Bolívar ' s campaign to liberate New Granada Bolívar ' s campaign to liberate New Granada of 1819 - 1820 was part of the Colombian and Venezuelan wars of independence and was one of the many military campaigns Simón Bolívar fought in them . Bolívar ' s victory in New Granada ( today , Colombia ) secured the eventual independence of northern South America . It provided Bolívar with the economic and human resources to complete his victory over the Spanish in Venezuela and Colombia . Bolívar ' s attack on New Granada is considered one of the most daring in military history , compared by contemporaries and some historians to Napoleon ' s crossing of the Alps in 1800 and José San Martín ' s Crossing of the Andes in 1817 . Background . During the years 1815 and 1816 , Spain had reconquered most of New Granada after five years of de facto and official independence . By 1817 , Bolívar had set up his headquarters in the Orinoco region in southern Venezuela . It was an area from which the Spaniards could not easily oust him . There he engaged the services of several thousand foreign soldiers and officers , mostly British and Irish , set up his capital at Angostura ( now Ciudad Bolívar ) and established liaisons with the revolutionary forces of the Llanos , including one group of Venezuelan " llanero s " ( cowboys ) led by José Antonio Páez and another group of New Granadan exiles led by Francisco de Paula Santander . By 1819 , José María Barreiro , who was in charge of the royalist troops in Nueva Granda , counted with at least 4 , 500 trained soldiers at his command ( without including the troops scattered throughout the region ) . Bolivar was able to round up merely 2 , 200 able men , which he distributed into four battalions , three regiments , one squadron , and an artillery company that lacked cannons . In the most part , Bolivar ' s soldiers were non - Spanish men , many of them recruited from the Venezuelan plains . Simon Bolivar ' s plan consisted of mobilizing his army from Venezuela to Casanare , in Nueva Granada , to unite forces with Francisco de Paula Santander and his men , and infiltrate the territory through Tunja to combat the troops of Viceroy Juán de Sámano . The campaign . Bolívar conceived of the operation in late 1818 and early 1819 after the Congress of Angostura began its deliberations and had reappointed him president of Venezuela . If Bolívar could liberate New Granada , he would have a whole new base from which to operate against Pablo Morillo , head of the royalist forces in the area . Central New Granada held great promise since , unlike Venezuela , it had only been recently conquered by Morillo and it had a prior six - year experience of independent government . Royalist sentiment , therefore , was not strong . But it would be hard to take the initiative against the better prepared and supplied royalist army . To surprise it , Bolívar decided to move during the rainy season , when the Llanos flooded up to a meter and the campaign season ended . Morillo ' s forces would be gone from the Llanos for months and no one would anticipate that Bolívar ' s troops would be on the move . The proposed route , however , was considered impassable , and therefore the plan understandably received little support from the Congress or from Páez . With only the forces he and Santander had recruited in the Apure and Meta River regions , Bolívar set off in June 1819 . The route that the small army of about 2 , 500 men — including a British legion — took went from the hot and humid , flood - swept plains of Venezuela to the icy mountain pass of the Páramo de Pisba , at an altitude of 3 , 960 meters ( 13 , 000 feet ) , through the Cordillera Oriental . After the hardships of wading through a virtual sea , the mostly " llanero " army was not prepared and poorly clothed for the cold and altitude of the mountains . Many became ill or died . Despite some intelligence that Bolívar was on the move , the Spanish doubted Bolívar ' s army could make the trip , and therefore , they were taken by surprise when Bolívar ' s small army emerged from the mountains on 5 July . Bolívar rebuilt his forces by placing a levy on the local population . In a series of battles the republican army cleared its way to Bogotá . First at the Battle of Vargas Swamp on 25 July , Bolívar intercepted a royalist force attempting to reach the poorly defended capital . After the Vargas Swamp Battle , Bolivar reorganized his men , resting them until 4 August , when he ordered a return to Venezuela . However , in the night , he redirects his forces towards Tunja , and took the city by mid - day of 5 August 1819 . Due to Bolivar ' s flash conquest , Barreiro was obliged to mobilize his troops to defend the capital , Santafé , from Bolivar . The Royalist men took the fastest route to Bogota ( which led through the Boyacá Bridge ) but were unable to pass , as Bolivar intercepted them , early morning of 7 August . Bolivar ' s republican troops were composed of approximately 