Battle of Lake Maracaibo 1823
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 24 July 1823 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1823 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Venezuela | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | South America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Venezuelan War of Independence | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 10.7500, -71.5833 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Lake Maracaibo also known as the "Naval Battle of the Lake" was fought on 24 July 1823 on Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo between fleets under the commands of Republican Admiral José Prudencio Padilla and royalist Captain Ángel Laborde.
The engagement was won by the Republican forces, and was the last battle of the Venezuelan War of Independence and the larger Spanish American wars of independence. The Republican ships were part of the armed forces of Gran Colombia led by Simón Bolívar.
The Battle of Carabobo of 1821 is usually seen in the historiography as the culminating battle for Venezuelan independence. However, some historians point out that if the Battle of Lake Maracaibo had been a victory for the Royalist forces, the Spanish Crown might have been able to establish a new front in Western Venezuela from which to attack the Republican forces stationed in Venezuela. As a result of the defeat, the Spanish did not send any reinforcing regiments to Venezuela, and accepted Venezuelan independence as a result of this second decisive Republican victory. Spain did not formally recognise the new nation's independence for more than a decade afterward.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Lake Maracaibo (revision 1370267825), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Los Horcones 1813 · 247 km
- Battle of Araure 1813 · 291 km
- Action of August 1702 1702 · 291 km
- Battle of Carabobo 1821 · 383 km
- Battle of Cachirí 1816 · 389 km
Other battles of the Venezuelan War of Independence
- Battle of La Victoria (1812) 1812
- Battle of Araure 1813
- Battle of Las Queseras del Medio 1813
- Battle of Los Horcones 1813
- Battle of La Victoria (1814) 1814
- Battle of San Mateo (1814) 1814
- Battle of Clarines 1817
- Battle of Pagallos 1817
- Battle of Carabobo 1821
- Battle of Matasiete 2025
All 11 battles of the Venezuelan War of Independence →
Browse more: battles in Venezuela · South America · 19th century battles