The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence (Spanish: Acta de la Declaración de Independencia de Venezuela) is a document drafted and adopted by Venezuelan on July 5, 1811, through which Venezuelans made the decision to separate from the Spanish Crown in order to establish a new nation based on the premises of equality of individuals, abolition of censorship and dedication to freedom of expression. These principles were enshrined as a constitutional principle for the new nation and were radically opposed to the political, cultural, and social practices that had existed during three hundred years of colonization.
The declaration proclaimed a new nation named the American Confederacy of Venezuela and was mainly written by Cristóbal Mendoza and Juan Germán Roscio.
With this declaration, Venezuela became the first independent republic of Spanish America, and the fire of that declaration, fueled by external conflict, would spread the ideals of independence throughout all of the lands of Latin America.
Resolution
On July 3, 1811, delegates from the first National Constituent Congress convened at the Santa Rosa de Lima Chapel in Caracas regarding the matter of independence. Two days later, the matter was resolved when Congress voted to officially declare independence 40-4. Then, with the permission of the secretary general, Francisco Isnardi, Mendoza and Roscio presented the document to Congress for discussion. Roscio and Isnardi then spoke following the reading of the declaration.
It was ratified by Congress on July 7, 1811 with 43 votes for and one vote against, and recorded in the Congress's Book of Minutes on August 17, 1811, in Caracas.
The anniversary of this declaration is celebrated as Independence Day. The original Book of Minutes of the first Congress of Venezuela is in the Federal Legislative Palace in Caracas.