Morillo was a very clever soldier; it is said that Wellington himself recommended that he should be chosen, as the Spaniard ablest to subject Venezuela and New Granada. He was as harsh as he was clever, and was ready to wage a war of extermination. By the time Morillo reached the continent, Venezuela was in the hands of Spain. That was at the end of 1814, a fatal year for the cause of independence. From New Spain to the south, the Spanish armies seemed to encounter no resistance. Morillo likened the silence and peace he found everywhere to the silence and peace of the cemeteries. There was no government anywhere, not even military authority. Crime prevailed; cupidity and vengeance were the guiding principles of the chieftains. After leaving a garrison at Margarita and Cumaná, Morillo went to Caracas, where he arrived on the 11th of May, immediately taking Cagigal's place as captain general. There he published a proclamation announcing that he was ready to go to Nueva Granada with his army, and, after levying exorbitant tributes in money from the citizens and securing in the most outrageous manner all the provisions he could possibly obtain, he sailed from Puerto Cabello for Cartagena with 8,500 men, while Morales with 3,500 advanced by land against the city. Cartagena resisted the siege in such an admirable manner as to have her name placed side by side with the most heroic cities of history. The besiegers had all kinds of war material; the city lacked all. Still, Cartagena fought constantly during one hundred and six days. The city was then almost in ruins; its inhabitants were starving in the gutters; soldiers and civilians were dying. When Morillo entered its streets he found them almost deserted, and he made the few remaining persons suffer the worst tortures he could devise. The able-bodied men succeeded in escaping by sea. Several more victories placed all of Nueva Granada in the power of Morillo. The Congress had to dissolve and the Spaniards entered Santa Fé, marking their entrance with the execution of more than 600 Americans, among them men of the greatest prominence and highest social standing. All hope for the liberty of South America seemed to be lost. Bolívar arrived in Kingston in May, 1815, where he was very well received personally by the governor. But he failed to obtain any substantial help for an expedition to the mainland. Learning of the propaganda being made everywhere against the cause of independence, he once more used his pen to counteract this influence. His most important writing during his stay in Jamaica was a letter addressed on September 6, 1815, to a gentleman of the island, in which he analyzed the causes of the American failure and the reasons he had to hope for the final success of the cause. The "Letter of Jamaica" is counted as one of the greatest documents from the pen of Bolívar.