Newspaper article on the independence party

 

~ | El Constitucional | ~

| 15 January 1829 |

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                                     Independence movement in Venezuela

After the recent conflict in Venezuela surrounding General Paez, it is now the turn of Santiago Marino, Commandante General of the Maturin department to foment trouble by creating a new party supporting Venezuelan independence. The new party has established itself in Caracas with brand new headquarters but it is present throughout the country with many more regional offices. The funding of the whole project stems from Marino, who is dead set in spreading his ideas to the population through pamphlets. 

The party has the goal of creating an independent technocratic state, without ideological ties to any existing party in our country, The leader of the party will be elected every five years, with the position currently being occupied by Marino. 

It appears that Marino met with delegates from the United States, although no official declaration has been made by the United States’ government.

This party threatens our unity and invites foreigners into our country. We must stand united to resolve the crisis.

Letter from Jose Tadeo Monagas to the Ecuador Cabinet

My dear cabinet of Ecuador,

Our glorious region of Venezuela is under attack by traitorous French scum that have infiltrated or are otherwise somehow in the region of Gran Colombia – more specifically New Granada. They are now on the border of the Venezuelan region of Xuilia preparing to attack. Regardless of how they are there, we cannot allow this infringement of our territorial integrity to go unchecked.

We ask if the troops of Ecuador are prepared to come to the defense of the sovereignty of gran Colombia and march up from the south to flank the New Granadian forces.

Please respond ASAP as I am sending this on behalf of the Venezuelan Cabinet

J.

Op-Ed goes viral in Gran Colombia

 Le Journal d' Antioque de la Republique de Colombie 

08 Jan 1828

Written by: Huan Maria Cordyceps

We, in this glorious nation, are now crumbling at the hands of American propaganda, where we believe American newspapers, where we trust the word of American merchants who do not hire our people, who do not work for our benefit. Independent journalism in Colombia exists to dispute these baseless allegations by the US, it is evident from the pattern of the US, that they are portraying the helpful French, who propelled Antioquia into prosperity, as warmongering imperialists, only to implement their own will in the country and use this to launch an invasion of the nation. One needs to not look further than their statements of support for Venezuelan independence, open your eyes Colombians. We must look to Antioquia as the future of this nation, and not let this American propaganda deter our prosperity. The emergence of the highly successful Loyalist movement in the region of Antioquia is testament enough to the fact that the people there have faced an uplift, socially and economically, and therefore it is high time we abandon the notion of the Americans trying to help us, they only want to divide and conquer.

Cabinet report on naval revival

THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA

               The circulation of this letter has been strictly limited.

            It is issued for the personal use of………………………………

TOP SECRET                                  Copy No. ……

C. (04) 135

1st JANUARY, 1829.

CABINET

REVIVAL OF THE NAVY

Memorandum by the

Minister of Finance

After a private meeting with Simon Bolivar, the Central Government wishes to have a summary of the present situation regarding the state of the Colombian Navy.

Background to recent events

2. In a decree of December 7, 1826, Bolívar decommissioned the Naval school, abolished the Ministry of the Navy, and slashed the budget for all navy and marine affairs by more than half. This was due to financial constraints.

Classification of Ships

2.        The Colombian navy is comprised of a variety of vessels, ranging in size as well as manoeuvrability. A general categorisation of the ships are outlined before:

a.                A ship of the line, or man-of-war, the biggest and most heavy ship that currently sails on the oceans of the world. With a number of cannons ranging from 60 to 140, reinforced hulls, three masts and between two and three decks, and with crews numbering in the hundreds, usually around 700 men, it is a formidable fighting machine that carries an entire army’s firepower. These vessels are used for direct naval combat, usually fighting in lines facing each other.

b.                A secondary class of vessels is the frigate. Although smaller than a ship of the line in theory, frigates remained formidable ships. They were faster than their more heavily armed counterpart but still generally had two decks and at least three masts, their hull was however not reinforced like the ship of the line. While useful in direct battle, frigates were usually used for escort missions.

c.                 Smaller ships like corvettes, brigantines and schooners were also used in battle in different missions. The corvette is a 20-cannon vessel, with around a hundred crew, in larger formations, it was used as a messenger between ships of the line or as a forward scouting unit. When operating on its own, corvettes were capable of raiding commerce, but lacked the capability to face larger vessels or threaten port cities. Brigantines and schooners were very similar, both were small vessels used for raiding, they lacked the manpower and firepower to be properly efficient when facing larger ships, but they could easily threaten commerce with raiding operations, as they would easily outpace any commercial ship.

d.                 Gunboats are very small ships, usually with a single artillery piece, while extremely fragile, they would be used in large numbers to threaten both larger vessels and fortifications.

