Meanwhile, in Spain, a great expedition was being prepared to come to America, an expedition which was intended to surpass even the army of Morillo. Fernando VII was determined to reëstablish his absolute power, not only in Spain but in the colonies. Morillo, in Venezuela, was asking for reinforcements. In his pleas for more men he stated that he wanted them to conquer Bolívar, "an indomitable soul, whom a single victory, the smallest, is enough to make master of 500 leagues of territory." Fernando VII was very willing to send this expedition, not merely to support his authority, but also to get rid of many officers who were accused of liberal principles. The army, gathered in Cádiz, was very soon undermined by subversive ideas. An officer named Rafael Riego led the insurrection, and on New Year's Day, 1820, instead of being on its way to America, the army was in revolt in the name of constitutional freedom. The ultimate result of this was that the expedition did not sail, and that Fernando VII had frankly to accept a constitutional program. Although Morillo endeavored to convey the idea that the events in Cádiz had little importance, the news which reached Bolívar after some delay strengthened his hope, for it seemed evident that Spanish soldiers were unwilling to come to America to fight against the insurgents.
In January, 1820, Bolívar again crossed the plains, where Páez was in command, and journeyed towards Bogotá, with the object of publishing the law establishing the Republic of Colombia. It was proclaimed there with solemnity by Santander, who, on communicating the event to the President, praised the latter with the following words: "Colombia is the only child of the immortal Bolívar." In March Bolívar was in Bogotá, where he gave the final orders for the various military operations to be conducted in the North and South.
In his absence, the Congress of Angostura decreed that he should use the official title Libertador before the word Presidente, and consider this title as his own on all occasions of his life. Many other honors were conferred upon him and his men. Grateful at heart, Bolívar devoted his attention to the stupendous task of organizing the country.
Meanwhile, Morillo, waiting for the Spanish reinforcements which never arrived, distributed his armies on the plains and in the southwest, in order to be in a position to fight Bolívar whenever the opportunity occurred. There were still nearly 15,000 men under Morillo, besides those who were in Nueva Granada occupying Cartagena and other smaller places, and those in possession of Quito. Bolívar organized another army, determined to try his forces once more against those of his powerful foe.
As a result of the revolution in Spain, Morillo had to proclaim and swear to the Spanish constitution in the provinces that he governed. This fact wrought a marked change in the position of the contending armies. The representative government established certain rights for provinces, and at the same time created the hope among the Spaniards that the revolution would end by conferring the privilege of representation on the American colonies.
The Spanish government initiated peace negotiations with the patriots, and Morillo was made president of a commission which went to talk this matter over with the heads of the Colombian revolution in July, 1820. A "Junta Pacificadora," or assembly to establish peace, was set up by Morillo in Caracas. Its first work was to send communications to the various generals to suspend military operations for a month, while settlement was being reached, and Bolívar was approached. On this occasion, Bolívar was addressed as "His Excellency, the President of the Republic." He was no longer the rebel, the insurgent or the bandit.
Bolívar was not to be deceived by any conciliatory attitude on the part of the government. He decided that all his subordinate officers should furnish every means for the conferences with the royalists, but always on the basis of the independence of Colombia.
"It will never be humiliating," he wrote in a letter to one of his officers, "to offer peace on the principles established in the declaration of the Republic of Venezuela,[1] which ought to be the foundation of all negotiations; first, because it is ordered by a law of the Republic, and second, because it is necessary according to the nature and for the salvation of Colombia."
[Footnote 1: That of November, 1818.]
Consequently, Congress answered the commissioners who came to deal with Bolívar that the sovereign congress of Colombia would listen with pleasure to all the propositions of the Spanish government, provided they were founded on the acknowledgment of the sovereignty and independence of Colombia, and that it would not admit any departure from this principle, often proclaimed by the government and people of the republic.