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28.03.

1750: Birth of the South American Revolutionary Francisco de Miranda

1750: Birth of the South American Revolutionary Francisco de Miranda
Photo Credit To Wikipedia Commons / Miranda en La Carraca, Arturo Michelena's depiction of Miranda's last days, imprisoned in Cádiz, Spain

Story Highlights

  • Historical event
  • 28 March 1750
  • Francisco de Miranda participated in the French Revolution. He attempted to organize the liberation of Latin America from Spanish rule. Interestingly, it is precisely he who is considered the author of Venezuela's state flag.

The revolutionary Francisco de Miranda was born on this day in 1750 in Caracas, South America.



He remains one of the best-known fighters for the liberation of Latin American states from Spanish colonial rule, and was in that sense the predecessor of the famed Simón Bolívar, who was 33 years younger than him.

Francisco de Miranda was the son of wealthy parents and according to the year of his birth almost a peer of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Polish revolutionary Tadeusz Kościuszko, French king Louis XVI and Napoleon’s father Carlo Buonaparte.

During the American War of Independence, he fought on the American side, against the British.

After the USA successfully won their independence, Francisco de Miranda visited the country, and later traveled to Europe.




During the 1780s, i.e. on the eve of the French Revolution, he visited Venice, Padua, Verona, Mantua, Parma, Bologna, Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Livorno, Rome, Naples, and Dubrovnik.

Following this, he also visited Constantinople, the Russian Empire, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. He became an active participant in the French Revolution.

He allegedly even attained the the rank of general in the revolutionary army, but was imprisoned during Robespierre’s Reign of Terror. He was only released in 1795.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Francisco de Miranda attempted to organize the liberation of Latin America from Spanish rule.

It is interesting that he is considered the creator of the Venezuelan flag (yellow-blue-red). With such a flag, Miranda set off on a liberation campaign in South America, assisted by the British (Napoleon’s enemies).

Venezuela attempted to achieve independence from Spain, but Francisco de Miranda was left in Spanish captivity.

He died in prison near the Spanish city of Cádiz in 1816. He was 66 at the moment of his death. One of the Venezuelan federal states is named after him (Miranda).

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