Carlos de Montúfar y Larrea-Zurbano (Quito, November 2, 1780 - Buga, July 31, 1816) was a Creole nobleman and soldier considered one of the liberators of current

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. He fought alongside

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 ...

and was nicknamed El Caudillo.

Biography

Carlos was the third son of the marriage of Creole nobles Juan Pío de Montúfar y Larrea, II Marquis of Selva Alegre, and Teresa de Larrea y Villavicencio. His father was a politician in the independence movement developed in Quito between 1809 and 1812, a forerunner to the independence of Ecuador.

Military career

In 1805 he moved to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

to begin his military training at the Royal Academy of Nobles. He fought against the Napoleonic army in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, taking an active part as Aide-de-Camp to General Castaños in the Battle of Bailén.In 1808, considered Napoleon's first military defeat.

Royal commissioner and defender of the State of Quito

He was appointed in

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

by the Supreme Central Board as royal commissioner for the Court of

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

, with broad autonomy from the

viceroys of Peru The viceroys of Peru ruled the Viceroyalty of Peru from 1544 to 1824 in the name of the monarch of Spain. The territories under ''de jure'' rule by the viceroys included in the 16th and 17th century almost all of South America except eastern Brazi ...

and

New Granada New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia. *New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717 *Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1819 *United Provinces of ...

, in order to calm the rebel tumults. Being informed that his father had taken part in the Quito Independence movement, he decided to join the cause and fight against the Spanish. He participated in the formation of the State of Quito, which declared itself independent from Spain and promulgated its own Constitution, under the Presidency of Bishop José de Cuero y Caicedo. Montúfar took charge of the military defense of the new State and entered into combat with the forces of Toribio Montes,

Melchor Aymerich Melchior Aymerich (1754 in Ceuta – 1836 in Cuba) was a Spanish general and provincial administrator, serving as the last president of the Royal Audience of Quito from April until May 1822. One of the last Spanish colonial provinces to be ov ...

and

Juan de Sámano Juan José Francisco de Sámano y Uribarri de Rebollar y Mazorra (1753 in Selaya, Cantabria – July 1821 in Panama), was a Spanish military officer and viceroy of New Granada from 1818 to 1819, during the war of independence. Military career S ...

. On 1 December 1812, the Patriots were definitively defeated in the Battle of Ibarra, but Montúfar managed to flee and after the defeat hid in several haciendas in Cayambe and the Los Chillos valley, near Quito. He was arrested, tried for treason and deported to Spain, via Guayaquil and Panama. Upon arriving in Panama, he managed to flee and joined the Liberation Army in New Granada, where he reached the rank of colonel and fought in the southern area of present-day Colombia, where the Royalist forces of Toribio Montes and

sowed death and destruction. He fought in the Pasto Campaign under the orders of General Serviez which ended with the complete defeat of the Patriot army.

Death

On June 29, 1816, he participated in the war of independence of New Granada in the

Battle of Cuchilla del Tambo The Battle of La Cuchilla del Tambo was fought during the Colombian War of Independence, fought between the Republican troops of New Granada and the expeditionary force of the Spanish crown who came to reconquer its former colony. It took place ...

. They were defeated and many independence fighters, among them

Francisco José de Caldas Francisco José de Caldas (October 4, 1768 – October 28, 1816) was a Colombian lawyer, military engineer, self-taught naturalist, mathematician, geographer and inventor (he created the first hypsometer), who was executed by orders of Pablo Mo ...

, were captured and executed in the following days. Montúfar was also captured and sentenced to death by the Spanish general

. He was shot in the back, as a traitor, in the city of

Buga Buga may refer to: Places * Mount Buga, an inactive volcano in Zamboanga del Sur province, the Philippines * Buga (barangay), a barangay in San Miguel Municipality, Bulacan, Philippines * Buga, Valle del Cauca, city and municipality in the Colom ...

on July 31, 1816.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montufar, Carlos De 1780 births 1816 deaths People from Quito Viceroyalty of New Granada people People executed by firing squad Executed military personnel Ecuadorian military personnel