Pedro Camejo
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Pedro Felipe Camejo | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Negro primero |
Born | March 30, 1790 San Juan de Payara, Captaincy General of Venezuela, Spanish Empire |
Died | June 24, 1821 Tocuyito, Gran Colombia | (aged 31)
Allegiance | ![]() |
Years of service | 1809 - 1821 |
Rank | Lieutenant |
Battles/wars | Venezuelan War of Independence
Battle of Las Queseras del Medio Battle of Carabobo |
Awards | Order of the Liberators |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Bandera_de_Pedro_Camejo.png/220px-Bandera_de_Pedro_Camejo.png)
Pedro Camejo, also known as Negro Primero 'The First Black' was a Venezuelan soldier that fought with the Royal Army and later with the Rebel Army during the Venezuelan War of Independence, reaching the rank of lieutenant. The nickname Negro Primero was inspired by his bravery and skill in handling spears, and because he was always in the first line of attack on the battlefield. It is also attributed to his having been the only black officer in the army of Simon Bolívar.[1]
Biography[]
Pedro Camejo was born a slave, property of a Spanish royalist Vincente Alonzo on March 30, 1790, in San Juan de Payara.[2] He gained his freedom in 1816 after enlisting in the military to fight in the war for independence.[3] Camejo was one of the 150 lancers who participated in the Battle of Las Queseras del Medio, later receiving the Order of Liberators of Venezuela for his participation. In the Battle of Carabobo, he fought with one of the cavalry regiments of the first division commanded by José Antonio Páez. Eduardo Blanco, in his book Venezuela Heroica, describes the moment when Camejo presented himself before General Páez with an unfailing voice said to him: "My general, I come to tell you goodbye, because I am dead".[4]
References[]
- ^ orinocotribune (March 3, 2019). "Venezuela's Celebrated Black Soldier Who Led Their War of Independence in the 1800s". Orinoco Tribune - News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ "Pedro Camejo, nuestro Negro Primero". Haiman El Troudi (in Spanish). June 7, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ Ross, Catherine (2009), "Camejo, Pedro or Negro Primero (1790–1821)", The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest, American Cancer Society, pp. 1–1, doi:10.1002/9781405198073.wbierp0286, ISBN 978-1-4051-9807-3, retrieved July 13, 2021
- ^ "Pedro Camejo, 200 years in the heart of the town". Últimas Noticias. June 11, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
External links[]
- "Biografía: Pedro Camejo (el Negro Primero)" (in Spanish).[dead link]
- "Pedro Camejo (Negro Primero)" (in Spanish). Venezuela: venezuelatuya.com.
- 1790 births
- 1821 deaths
- People from Apure
- People of the Venezuelan War of Independence
- Venezuelan soldiers
- History of Venezuela
- Venezuelan revolutionaries
- Burials at the National Pantheon of Venezuela