The October 9 Revolution was a successful revolt against the Spanish Empire in Guayaquil on October 9, 1820. It was led by the General Antonio José de Sucre and directed by Simón Bolívar. The revolt established a revolutionary junta and created the Free Province of Guayaquil, an independent state. The independence of Guayaquil revived the war of independence of the Real Audiencia de Quito as part of the Spanish American wars of independence. Prominent events in the revolution include the uprising of the Spanish garrison in the city of Guayaquil (formed essentially by the Cuzco Reserve Grenadier regiment) and the control of the Pacific by the Liberating Expedition of Peru, under the command of José de San Martín.
After military setbacks, Simón Bolívar's reached out to Sucre to come to Guayaquil. The liberating army included Ecuadorians from the Inter-Andean and Coastal regions, Granadans from Venezuela, Colombia, Peruvians and Spaniards who were supporters of the cause.
In traditional Ecuadorian history, several popular uprisings such as the "Crisis de las Alcabalas" in 1592, and the "Rebelión de los Estancos" in 1765 have been seen as precursors to the city's independence.
The first uprising calling for a Creole government and independence from Spain in the Real Audiencia of Quito was on August 10, 1809. This was promoted among certain sectors of the Quito population by the works and legacy of Eugenio Espejo. This event is traditionally known as the "First Cry of Independence", however, the leaders of the cause never spoke clearly of independence, but more of political autonomy concerning the metropolis and the capital of the viceroyalty. They swore allegiance to King Ferdinand VII, thus opposing the invasion that Spain was suffering at the time by Napoleon's French troops, and the proclamation of Joseph Bonaparte as the new king. The troops sent by the Viceroy of Peru, José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa, on whom the Real Audiencia of Quito depended at the time, put an end to the popular resistance on November 8, 1810.
Other causes that influenced the independence of Guayaquil were the emancipatory campaigns in the northern region of South America, led by Simón Bolívar. Also, the advent of José de San Martín's expedition to liberate Peru from Chile together with Lord Thomas Cochrane's naval campaigns blockading the main ports of the South Pacific, such as Callao and Guayaquil, weakened the Spanish forces of the Quito Audiencia.
Prominent figures of the revolution include Dr. José Joaquín de Olmedo, José de Antepara, and General José de Villamil.
Background
First uprisings in the Real Audiencia of Quito
In colonial times, there were various rebellions against the Spanish regime. In the Real Audiencia of Quito, between July 1592 and April 1593, the Crisis of the Alcabalas took place. It resulted in a confrontation between Criollos, supported by the councils, and the Crown, who defended the interests of the Audiencia. The main reason for these events was the alcabala taxes imposed on the entire Viceroyalty of Peru for the Criollos, exempting the indigenous people. The reason for these taxes was the costly wars Spain was waging in northern Europe. The disturbances led to violent confrontations that were controlled by troops sent by the Viceroy of Peru. As a consequence of these uprisings, the council was sanctioned and the autonomy that the city of Quito had enjoyed was diminished.Hachette Castell Volume 2, p.746
The political, administrative, and economic changes of the Audiencia, established by the Spaniards in 1765, provoked a new confrontation between criollos and chapetones. Known as the Rebellion of the Estancos, the uprising sought the return of a decentralized government like that previously implemented by the Spanish monarchs of the House of Austria and the House of Bourbon.It wanted to restore the level of participation that the local sectors had in the state decisions. The King of Spain Felipe V, using an ordinance, nationalized the production and distribution of aguardiente. The rebels protested because the sale of this product had been established as free in 1738. This fact strengthened the power that the Criollo elite possessed.
Revolutionary idealism and international factors
After the American Revolution, the movement against European colonialism in the Americas began to take shape. The American independence victory in 1776 had repercussions that affected not just other American countries, but the European continent itself where historical, economic, and military rivalries remained. Several European empires contributed economically and militarily to the North American revolutionaries in an effort to weaken the British.
In Latin America, especially in the Spanish colonies, the figure of Napoleon Bonaparte was fundamental. In 1808, Napoleonic French forces invaded Spain, with the firm desire to occupy the Iberian Peninsula and thus consolidate the formation of the First French Empire. Over time, King Carlos IV was forced to abdicate in the city of Bayonne in favor of his son, Fernando VII.
King Ferdinand VII abdicated almost immediately, with Napoleon Bonaparte naming his brother, José Bonaparte, as King of Spain. The Statute of Bayonne was manifested, recognizing the autonomy of the American provinces from Spanish rule. The fact that inhabitants of those immense territories, never wanted to accept the plans of the emperor is essential to understanding the emancipation movements.
Quito rebellion
Eugenio Espejo instilled the first independence sentiments in Quito Criollo society, with publications such as "El Nuevo Luciano de Quito" and later, the newspaper, "Primicias de la cultura de Quito". For his actions, he was persecuted and imprisoned several times by the Spanish authorities. One of the people influenced by Espejo was Juan Pío Montúfar, II Marquis of Selva Alegre. Together with several other enlightened Quito citizens, such as Juan de Dios Morales and Manuel Rodríguez de Quiroga, they planned to overthrow president Manuel Ruiz Urriés de Castilla. Their actions mirrored the sentiments of many in Spain who were rejecting the new French administration and constituting themselves as sovereign boards loyal to Ferdinand VII.
