Cold Open

It’s late afternoon on August 6th, 1824, near Lake Junin, in the highlands of central Peru.

Spanish General Jose de Canterac brandishes his saber and spurs his horse on. Hooves pound the earth as his cavalry surges across the plain. Ahead of them is a line of enemy riders. But Canterac has them outnumbered, and already, he can see they’re breaking in the face of the Spanish assault.

Spain has dominated much of South America for 300 years. But over the past two decades, independence movements have chipped away at Madrid’s authority. Rebel leader Simon Bolivar has driven Spanish forces from vast swaths of territory. But now, General Canterac believes he’s finally about to reverse that momentum. The rebels are in full retreat, and a decisive victory here could halt Bolivar’s advance and preserve Spain’s grip on Peru.

Canterac charges. Some of the rebel units try to turn and fight, but others just flee across the plain, and steel flashes in the afternoon sun as the Spanish cavalry cut them down one by one.

But just as General Canterac thinks the battle is won, the sound of fresh hoof beats reaches him—and it’s coming from behind. Twisting in the saddle, he sees another squadron of rebel cavalry racing across the plain.

Canterac yanks the reins, trying to wheel his horse around. The other Spanish riders struggle to turn their exhausted animals in time as well. Panic spreads as the rebel cavalry smash into them—and Canterac realizes with horror that the hunters have become the hunted.

The rebels have snatched a vital victory from the jaws of defeat. And soon, their campaign will liberate Peru and end Spanish rule in South America. But this accomplishment will come at a price. And the great freedom fighter Simon Bolivar will wield increasingly authoritarian power after the victory his men secured at the Battle of Junin on August 6th, 1824.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is August 6th, 1824: The Battle of Junin.

Act One: The Valley of the Dead

It’s June 11th, 1819, in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, five years before the Battle of Junin.

35-year-old Simon Bolivar rises in his stirrups and scans the endless plains, searching for any sign of his destination. For days, his army has slogged through flooded grasslands and rivers teeming with flesh-eating fish. But Bolivar knows that far more challenging obstacles are to come.

It’s been almost a decade since Bolivar joined Venezuela’s struggle for independence, and he is now the revolution’s most prominent leader. In that time, much of Venezuela has been liberated from Spain. But for Bolivar, that is just the beginning. He wants to evict the Spanish from the entire continent. And he plans to begin the next phase of his campaign in one of the most punishing environments on Earth—the Andes Mountains.

A flash of white canvas in the distance catches Bolivar’s eye, and he exhales in relief. That’s the camp he’s been looking for.

It takes several more hours to reach it, and when Bolivar’s exhausted soldiers arrive, they are greeted with a chorus of cheers. But Bolivar barely acknowledges the celebrations. Instead, he immediately seeks out the camp’s commander, 27-year-old General Francisco Santander. A year ago, Bolivar sent Santander into these foothills to recruit and train rebels for the invasion of New Granada—a wealthy Spanish province neighboring Venezuela.

And one look around tells Bolivar that Santander has succeeded. The camp is orderly, the soldiers are well fed, and supplies are neatly stacked. Which is good news, because only after a few days of rest the combined forces begin a slow climb into the mountain passes. Every day, the air grows thinner and colder. Horses and mules collapse from exhaustion. Soldiers stumble, unable to catch their breath. Even seasoned veterans begin falling behind. Yet Bolivar urges his men on.

Until eventually, the ground begins to drop away. They’ve made it across the mountains. Dozens of men have frozen to death, and hundreds of pack animals lie abandoned along the trails behind them. But the crossing has given Bolivar exactly what he wanted—the element of surprise. The Spanish never imagined an army would dare come through the mountains, and they’ve been caught completely off-guard.

And as Bolivar advances into New Granada, villagers welcome his army as liberators, providing food, shelter, fresh horses, and eager new recruits.

By the end of July 1819, the rebels have recovered from their ordeal in the mountains, and Bolivar is ready to make his move on Santa Fe de Bogota, the capital of New Granada. But another physical barrier stands in the way—the Chicamocha River. It takes hours for Bolivar’s army to cross, and that delay allows news of his latest advance to reach the Spanish.

They rush troops to intercept, and by the time Bolivar’s men have crossed the river and entered the swamplands beyond, Spanish infantry are in position on the surrounding high ground.