3.       The current state of the Colombian navy is composed of a ship of the line, a frigate, six corvettes, five brigantines, 10 schooners, and 13 gunboats.

4. The navy is split into two main fleets:

• The Atlantic Fleet, composed of 1 ship of the line, 3 corvettes, 3 brigantines, 5 schooners, and 7 gunboats are currently docked in the Puerto Baranquilla, Santa Marta province, Magdalena department in Venezuela.
• The Pacific Fleet, composed of 1 frigate, 3 corvettes, 2 brigantines, 5 schooners, and 6 gunboats.

5. After a comprehensive review of the navy, none of them are in a operable state and combat readiness. It will take


Plans for future operations
6.     Bolivar has announced his desire for the revival of the Colombian navy to increase the Republic's security and commercial interests, against European meddling in the Americas, as well as the Peruvian threat.


7.        As outlined by the 1828 Economic Report, current naval expenditures are as followed.

Venezuela: 398269

New Granada: 622296

Ecuador: 224026

Total: 1,244,593

It will cost an additional 550,000 pesos to bring the Pacific Fleet to a state of combat readiness.
It will cost an additional 600,000 pesos to bring the Atlantic Fleet to a state of combat readiness.


8.         Moreover, in regard to port facilities, measures should be taken to increase the production efficiency of arsenals (for guns, anchors, and all metallic items), docks, rope manufactures (extremely important), and sawmills (although there is enough wood for timbers in the country).


9.         There is a very small number of trained officers (8), with no school to train more people due to financial constraints. The officer curriculum should be updated to reflect the latest developments in naval doctrine, note the Battle of Trafalgar 1805.

J.M.C.R

1st January, 1829.

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Distribution: –

Cabinet members de la República

Senior civil and military officials in the Republic of Colombia

French Confidential Report Leaked

CONFIDENTIAL REPORT: INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN ANTIOQUIA

1 Jan 1829

ONLY FOR DISTRIBUTION TO FRENCH CITIZENS

1. This report serves to inform French citizens as to the investment opportunities available in Antioquia. It will have details on the various projects French companies and the French state is involved in within the province of Antioquia. At this stage, it is worth noting that the French government has exclusive foreign rights over all the resources in Antioquia, and therefore has a monopoly on all extractive activity.

2. It is worth noting that there is a very favourable political environment for our investments. The government of Antioquia, under one Juan Marie Cordova, is very favourable to French presence and is working closely with the French to ensure joint prosperity between the French and his people. The security situation is also quite safe, as there are close to 500 advisors of the French military in Antioquia to keep the peace and enforce the monopoly by removing foreigners who aren’t French. There is a strong expatriate community. 

3. Some of the most beautiful orchids in the world are grown in Antioquia. French companies have set up roughly 800 square kilometres of land to grow these orchids. You can buy into these projects and contribute to financing so that more land can be developed. You are also contributing to the improvement of the lives of the locals, who are happy that French presence has given them more wage stability and higher technological capacity. 

4. We have also set up some gold extraction facilities across relevant deposits in the province. However, these are desperately in need of financing for success. If they do not receive financing, they may have to shut down.

5. Lastly, we are building some transport infrastructure in the form of paths and long-range roads that will allow us to transport equipment across the region. We would obviously charge a reasonable fee for use of the equipment and infrastructure.

6. The French government has indicated that there may be a willingness to work with other provinces and Governors in Nueva Grenada, while also ensuring the sovereignty of those provinces. They have indicated in private that if other provinces approach them with the same arrangement as they have with Antioquia, they will accept. 

7. The French government has noted in private that one concern is the anti-French nature of the Venezuelans, who have also been approached publicly by the United States. To that extent, the indication has been that the French are willing to pursue security action within the Venezuela to protect the security interests of the state. 

Christian Democratic Party

~ Los Tiempos De Guayaquil ~

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1 Jan, 1829

Ocaña Recognises Ecuador’s Heroism

FOR GOD AND COLOMBIA 

Esteemed Citizens,  

The liberal party, with all of its admirable rhetoric regarding freedom, has shown through its policy of continued attacks on our mother church that it cannot be trusted with our vote. Meanwhile the conservative party has simply remained silent and failed to defend our Christian values, all while attempting to roll back our hard won freedoms. The Partido Democrata Cristiano stands for Christian liberalism, assuring freedom without destroying our values and institutions. 

