1795-May: A major insurrection erupted in western Venezuela as armed slaves, free blacks, and zambos descended from the highlands to attack the coastal town …

1795-May: A major insurrection erupted in western Venezuela as armed slaves, free blacks, and zambos descended from the highlands to attack the coastal town of Coro. Led by José Caridad González, the rebels sought to overturn Spanish domination and implement the egalitarian principles they had seen triumph in French territories. The movement was partly inspired by the belief that the Spanish crown had granted them freedom, which was being unlawfully withheld by local whites. Although the revolt was ultimately put down, it stood as the largest challenge of its kind to colonial authority in Venezuelan history. The Coro Uprising proved that the “common wind” of revolutionary news could bridge geographic and linguistic divides.