2 , 850 men , which successfully divided and defeated the 2 , 670 royalist soldiers in a battle that lasted two hours . Th battle resulted in the death of 66 republicans , 250 royalists , and well as the capture of approximately 1 , 600 of the remaining royal troops . The Battle of Boyacá on 7 August 1819 , the bulk of the royalist army surrendered to Bolívar . The battle marked the end Spanish dominion in Nueva Granada , and inspired further triumphs for the liberation of the Spanish Americas . On receiving the news , the viceroy , Juan José de Sámano , and the rest of royalist government fled the capital so fast that they left behind the treasury . On 10 August Bolívar ' s army entered Bogotá . Political ramifications . With New Granada secure Bolívar returned to Venezuela , in a position of unprecedented military , political and financial strength . In his absence the Congress had flirted with deposing him , assuming that he would meet his death in New Granada . The vice - president Francisco Antonio Zea was deposed and replaced by Juan Bautista Arismendi . All this was quickly reversed when word got to the Congress of Bolívar ' s success . In December Bolívar returned to Angostura , where he urged the Congress to proclaim the creation of a new state : the Republic of Colombia ( Gran Colombia ) . It did so on 17 December and elected him president of the new country . Since two of its three regions , Venezuela and Quito ( Ecuador ) , were still under royalist control , it was only a limited achievement . Bolívar continued his efforts against the royalist areas of Venezuela , culminating in the Battle of Carabobo two years later , which all but secured his control of northern South America . Bolívar ' s victory in New Granada was , therefore , a major turning point in the history of northern South America . Results of the Final Battle of Boyaca : On the day of the battle of Boyacá , Colonel Barrerio ( leader of the royalist forces in Nueva Granada ) was captured alongside 37 Spanish officers . The 38 prisoners were executed on 11 October 1819 by decree of Francisco de Paula Santander , keeping true to Bolivar ' s motto of ' war to the death . ' After the Royalist defeat , viceroy Juan de Sámano was informed in Bogotá , and was able to escape the revolutionaries ' grasp by fleeing to Cartagena de Indias . Bolivar arrived to Santafé de Bogotá , without royalist resistance , on the afternoon of 10 August 1819 . His arrival concluded the campaign for liberating Nueva Granada . The battle of Boyacá was a decisive triumph over Spanish power in Nueva Granada , and the Spanish America as a whole . Despite the Royalists ' strength in the other provinces of the region , such as Santa Marta and Pasto - where resistance would withstand various years of revolutionary uprisings - the capital of the viceroyalty of Nueva Granada had fallen in the hands of the ' neogranadinos . ' With this shift in political power , the path was laid out for the union of Nueva Granada and Venezuela into the Republic of Colombia . However , the campaigns for independence would continue : Antonio José de Sucre marched South , towards Pasto , the Audiencia de Quito , the Viceroyalty of Peru , and the Alto Perú , while Bolivar sought to expand the campaign to the westernmost regions of Venezuela , which still lay under Spanish power , and counted with 27 , 000 soldiers for its defense . See also . Results of the Final Battle , and hence , of The Campaign : On the day of the battle of Boyacá , Colonel Barrerio ( leader of the royalist forces in Nueva Granada ) was captured alongside 37 Spanish officers . The 38 prisoners were executed on 11 October 1819 by decree of Francisco de Paula Santander , keeping true to Bolivar ' s motto of ' war to the death . ' After the Royalist defeat , viceroy Juan de Sámano was informed in Bogotá , and was able to escape the revolutionaries ' grasp by fleeing to Cartagena de Indias . Bolivar arrived to Santafé de Bogotá , without royalist resistance , on the afternoon of 10 August 1819 . His arrival concluded the campaign for liberating Nueva Granada . The battle of Boyacá was a decisive triumph over Spanish power in Nueva Granada , and the Spanish America as a whole . Despite the Royalists ' strength in the other provinces of the region , such as Santa Marta and Pasto - where resistance would withstand various years of revolutionary uprisings - the capital of the viceroyalty of Nueva Granada had fallen in the hands of the ' neogranadinos . ' With this shift in political power , the path was laid out for the union of Nueva Granada and Venezuela into the Republic of Colombia . However , the campaigns for independence would continue : Antonio José de Sucre marched South , towards Pasto , the Audiencia de Quito , the Viceroyalty of Peru , and the Alto Perú , while Bolivar sought to expand the campaign to the westernmost regions of Venezuela , which still lay under Spanish power , and counted with 27 , 000 soldiers for its defense .