Pedro Camejo, also known as Negro Primero ("The First Black"), was a Venezuelan soldier that fought with the Royal Army and later with the Independence Army during the Venezuelan War of Independence, reaching the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

. 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

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

Biography

Pedro Camejo was born a slave, property of a Spanish royalist Vincente Alonzo on March 30, 1790, in

San Juan de Payara San Juan de Payara is a city in Apure State in Venezuela. It is the shire town A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, ...

. He gained his freedom in 1816 after enlisting in the military to fight in the war for independence. 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 The Battle of Carabobo, on 24 June 1821, was fought between independence fighters, led by Venezuelan General Simón Bolívar, and the Royalist forces, led by Spanish Field Marshal Miguel de la Torre. Bolívar's decisive victory at Carabobo le ...

, he fought with one of the cavalry regiments of the first division commanded by José Antonio Páez. Eduardo Blanco, in his book ''

Venezuela Heroica ''Venezuela Heroica: Cuadros históricos'' is a Venezuelan novel. It was written by Eduardo Blanco and published in 1881, with an expanded second edition in 1883. It is Blanco's main work, and presents a classic romantic view of history as an epi ...

'', 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".

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Camejo, Pedro 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