With the river blocking the way back, retreat is not an option for the rebels. So Bolivar goes on the offensive. He orders his infantry uphill.

But the rebel soldiers make easy targets for the Spanish, and casualties begin to mount. Again and again, Bolivar sends his troops forward, only for them to be driven back. After five hours of fighting, the Spanish commander senses victory. Confident that the rebels are finally breaking, he orders his infantry to advance downhill and finish the battle.

All seems lost for the rebels. And in a desperate final gambit, Bolivar deploys his last cavalry. Just 14 riders lead the charge, but they manage to punch a hole through the Spanish line. Seeing this breakthrough, Bolivar orders the rest of his army to join the attack.

And in a matter of minutes, the battle is transformed. Now it’s the Spanish who are fighting for survival.

Only nightfall and a sudden torrential rainstorm save them from complete destruction. The bulk of the Spanish force is able to retreat in the darkness. But only two weeks later, the rebels and the Spanish clash again—and this time, the weather can’t deny Simon Bolivar his victory, and the road to Bogotá is left open.

Bolivar rides into the city at the head of his troops and declares the capital free of Spanish rule.

A few months later, Bolivar formally unites New Granada and Venezuela into a new Republic of Gran Colombia. But he refuses to rest while any Spanish colonies remain in South America. He marches south, where his men liberate the city of Quito. Then, in September 1823, he carries his war for independence into the last Spanish stronghold on the continent—Peru.

Just under a year later, victory at the Battle of Junin will pave the way for Peruvian independence. Bolivar will be hailed as the great liberator. But as his power and influence grow, some will begin to wonder whether they have exchanged one tyranny for another. And before long, the greatest threat to Simon Bolivar will not come from the Spanish—but from the men who once fought by his side.

Act Two: Liberator, Dictator

It's November 14th, 1826, in Bogota, the capital of Gran Colombia, two years after the Battle of Junin.

Simon Bolivar rides slowly through the city’s narrow cobblestone streets. Now 43 years old, Bolivar tips his gold-trimmed hat toward the citizens crowding the sidewalks and leaning from wooden balconies above. But few smiles or cheers greet him. As a cold drizzle falls, shopkeepers fold their arms, and men wrapped in wool ponchos watch him with hard, expressionless faces. Seven years ago, these same streets echoed with celebration when Bolivar rode into the city to liberate it from Spanish rule. But now, the silence is louder than any insult.

Over the past few years, Bolivar and his allies have transformed the map of South America. The Spanish-controlled provinces have been swept away, and the Republic of Gran Colombia is now the dominant power in the region. Bolivar is its president, but his influence extends beyond the borders of the republic. He’s the man who freed Peru. And the newly independent country of Bolivia has even been named in his honor.

But all his success has created a new problem. Bolivar has always presented himself as a liberator and justified his near-dictatorial authority as a necessity of war. But now the people are free of Spanish rule, and more and more of them are questioning Bolivar's continued grip on power.

So much so that in Bolivar’s native Venezuela, General Jose Antonio Paez has launched a rebellion. He claims the country would be better off governing itself than remaining part of the sprawling Republic of Gran Colombia. And now, Bolivar must decide what to do with him.

After his cool reception in Bogota, Bolivar doesn’t stay in the capital long. He gathers an army to quash Paez’s rebellion. Then he heads to the coast and sets sail for Venezuela.

But when he arrives in the port city of Puerto Cabello, he doesn’t order his troops into battle. Instead, he issues a pardon to the rebels and persuades General Paez to meet with him. After face-to-face negotiations, he appoints Paez as the new Civil and Military Chief of the Department of Venezuela—turning a potential enemy into an ally.

Appeasing Paez comes at a cost, though. Bolivar’s vice president is the former general Francisco Santander. The two men have known each other for years. But their politics have diverged. Santander backs a constitutional, federal republic, while Bolivar favors a more centralized model headed by a powerful president.

Still, despite these differences, Santander expected Bolivar to force Paez to submit to the rule of law. Instead, Bolivar has overruled the constitution and granted General Paez sweeping new powers.

Santander worries that this is just a taste of things to come, and sure enough, after Bolivar returns to Bogota, he announces that elections will take place for a convention to rewrite the constitution. Santander immediately suspects the real objective—that Bolivar intends to seize power permanently.

