Introduction to ayers braach letter

This letter, dated December 18th, 1861 discusses the failed business venture of a U.S. entrepreneur, AyersBraach, who had attempted to establish a sewing machine business in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. That such a venture would failshould come as no surprise, given the volatile social situation in Venezuela at the time of the venture, which began in “1859 orso.”

In the late 1850s and early 1860s, Venezuela’s political situation, which had lacked stability forseveral decades following its declaration of independence from Spain in 1811, reached a level of turmoil that was exceptional evenfor the country’s chaotic history. Following a brief period of relative stability under the leadership of José Antonio Páez, thecountry spent the last few years of the 1840s and most of the 1850s under the self-serving and iron fisted Presidency of José TadeoMonagas. In 1857 Monagas, having already forcibly replaced the Conservative Congress with Liberals, rewrote the VenezuelanConstitution so that he could serve consecutive terms as president, thus consolidating his power. This move backfired, however, as theLiberals and Conservatives united to oppose Monagas’ power grab, ousting the President and replacing him with Julián Castro asprovisional president and, in so doing sparking a new wave of political and social instability.

The credibility of the Conservative/Liberal coalition was undermined by the fact that “[t]he only thing the Liberals and Conservatives had in common was their opposition toMonagas” (Marsland 193). Also, Monagas himself had fled to the French Embassy in Caracas where, despite intense pressure to turnthe former president over to Venezuelan authorities, the French ambassador continued to provide sanctuary. This led to a nationalincident as the French declared that “an attack against Monagas would be considered an affront to most of the civilized world,”eventually leading to French and British ships blockading Venezuelan ports to assure that their declaration was being upheld(Marsland 193).

With the government’s credibility quickly deteriorating, several groups of revolutionaries saw an opportunityfor power. Eventually two generals emerged, Ezequiel Zamora and Juan Falcón, to lead the revolutionaries (Federalists) against thecurrent regime (Centralists). While contending with this external pressure, the Centralists also had to deal with internal tensions,beginning with the imprisonment of Castro for his own Federalist leanings. Vice-President Manuel Felipe de Tovar replaced Castro,but he refused to act as a dictator, which many believed was what was called for under the circumstances. In the face of thispressure Tovar resigned from the presidency, which eventually led to Páez, whom Monagas had exiled but who had now returned toVenezuala, taking over as dictator on August 29, 1861. Finally, in 1863, the conflict ended and Falcón, the leader of the Federalists,became the new president while Páez agreed to leave the country.

Braach’s letter, then, was written just a few months after Páez had claimed the dictatorship. Whether it was thisevent that finally convinced Braach to abandon his business venture or not is difficult to determine, but it is clear that his beliefthat, “the people of this country are not sensible enough” as well as his failure to successfully start a sewing business in Caracasboth probably stemmed from the intense turmoil that had engulfed the Venezuelan capital.