Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lutionary forces against Britain; and toured
the major cities of the United States, meet-
ing with George Washington, Alexander
Hamilton, and other leaders. He then trav-
eled throughout continental Europe mak-
ing a particularly favorable impression on
Catherine the Great of Russia. Enlisting in
the armies of the French Republic, he
fought against her Teutonic enemies, rose
to the rank of divisional commander, but
was then accused of disloyalty by the Jaco-
bin regime and expelled from France.
Miranda now abandoned his career of
adventurer at large and spent the next few
years in Britain seeking William Pitt's sup-
port for the overthrow of Spanish rule in
the Americas. He proposed a union of the
South American colonies under an emperor
descended from the ancient Inca dynasty,
with a democratic balance provided by a
bicameral legislature. Despite (or, perhaps,
because of) the grandiose and unrealistic
scope of his vision, with its blending of
indigenous and European elements,
Miranda succeeded in impressing many of
those who listened to him, from Prime
Minister Pitt to the future Chilean liberator,
B
ERNARDO
O'H
IGGINS
.
By 1806 Miranda had succeeded in
assembling an invasion force that sailed
from New York, landed on the Venezuelan
coast, and had some initial success before
being repulsed. He thus anticipated by sev-
eral years the general outbreak of colonial
revolt that followed the French invasion of
Spain in 1808 and the disruption of Spain's
central authority. Returning to Venezuela
in 1810, after this later rebellion had begun,
Miranda joined forces with S
IMÓN
B
OLÍVAR
and other rebels. Miranda's initial success
on this occasion led to his assumption of
dictatorial powers in Venezuela, but mili-
tary setbacks forced him to surrender his
principal stronghold to royalist forces under
the condition that he might withdraw in
safety. Bolívar and his allies now became
disgusted with what they saw as Miranda's
weakness and treachery, seized him, and
handed him over to Spain where he spent
his remaining days in a dungeon in C
ÁDIZ
.
Miranda has been rightly described as an
international exponent of revolution, an
enthusiastic “salesman” of the ideas of the
Enlightenment. His ability to charm and (at
least temporarily) persuade influential peo-
ple on three continents to support his
schemes has led some historians to see him
as more picturesque than substantial. How-
ever, once he finally settled on his native
land as the focus of his energies, he made a
credible contribution to the cause of colo-
nial rebellion. He must be recognized as the
great precursor of the struggle for Spanish-
American independence.
Miró, Joan
(1893-1983)
Spanish painter
Born in C
ATALONIA
and educated in B
ARCE
-
LONA
, Miró began his career in Paris in
1919. His early work was naturalistic, but
he soon came under the influence of the
surrealists and turned to a nonobjective
style. He aligned himself with the branch of
surrealism known as “psychic automatism,”
in which the artist worked in a virtual state
of unconsciousness. It would later be said
that he entered a trancelike state by going
without food for a long time or breathing
an excess of paint. Whatever the source of
his inspiration his unusual images and strik-
ing colors gained wide popularity, and his
experimentations with various media
assured him ongoing attention. He exhib-
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