Our main policies are: 

• An end to the disgusting policy of slavery 
• Support for the church to continue its vital work in education and healthcare 
• Freedom of press and speech 
• Increasing primary education 
• A free market economy 
• National unity under God and Colombia, rather than secessionism 
• Reverence for our national hero, Simon Bolivar 
• Jobs and opportunity for the ordinary people 
• Peace if possible, war is necessary   

If I, Juan Illingrot, a protestant myself, can see that the Roman Catholic church plays a crucial part in our country, who must these liberals be who call for its destructions? Athiests? The Partido Democrata Cristiano stands for liberalism within our great country, rather than secessionism, and for God, rather than selfish individual interest. As a result our party motto is “Para Dios, Colombia, y Libertad”   

The initial President of the Party will be Juan Illingrot, with elections for President and Vice President to be held one year from now. Membership may be bough for 10 pesos, or you may be sponsored by your local church if you cannot afford this.

Expenditures and Recommendations

  Date: 30 Sept, 1828

Economic Report

Section 2: Expenditure and Recommendations

Expenditure Table for 1827: Expenditure Explanation Allocation Amount Military expenditures Military hospitals, sieges, weapons, soldier sustenance, war equipment, military salaries V: 979110 NG: 1529860 E: 550749 3,059, 721 Cost of diplomatic agents in foreign lands V: 59167 NG: 92449 E: 33281 184,899 Civil salaries V: 159360 NG: 249000 E: 89640 498,000 Salaries of the govt executive V: 556806 NG: 870010 E: 313203 1,740,020 Education Universities V: 46602 NG: 870010 E: 26213 145,632 Education Primary + secondary 45,639 Interest V: 116551 NG: 182111 E: 65559 364,222 supporting congress (all costs) V: 31424 NG: 49100 E: 17676 98,200 Navy expenditures (cut by half because fleets are morph balled in port) V: 398269 NG: 622296 E: 224026 1,244,593 Payment owed to creditors of the Patria Boba disputed between who owes what 5,097,389 ecclesiastical mortgages censos 1,400,536 Owed to Panama 656,847 Owed to Guayaquil 100,000 Payment owed to past military veterans and personnel 116,890 total debt including all other loans and interest V: 4,720,741 NG: 7,376,159 E: 2,655,417 14,752,318 Note on Revenue: Actual revenue is less than predicted revenue because the tax collection process is very inefficient. Very few workers are willing to take the job of tax collector, because tax collection is hard. What is hardest is pinning down the total income and asset value of taxpayers, and getting taxpayers to pay calculated tax amounts. Solving corruption, tax evasion and employing tax collection workers should be the government's priority.  Expenditure The given numbers show how much each cabinet owes to pay for the running of government. A decision needs to be made about how these expenditures will be split between the different government units. The governments need to balance the books, otherwise the government will need to shut down. It is not clear which cabinet will pay what, because of the new constitution.  Financial Committee’s recommendations: The financial committee’s expert opinion is that the government should be seriously warned of a looming debt crisis. Our expenditure far exceeds our revenues, and these are financed by loans. However, this debt will turn into a crisis very soon into the future. In order to prevent this devastating financial crisis, there are, according to the financial committee, four main ways forward. We highly recommend that a combination of these solutions should be enacted immediately to save the Colombian economy.  Increasing Income Taxes This will increase our revenue, and hence solve the debt crisis. Some of the wealthiest aristocrats currently face low taxation rates. However, increasing taxes on them, or in general, is likely to make local citizens angry. So, if the convention decides to increase income taxes, you must think about how publically acceptable such a solution will be.  Take out funding from the church Church expenditures form a large part of current expenditures. Cutting these expenses will help to soften the blow of the financial crisis greatly. However, this solution, again, may not be politically acceptable by everyone.  Cut Military Expenditures Military expenditures form the largest bulk of revenues, and the cabinet needs to find a way to cut these out if it wants any possibility of avoiding a crisis. The best way to do this would be for the centre and the regions to work together.  Destroy Navy The Navy is also a huge drain on the economy, and it is questionable the extent to which it adds value to the Republic of Colombia. To avoid the crisis, cutting down Navy expenditures may also help.