In 1806, Venezuelan revolutionary Francisco de Miranda organized an ambitious military expedition from New York to liberate South America from Spanish colonial rule. Miranda had spent years lobbying European powers and the United States for support, securing informal backing from figures like Alexander Hamilton and unofficial encouragement from British admirals. Believing that local populations would rise up immediately and that the British Royal Navy would provide decisive backup, Miranda set sail with the vessel Leander and two schooners.
However, his logistics were flawed and his diplomatic assurances were overextended. Spanish naval authorities were alerted, intercepting the expedition off the coast of Ocumare de la Costa in April 1806, capturing both schooners and 60 men. Undeterred, Miranda regrouped in Barbados with British Admiral Alexander Cochrane's limited aid and successfully landed at La Vela de Coro in August, raising the first tricolor flag of independent Venezuela.
Yet, the local populace proved indifferent or fearful, and the promised British naval fleet failed to arrive due to shifting geopolitics in London. Miranda was forced to evacuate, leaving his grand vision temporarily stalled.