To this failure the defection of native royalists contributed, for they were alienated not so much by the presence of the Spanish troops as by the often merciless severity that marked their conduct.

The atrocities may have been provoked by the behavior of their opponents; but, be this as it may, the patriots gained recruits after each victory.
A Spanish army of more than ten thousand, under the command of Pablo Morillo, arrived in Venezuela in April, 1815.

He found the province relatively tranquil and even disposed to welcome the full restoration of royal government.

Leaving a garrison sufficient for the purpose of military occupation, Morillo sailed for Cartagena, the key to New Granada.

Besieged by land and sea, the inhabitants of the town maintained for upwards of three months a resistance which, in its heroism, privation, and sacrifice, recalled the memorable defense of Saragossa in the mother country against the French seven years before.
With Cartagena taken, regulars and loyalists united to stamp out the rebellion elsewhere.