1790: Governor Juan Guillelmi of Caracas characterized the city of Coro as little more than an “outpost of foreign colonies,” specifically the nearby Dutch i…

1790: Governor Juan Guillelmi of Caracas characterized the city of Coro as little more than an “outpost of foreign colonies,” specifically the nearby Dutch island of Curaçao. This proximity allowed for a constant flow of contraband trade and the movement of fugitives between the mainland and the island. While Curaçao served as a safe haven for those fleeing Spanish justice, hundreds of its own slaves escaped to Coro to settle as free people. By the 1790s, these fugitives had developed “formidable” self-governing polities in the highlands, with local councils modeled after Spanish cabildos. This demographic and political landscape reinforced a masterless outlook among the inhabitants that would eventually fuel the 1795 rebellion.