“Liberty or Death! The Life and
Campaigns of Richard L. Vowell, British Legionnaire and Commander, Hero and
Patriot of the Americas”
by Maria Páez Victor
Publisher: The Tattered Flag, UK,
2013
This is, firstly, the story of
Richard Longfield Vowell, an audacious and intrepid young Englishman who
abandoned his studies at Oxford in 1817 to fight against the Spanish Empire
that had ruled Latin America for 300 years. It is also the story of the little
known British Legion, formed of English and Irish volunteers, which became an
integral part of Simón Bolívar’s patriot army.The British Legion played a
crucial role in training the patriot forces to face Spanish troops
battle-hardened in the Peninsular Wars.
With the words ‘Liberty or Death!’
emblazoned on a black banner, Bolívar set out to liberate Venezuela, and
indeed, South America. For the bold and the idealistic, his quest was the stuff
of dreams, and in England there had never before been such intense interest in
the destiny of the Spanish colonies. Bolívar’s exploits were reported
assiduously in the English press, so much so that the Spanish authorities
called it ‘a South American mania.’
Bolívar lacked a modern army and with
England awash with officers and soldiers demobilized from the Peninsular Wars,
he took the opportunity to obtain campaign-seasoned fighting men. So it was
that in distantVenezuela,Vowell and fewer than 2,000 other British volunteers,
distinguished themselves in battle.
In Chile too there was a desperate
need for a navy to counter Spanish warships and so Bernardo O’Higgins sought
British officers to help form the celebrated First Chilean Squadron. Richard
Vowell was recruited by the British naval hero, Admiral Lord Thomas Cochrane,
to sail with the Chilean Squadron, and he became Commander of the Infantry
Marines. He took part in the final naval battle that vanquished forever the
Spanish Navy in the Americas.
After the wars in Latin America
ended,Vowell returned to England and wrote a seminal book on the campaigns in
Venezuela, New Grenada and the Pacific Ocean. Though not well known in the
English-speaking world, he is considered to be a heroic figure and an
insightful historian among Latin American scholars who frequently cite his
work.
This important first biography is
based on extensive research undertaken in three continents. It uncovers
information previously unknown about Vowell’s exciting life and daring exploits
– from his birth in a genteel English country town, to his campaigns in the
far-off Americas, and to his period in the harsh landscape of Australia, where
he confronted another empire and was subsequently and unjustly imprisoned on a
remote Pacific island from which he made a dramatic escape.
This absorbing account sheds light on
a lost but fascinating episode of British endeavour and valour and its
contribution to the shaping of the modern Americas.
The Author
Maria Páez Victor is a sociologist,
born in Caracas, Venezuela where she obtained her first degree. She has an MA
from the University of Kent at Canterbury and a Ph.D. from York University,
Canada. She lives in Toronto, and travels regularly to Venezuela and Britain. A
life-long enthusiast of Latin American and British history and politics, she
participates regularly on Canadian and Venezuelan television, radio, and at
public events, and has published numerous articles on recent and historical
topics in both English and Spanish. As a curious anecdote, while researching
for this book, a remote personal connection surfaced with Richard Vowell, who
served under three revolutionary generals who are in the author’s family tree,
among them José Antonio Páez, leader of the Llanero
cavalry and later President of Venezuela.
Book Launch in London, England
See photos:
http://www.thetatteredflag.com/news.html
The book was launched to much success
in London, England on July 8, 2013. Among the attendants were two members of
the Vowell family, a descendant of Capt. Alexander Maconochie who liberated
Vowell from false imprisonment, the Ambassador of Colombia in the UK, and the
representatives of the embassies of Venezueala and Ecuador in the UK.
Available from: On-line at Tattered
Flag Press www.thetatteredflag.com
Available from AMAZON and AMAZON.CA
For customers in North America:
www.casematepublishing.com/
casemate@casematepublishing.com Phone: (610)-853-9131 Fax: (610)-853-9146
Published by
Tattered Flag Press email:
office@thetatteredflag.com www.thetatteredflag.com
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