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, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. He fought alongside

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

and was nicknamed El Caudillo.

Biography

Carlos was the third son of the marriage of Creole nobles

Juan Pío de Montúfar y Larrea ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

, 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 Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

, 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 in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

by the Supreme Central Board as

royal commissioner A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equiv ...

for the Court of

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

, with broad autonomy from the

viceroys of Peru A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

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 1822 *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 State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, which declared itself independent from Spain and promulgated its own Constitution, under the Presidency of Bishop

José de Cuero y Caicedo José de Cuero y Caicedo was a bishop and politician who served as President of Ecuador, Vice President of Sovereign Board of Quito, Bishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quito, and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuenca. Personal life He was ...

. Montúfar took charge of the military defense of the new State and entered into combat with the forces of

Toribio Montes Toribio Montes y Pérez (baptised 7 May 1749. Isabel Sánchez, José Luis"Toribio Montes y Pérez". ''Diccionario Biográfico electrónico'' (''DB~e'').Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved 6 July 2023. – 31 December 1830) was a soldier and S ...

Melchor Aymerich Melchior de Aymerich (Ceuta, Spain, 5 January 1754 – Havana, Cuba, 11 August 1836) was a Spanish general and provincial administrator, serving as the last president of the Royal Audience of Quito from April until May 1822. Biography He ...

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 the last viceroy of Viceroyalty of New Granada, New Granada from March 9, 1818 to August 9, 1 ...

. 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

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 Neogranadine lawyer, military engineer, self-taught naturalist, mathematician, geographer and inventor (he created the first hypsometer), who was executed by orders of Gene ...

, 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: * Buga (surname) 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 municipa ...

on July 31, 1816.

Burial

On the centenary occasion of the Battle of Pichincha, the "Junta del Centenario" hizo the respective managements to repatriate our restaurants. It was brought to Quito from Buga on May 23, 1922 and was co-located in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Quito, where it was up to date.

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