Sebastián Francisco de Miranda Rodríguez (Caracas, March 28, 1750 – San Fernando, Cádiz, July 14, 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda, is a Venezuelan revolutionary.

Although his own plans for the independence of the Spanish American colonies fail, he is regarded as a forerunner of Simón Bolívar, who during the Spanish American wars of independence successfully liberates a vast portion of South America.

Miranda leads a romantic and adventurous life.

An idealist, he develops a visionary plan to liberate and unify all of Spanish America but his own military initiatives on behalf of an independent Spanish America end in 1812.

He is handed over to his enemies and four years later, in 1816, dies in a Spanish prison.

Within fourteen years of his death, however, most of Spanish America is independent.