United States Participation in the Lake Maracaibo Naval Campaign (May-July 1823)

Abstract

Along with the naval operations that were being carried out between Puerto Cabello and Maracaibo in 1823, within the framework of the war of independence in northern South America, the United States, the United Kingdom and France were carrying out “anti-piracy” operations mainly against Spanish nationals in Cuba and Puerto Rico, with the month of April of that year being the moment of greatest intensity. Considering the participation of American privateers in the nascent formation of the Venezuelan and then Colombian navy, we have considered it pertinent to assess the scope of the participation of American nationals based on the hypothesis that there was a direct and indirect political intention to help the Colombian independence cause. To do this, considering the limited existence of sources on the subject, we are going to examine their performance in the battle of Isla Larga (Puerto Cabello) on May 1, 1823 and then we will analyze their participation as members of the Colombian national squad that forced the Maracaibo bar and defeated the royalist naval forces on July 24, 1823, impacting naval operations in the Caribbean Sea.