First independence from Ecuador

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The first independence from Ecuador is one of the earliest expressions of the desire for self-determination in the context of the wars of independence in South America. It ranges from the revolt of the merchants of Quito in 1809 to the final annihilation of the republic by Peruvian troops of the Peruvian viceroy José Fernando Abascal y Sousa in December 1812.

foreplay

Dissatisfied with the deficient Spanish colonial administration, inspired by the desire for self-determination and triggered by the French rule in the royal judicial district of Quito (roughly within the boundaries of today's Ecuador), an elite met in December 1808 the gates of Quito to discuss measures that ultimately aimed at a detachment from motherland Spain . Under the direction of the former President of the Royal Court of Justice (who was de facto sovereign in the colonial era) Juan Pio Montúfar y Larrea , Duke of Selva-Alegre, some dignitaries at Chillo's summer residence discussed possible ways of getting rid of the French on the one hand and the Spanish trade monopoly on the other override. Since Spaniards also took part in the conspiracy, there was no talk of independence, but only of self-government, based on Spain.

The first autonomous government

After weeks of preparation, the opportunity arose at the end of March 1809 to instigate an uprising, which, however, failed. However, since the situation did not change, the rioters waited for a new opportunity to rebel. This came at the beginning of August when a government junta was formed from the elite of the country under Montúfar, who felt themselves to be neglected. At dawn, the court president's palace was stormed and the guards taken by surprise. Manuel de Urriez, Count Ruiz de Castilla, was removed from office and the junta, to which the bishop of Quito (only after the independence archdiocese), Juan Caicedo y Cuero, belonged, seized power. However, since this government assembly was reluctant to declare itself independent from Spain, and even took the oath of allegiance to (the not yet enthroned) Ferdinand VII , the acceptance of the population was low. Quickly set up militias maintained order, but the autocratic Montúfar government had little support from the Ecuadorians.

Quick end and penalties

These events sparked concern in the two neighboring viceroys of Peru and New Granada , and the two viceroys sent troops to put down the rebellion. In the meantime, twenty-five companies had been set up in Quito to defend the new order, operating under the name “Phalanx of Quito”. In view of the approach of two strong armies from the north and south, desertions spread, which the Commander-in-Chief Juan de Salinas countered by allowing the royal troops from New Granada to approach. On October 16, the Ecuadorians were defeated by the Spaniards of New Granadas in the first on October 16, still on New Renadin territory, on the tarabita (holding or guide rope over a river or a gorge) near Funes, about 30 kilometers south of today's provincial capital of Nariño , Pasto Battle of the Wars of Independence in South America.

Without the now completely lost military support for the new government and in view of the advancing colonial troops, the junta around Montúfar was forced to resign. By negotiating a return of state power to the Spaniards, an agreement was reached with de Urriez, which on the one hand assured the rebels mildness, but on the other hand guaranteed more participation in the future. On October 29, the old president of the court was back in office and the old conditions were almost restored. While the new Renadins apparently withdrew, the Peruvians under Manuel Arredondo marched into Quito in November. They attached importance both to the absolute restoration of absolute power in Spain and to punishing the rebels.

Apparently, the president of the court had neither the means nor the will to oppose the wishes of the Peruvians. The ringleaders were arrested, their property confiscated and tried. Death sentences were also passed. This breach of word by de Urriez in connection with the unpunished plundering of Quito by the Peruvians now generated solidarity with the idea of ​​rebellion in broad strata of the population, which the Montúfar government had never achieved.

Another agreement after the uprising

On August 2, 1810, the Quito population was full, and an attempt was made to free the captured patriots. The insurgents incarcerated in the prison were almost effortlessly removed from custody, but the top leaders who were housed in the barracks with the Peruvian troops were executed when the military facilities were attacked. The figures vary between 100 and 300 fatalities on that day. Bishop Caicedo, who of course had not been prosecuted, brokered negotiations between Creoles and Spaniards two days later, the result of which was a so-called real acuerdo . This "royal bargain" was a legal tool in times of need that allowed the Creoles to participate in government. In addition, it was agreed that the Peruvians would withdraw and that their own army would henceforth guarantee the integrity of the government and the judicial district. The surviving rioters from last year have been rehabilitated and their property has been restored.

