only on January 17, 1795, after the Thermidorian coup .

In 1797, Miranda left for England, where he negotiated with the government of William Pitt on the organization of the struggle for the independence of Venezuela. Not having achieved positive results, he left for the USA .

In 1806 he formed a detachment of volunteers and several times landed on the Venezuelan coast in order to raise a liberation uprising. In 1811 he was appointed lieutenant general of the patriotic army of Venezuela. June 5, 1811 solemnly proclaimed the independence of Venezuela. In 1812 he was appointed generalissimo of the Venezuelan army and endowed with dictatorial powers.

In May-July 1812, the Spaniards regained control of most of Venezuela. On July 25, an act of surrender of the Venezuelan army was signed in San Mateo . On July 31, Miranda was arrested and handed over to the Spanish authorities. Imprisoned in the city of La Guaira ^{[comm. 4]} . In 1813, Miranda was deported to Puerto Rico , where he was kept in a fortress; in January 1814 he was transferred to Spain, where he was imprisoned in La Carraca prison. On July 14, 1816, Sebastian Francisco de Miranda i Rodrigues died in a Spanish prison.

• On March 28, 2012, a monument to Francisco Miranda (sculptor Jose Angela Carasco), donated to St. Petersburg by the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez , was unveiled in the 300th Anniversary Park of St. Petersburg ^[7] .

• Alperovich M.S. Francisco de Miranda in Russia / Ed. ed. doctor istor. Sciences B.I. Koval. Institute of World History, USSR Academy of Sciences . - M .: Nauka , 1986 .-- 352 p. - 15,600 copies.
• Lavretsky I. Miranda. - M .: Young Guard, 1965. - (The life of wonderful people ).
• Bohórquez Morán, Carmen L. Francisco de Miranda. Precursor de las independencedencias de América Latina. - 1a edició (en castellà). - La Habana: Fondo Cultural del ALBA, 2006 .-- ISBN 959-19-0003-1 .
• Aquest article incorpora el text de l'onzena edició de la Encyclopædia Britannica, una publicació que actualment es troba en el domini públic. Cita les següents referències:
• Història de la temptativa de Miranda a Sud-amèrica, J. Biggs ([Londres, 1809] Caracas, 1950)
• General Miranda, Marquès de Rojas del EL. - P. , 1884.
• Francisco de Miranda, Diario de Viajes, Caracas, Muntanya Àvila Editors, 1992 .-- ISBN 980-01-0644-8 .
• Française de l'révolution del la dels dans de Miranda, Marquès de Rojas. - Caracas, 1889.
• Francisco de Miranda i la revolució de l'Amèrica espanyola, WS Robertson. - Washington, 1909.
• "El Libertador". August Millars, 1a edició, 1998, Muntanya Àvila Editors, Caracas-Veneçuela
• "Francisco de Miranda: Don Joan o el Quixot?". Tomás Polanco Alcántara, Editorial Ge, Caracas, 1996.
• Zeuske, Michael . Francisco de Miranda i la modernitat a Amèrica. - Madrid: Fundació Mapfre Tavera, Secretaria de Cooperació Iberoamericana, 2004 (Vells documents, Noves lectures; Velho Documents, Novas Leituras). - ISBN 84-8479-047-9 .
• Francisco de Miranda, el nòmada sentimental. Juan Carlos Chirinos, 1a edició, 2006 / 2a edició, 2007. Grup Editorial Norma, Caracas-Veneçuela. - ISBN 980-6779-18-5 .

• Francisco Miranda - an article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia .
• Diplomatic dictionary