It is during this period that the term "Republic of Venezuela" was officially used by Simón Bolívar's government. During the First Republic, upon which Bolívar based the legitimacy of his actions, the government referred to the Venezuelan state as either the "American Confederation of Venezuela" or the "United Provinces of Venezuela" in the Declaration of Independence (both terms are used interchangeably), or as the "United States of Venezuela" (a term used interchangeably with "the Confederation") in the Constitution of 1811.