Manuel Gual was a retired soldier from La Guaira. He was the son of an officer who had defended La Guaira against the British naval attacks about 50 years before. Manuel joined the army in 1764. After thirty-three years in service he retired, discouraged by the poor recognition of his services among the Spanish authorities, and began to acquire an increasingly liberal political conscience.
José María España
José María España was born in La Guaira, on February 28, 1761. He was an educated man, a regular reader of philosophy and politics and he was fluent in English and French. He owned a large library, with works in French, English and Spanish. After the death of his father, España went on to run a cocoa farm called "El Carmen" with his brothers, which the family owned near Naiguatá. In 1793 he was appointed Teniente Justicia Mayor de Macuto. In the dungeons of La Guaira were Juan Bautista Picornell, Manuel Cortés Campomanes, Sebastián Andrés and José Lax, all state prisoners sent from Spain for having tried to establish a French-style republic in their country. Gual, España and their followers contacted the inmates.
Other revolutionaries
Among those involved were lawyers, military engineers, surgeons, a sheriffs, the priest of La Guaira, as well as numerous sergeants, capes and soldiers of the garrison of La Guaira, plus a number from Caracas. Several Spanish revolutionaries played an important role in the conspiracy. Led by the educator and writer Juan Bautista Mariano Picornell y Gomila, these had belonged to a Masonic lodge in Madrid and organized a coup d'etat in the Spanish capital with the purpose of overthrowing the monarchist regime and establish a French-style Republic. In 1795 Picornell was involved in the San Blas Conspiracy which sought to overthrow the Spanish monarchy. Picornell and three other revolutionaries had been arrested and sent overseas to La Guaira, where they were imprisoned. It is also believed that Simón Rodríguez, an early teacher of Simón Bolívar, was involved.
The conspiracy
Influenced by the news about the French Revolution and by the progressive ideas of some Spaniards deported to La Guaira, such as Picornell and Manuel Cortés Campomanes, Gual joined a Republican group. This group made contact with José María España, the leading opponent of the Spanish authorities in Americas. José María España and Manuel Gual developed an uprising plan, for which they would have French and British help. In La Guaira, inmate Picornell secretly contacted Gual and España. Provided with a pen, inkwell and paper in his dungeon, Picornell began to write the manifests and instructions of the conspiracy, combining his experience as a revolutionary with the information provided by his fellow Venezuelans about the events in Americas. The rebellion had to take place on July 1797, but it was discovered by the authorities, forcing the flight of the leaders to the Antilles. Two years later, José María España, who had returned to Venezuela to restart the insurrection, was captured in La Guaira and executed in Caracas. Manuel Gual, on the other hand, planned an invasion of Venezuela with Francisco de Miranda, but died before he could carry out the plan, apparently poisoned by a Spanish spy. The conspiracy was suppressed with the collaboration of the "mantuanos" because it promoted radical social changes. A fierce persecution would follow against all those that had participated in it.
Legacy
The conspiracy was effectively suppressed, but a series of papers resulted as a product from the intent. These would have enormous importance in the constitutional process of Hispanic America. Among them there's the book titled Derechos del Hombre y del Ciudadano con varias máximas Republicanas, y un Discurso Preliminar dirigido a los Americanos, which was subsequently prohibited by the Real Audiencia of Caracas on December 11, 1797.