The new government

Another agreement related to receiving the Spanish regional representative, whom the Regency Council had sent to South America to promote self-determination (but because of the French) in South America. The son of the Duke of Selva-Alegre and Humboldt friend Carlos Montúfar had been entrusted with this task and since his arrival in New Granada on his way to Ecuador had repeatedly called for detachment from Spain and garnered much approval. In his home country, in September, he achieved the restoration of the junta of 1809 after just a week. Quito was thus effectively self-determined, but large parts of the royal judicial district were still indifferent or on the side of the Spaniards. The conversions to independence that Bishop Caicedo achieved in his homeland, the lower Cauca Valley in Colombia, would also have been important in his ministry. Especially since Abascal from Lima had Guayaquil , which was administratively bound to Peru in colonial times, practically annexed by means of a military governor.

Resistance was particularly strong in the south of the country, especially since Abascal sent troops to support it. This called Carlos Montúfar on the plan, who undertook a southern campaign in January 1811 with recruited troops. In the meantime, the Royal Court of Justice had been re-established in Cuenca and Melchior Aymerich drew against the mostly victorious separatists. A good fifty kilometers north of Cuenca, in Paredones, on February 20, the battle between the armies of Montúfar and Aymerich broke out. Although the meeting ended in a draw, Aymerich withdrew and left the ground to Montúfar. However, he did not use the good opportunity to subjugate Cuenca and thus liberate the south of Ecuador. This opened a gateway for the Spaniards of Peru, which they could use the following year with devastating consequences.

In addition to the liberation of the northern coastal region in today 's Esmeraldas province , Pedro Montúfar, a brother of Juan Pio, managed to undertake a successful campaign in the south of New Granada, which came to a successful end with the capture of Pasto in February. The Republicans in Colombia had repeatedly failed in this task and soon afterwards lost the royalist bastion again (see The First Republic of Colombia ). Therefore, Pedro Montúfar returned in September with a strong army and entered Pasto on September 22nd after victorious battles. But securing the northern border of Ecuador also proved to be not permanent.

independence

Due to the colonial administrative structures, Ecuador was then dependent on the viceroyalty of New Granada. Because Bogotá's separatists were reluctant to emancipate themselves from Spain, the junta in Quito dissolved the administrative unit on October 8th and declared itself independent from Spain on October 10th (the name also applied to the country at that time). The following day, de Urriez resigned as president of the court and the junta, led by Bishop Caicedo, took over the business of government. Nevertheless, one still confessed to Ferdinand VII.

In mid-February 1812, the “State of Quito” gave itself its own constitution, which believed to finally establish independence. Now the majority of the population also supported their new state. Just one day after the new constitution was promulgated, there were serious attacks on the former colonial rulers. De Urriez, who had never been forgiven for running the firing squad for José Gabriel Condorcanqui , who as Tupac Amaru II instigated a continent-wide uprising against the Spaniards in 1780, was killed in the street by an angry mob. In addition to expropriations, there were other executions without the victims having been tried.

The terrible end

Since in New Granada the like-minded people controlled large parts of the country, this time only the Spaniards in Peru reacted to the events of February. In June a Peruvian army moved into southern Ecuador again, where the royalists were still in charge. Melchior Aymerich suffered a decisive defeat on his advance, but the campaign of Toribio Montes, to which Aymerich submitted a month later, advanced inexorably to the north. Montes had been installed by the Regency Council in Cádiz as President of the Royal Court of Justice in Quito and charged with the military suppression of the uprising.

Carlos Montúfar had gone against the Spaniards, but succumbed to them several times with his troops from August to October. Also because there was internal resistance in the ranks of the patriots, based on the fact that the Montúfar clan, which held many important posts, did not want to break away from Ferdinand VII. This weakened the republic itself and consequently they could not stop the advance of Montes. At the beginning of November, the royalists moved into Quito after further victories. The remnants of the army of the republic withdrew to the north, were defeated again in Ibarra at the end of the month and Aymerich rubbed the last remnants on December 6 at Lake Yawarcocha near Ibarra (quetschua: blood lake; because 1487 Inca troops from Huayna Cápac the Caranqui - Indians almost wiped out) finally. Among the few survivors of the battle was Carlos Montúfar, who fled to New Granada, where he joined the local patriots and, like them, fell victim to the Spanish reconquest expedition of Pablo Morillo in 1816 .

The draconian punishments of the new court president Montes prevented a revival of the idea of ​​independence in Ecuador for years. New hope only emerged in 1819 when Bolívar liberated New Granada with the Battle of Boyacá . Ecuador was finally liberated by Antonio José Sucre with the Battle of Pichincha in 1822.

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Web links

  • Overview of the events in the Ecuador chapters in the years 1809-1812 ( table of contents )