The Quito revolution took place on August 10, 1809, with the installation of the president Marquis of Selva Alegre, who recognized King Ferdinand VII as the only legitimate authority. All Ecuadorians celebrate the revolt of August 10, 1809, as the day of independence. It was the inspiration for many other revolts seeking independence from the Spanish yoke.
The organizers of the August 10 revolution were imprisoned and put on trial. In an attempt to pacify the region, Lima troops commanded by Manuel de Arredondo were sent in. An uprising ensued against the military occupation. However, the revolt was brutally beaten down by the Lima troops, resulting in the murder of approximately 300 people, roughly 1% of the city's population.
As a consequence of these events, and the arrival of Carlos Montúfar, Royal Commissioner of the Central Board, a second Sovereign Board was established. In light of actions occurring in other territories held by the Spanish in the Americas, the independent State of Quito was created on December 11, 1811.
However, the State of Quito had an ephemeral existence, given that the viceregal troops that arrived from Lima under the command of Toribio Montes, progressively defeated the Quito armies, until they conquered the city in the Battle of El Panecillo, on November 8, 1812. The Royalist victory was secured on December 1, 1812 in the Battle of Ibarra.
Beginnings of the Spanish-American War of Independence with Spain In 1808, Spain was weakened by the wars in Europe and saw conflicts begin in all of South America. In Mexico, the political crisis of 1808 originated, and in Montevideo, like several other places later, designated self-government boards were created, thus originating the Spanish-American wars of independence.
Among the independence leaders, also called liberators, are most of the "fathers of the country" of the Latin American countries, such as Simón Bolívar, José de San Martín, José Artigas, Francisco de Paula Santander, Bernardo O'Higgins, Antonio José de Sucre, Miguel Hidalgo and José María Morelos, among others.
Bolívar, one of the most prominent leaders of South American emancipation, began the wars of independence in the Captaincy General of Venezuela, also extending to the Viceroyalty of New Granada. Among his most outstanding exploits is the Admirable Campaign and his time in Jamaica and Haiti. Already in 1818, the situation of the Spanish Army in Venezuela became untenable and several Spanish generals were forced to withdraw some of their forces from New Granada to try to contain Bolívar. By then the political and military situation was good enough to think about the organization of a State and that is how the Supreme Congress of the Republic was installed in Angostura in 1819.
The proclamation of the birth of Gran Colombia and the presence of the independence armies near its borders, made the royalist forces in the Real Audiencia of Quito mobilize and several sectors were left unprotected. This was followed by the Battle of Pantano de Vargas on July 25, 1819, and the Battle of Boyacá on August 7, 1819, which resulted in a great victory for Bolívar and the revolutionary army.
As a result, the military attention of the Quito Presidency would focus on controlling the northern borders.
Beginnings of the campaign
La Fragua de Vulcano
One of the forerunners of Guayaquil independence was José María de la Concepción de Antepara y Arenaza, who, after living in Europe and meeting characters with independence ideals such as Francisco de Miranda, returned to the city of Guayaquil in 1814 and quickly established friendships with supporters of emancipation such as José de Villamil and José Joaquín de Olmedo.
León de Febres Cordero, Luis Urdaneta and Miguel de Letamendi, of Venezuelan origin, belonged to the Numancia Battalion but for their ideals in favor of emancipatory revolutions they were expelled and sent to their homeland. The ship, which was destined to disembark in Venezuela, arrived in Guayaquil and remained there for several weeks, during which time the military met several leaders of the idea of making the province of Guayaquil independent.
On October 1, 1820, Villamil and Antepara visit the house of Pedro Morlás, and after a conversation in which they expose their ideals, Isabela Morlás, daughter of the host, proposes the organization of a dance, to which they agree and this would be organized by Doña Ana Garaycoa de Villamil, wife of José de Villamil.
Both Antepara and Villamil saw the young woman's request as the perfect pretext to shape a revolution that would end dependency on Spain, which is why they invited several characters who shared their independence ideals, including José Joaquín de Olmedo, Gregorio Escobedo, second in command of the Spanish garrison, Dr. Luis Fernando Vivero, Francisco de Paula Lavayen, José Rivas, Manuel de Fajardo, José Correa and the Venezuelans Febres Cordero, Urdaneta and Letamendi.Villamil, p.12
On the night of Sunday, October 1, and after the meeting to which the most prestigious families of the city were invited, the host José de Villamil gathered the guests that he and Antepara considered vital for the triumph of emancipation. That meeting would be known as the "La Fragua de Vulcano" (in Spanish: The Forge of Vulcano) and it is the night in which the uprising plan of several royalist barracks began to be designed.
Organization and planning