But Bolivar misjudges how popular he is. He’s convinced that the people still see him as a heroic liberator and will back his vision of the future. But Santander campaigns tirelessly against his former comrade, crossing the country to warn voters not to concentrate power in the hands of a single man.

When the delegates to the new constitutional convention are finally elected, the results come as a shock to Bolivar. His supporters have failed to win a majority. So, when the convention meets in April 1828, it is instead Vice President Santander’s proposals that shape the agenda. He wants to transform Gran Colombia into a federation of largely self-governing provinces, dramatically reducing Bolivar’s authority.

But when Bolivar realizes what’s happening, he instructs his supporters at the convention to stage a walkout. Without them, the assembly loses its quorum and can no longer conduct business. Two days later, Bolivar loyalists denounce the convention as a failure. And publicly call for Bolivar to assume dictatorial powers before the country falls into chaos or even civil war.

Quickly, Bolivar rides for the capital. Backed by the army, he adopts the title “President-Liberator” and moves quickly to consolidate his grip on power in Bogota. He abolishes the office of vice president and removes Santander from power.

But Santander is far from Bolivar’s only enemy. All across the country, angry officers, students, and politicians whisper that Bolivar has betrayed the revolution he led. They will gather in the shadows to plot against him—and soon, they will come to a dark conclusion. If the Republic of Gran Colombia is to be saved, Simon Bolivar must die.

Act Three: The September Conspiracy

It’s nearly midnight on September 25th, 1828, at the Presidential Palace in Bogotá, a month after Simon Bolivar declared himself President-Liberator of Gran Colombia.

30-year-old Manuela Saenz lies awake in bed, listening to the dogs in the palace courtyard. Something has spooked them, and they’re barking furiously.

Manuela glances to her side. Her lover, Simon Bolivar, is deeply asleep, and Manuela is glad—he’s been suffering from a fever and needs the rest.

But the dogs’ barking grows even louder. And suddenly, she hears running footsteps in the hall and voices raised in anger. She sits upright because this isn’t normal.

She shakes Bolivar awake, and groggily, he opens his eyes. In an urgent whisper, Manuela warns him that something is wrong. Bolivar stumbles out of bed and grabs his pistol and sword. Still dressed in his nightshirt, he lurches toward the door. But Manuela blocks his path and begs him to flee instead.

That's when fists begin banging on the locked door. Voices demand that Bolivar show himself. Instead, Manuela ushers Bolivar to the window and flings open the shutters. And as the door behind them shakes and rattles on its hinges, she helps Bolivar onto the window ledge. Carefully, he lowers himself as far as he can and then drops to the cobblestones below. Manuela watches as he vanishes into the shadows.

She, though, doesn’t follow. Instead, she quickly closes the window and hurries across the room to the door. She takes a deep breath and then unlocks it. An armed mob immediately bursts inside, demanding to know Bolivar’s whereabouts. Manuela holds her nerve and explains that he must be in his council rooms, deeper in the palace.

This deception buys Bolivar just enough time to escape. He stays hidden under a nearby bridge until loyal troops can regain control of the capital and begin rounding up the conspirators. Only then does he emerge, shivering and caked in mud.

He returns to the palace. But he is never the same after this assassination attempt. Over the next two years, Bolivar’s health gradually declines. Tuberculosis saps the strength that once carried him across the continent. And realizing he no longer has the energy to hold the enormous republic together, he resigns the presidency in 1830. He heads to the Caribbean coast, hoping to recuperate, but he dies there later that year at the age of just 47.

Within months of his death, the Republic of Gran Colombia will fracture, and the independent nations of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela will rise in its place. And Bolivar’s legacy will remain contested. For some, he will become a symbol of tyranny and the dangers of dictatorial powers. But for many others, he will continue to be revered as the man who helped free South America from Spain. And it was a liberation that might have remained incomplete without the dramatic victory at the Battle of Junin on August 6th, 1824.

Outro

Next on History Daily. August 7th, 1909. After a month on the road, an American housewife becomes the first woman to drive across the United States.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Angus Gavan McHarg.

Edited by Scott Reeves. Managing producer Emily Burke. Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.