Federal War

The Federal War (Spanish: Guerra Federal) — also known as the Great War or the Five Year War — was a civil war (1859–1863) in Venezuela between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party over the monopoly the Conservatives held over government positions and land ownership, and their intransigence to granting any reforms. This drove the Liberals – known as the Federalists – to look for greater autonomy for the provinces: a new federalism for Venezuela, as it were. It was the biggest and bloodiest civil war that Venezuela had since its independence from Spain on 5 July 1811. Around a hundred thousand people died in the violence of the war, or from hunger or disease, in a country with a population of just over a million people.

The conflict emerged as a struggle for power between the conservative government of President José Tadeo Monagas and the liberal opposition led by Ezequiel Zamora. The liberals initially gained the upper hand, winning several battles, but their momentum was eventually slowed by the intervention of European powers.