The Guayaquil's independence was the beginning of the independence of all the provinces of Ecuador and occurred the 9 of October of 1820. At that time Ecuador was under the power of the Real Hearing of Quito and was colony of the Spanish kingdom.
At the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century various national and international events developed that created the framework for the independence of the American colonies.
The independence of the United States of America in 1776 and the French Revolution made known to the world the value of freedom and the existence of rights that made all men equal. Several intellectuals traveled from Ecuador to confirm and learn.
Various political and intellectual leaders traveled to Europe with the idea of forming in the new libertarian ideology.
Among them were Simón Bolívar, José de San Martín and the Ecuadorian José María Antepara. They were motivated to follow in the footsteps of Francisco de Miranda, who had participated in several European armies and from whom they inherited the liberation ideas of the peoples of America.
During the first eight days of October, 1820, strategies were woven in Guayaquil to convene and obtain the support of various sectors that were not satisfied with the government of the Spanish crown.
After several conspiratorial meetings, it was possible to seize power on October 9, and the consequent declaration of the Free Province of Guayaquil.
History
Towards the end of the eighteenth century South America was going through an economic crisis and a great recession.
However, the province of Guayaquil in Ecuador was thriving thanks to the production of cocoa, the construction of boats and the manufacture of straw hats. In spite of the situation, the commerce prospered in the region in Guayaquil.
Meanwhile, in the intellectual elites the idea of obtaining greater autonomy of the Spanish crown was forged.
The main motivation arose because a large part of the population's profits had to be paid in taxes, which were increasingly higher because the Spanish crown needed to cover the costs of the war it faced against France.
The new political environment and the abuses of the Spanish crown made the seeds of freedom and independence germinate in many people.
The meetings of the conspirators were more frequent. José de Villamil lent his house for the meetings; there was organized the"Forge of Vulcan", a feast attended by merchants, politicians, intellectuals and sympathizers with independence.
The celebration took place on October 1 and the next day began a plan of political destabilization. Several barracks were taken for six days, until Sunday, October 9, the independence of Guayaquil was declared.
A month later, on November 8, all the towns that were part of the province were called and the new state was proclaimed as the Free Province of Guayaquil.
The president proclaimed was Jose Joaquin de Olmedo and the provisional regulation of government was dictated.
In the independent period of Guayaquil, between 1820 and 1822, a law was passed that prohibited importing slaves, as contemplated by the laws of Gran Colombia.
A manumission fund, constituted by a tax on inheritances, was also established.
Main characters
The poet Jose Joaquin de Olmedo, formed with liberal ideas, became a deputy for Guayaquil in the Cortes of Cadiz in 1812, and became the most important promoter of independence. He was the first president of the Free Province of Guayaquil.
José María de la Concepción Antepara and Arenaza was one of the precursors of the independence of Guayaquil and the main promoter of the ideas of independence after his trips to Europe and frequent encounters with Francisco de Miranda.
Upon his return, in 1914, he met with José Villamil and José Joaquín de Olmedo to begin the revolutionary cause.
Causes
In the political sphere, the independence of Guayaquil has four important antecedents: the independence of the United States of America, the French Revolution, the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte to Spain and the independence of Colombia.
At the end of the eighteenth century the printing presses of the world were in charge of promoting a new vision of man; with the Declaration of human rights originated in France gave rise to a new world order.
Wars were forged to establish republics in the manner of France, and Latin American states did not take long to claim them for them.
In the economic sphere, the Spanish crown was weak with Napoleon's attempt to overthrow King Charles IV and his son Ferdinand VII, and he began to show himself as a sovereign state by multiplying taxes to finance his war against France.
Ecuadorian merchants increasingly felt this pressure on their businesses and commerce, and created an ideal environment to promote ideas of freedom and independence.
A year before Colombia had declared the definitive independence of the Spanish crown after the Battle of Boyacá, leaving the Spanish army weak. This motivated the province of Guayaquil to fight for its independence.
Consequences
With the independence was proclaimed Free Province of Guayaquil, a republic that lasted two years. Subsequently, Ecuador declared its independence completely and adopted it again as a province.
The new proclamation of freedom gave origin to the battles of the south, that culminated with the famous battle of Pichincha.
Once the royalist forces were defeated in the battle of Pichincha, on May 24, 1822, President Bolivar acted against the incipient state of Quito and on July 13 he submitted to the then independent province of Guayaquil.
All of Ecuador was incorporated into the Republic of Colombia. In 1830 Ecuador recovered its independence and also its name like state, with the fall of the power of Bolivar and the destabilization of the Colombian policy.
References
- Cubitt, D.J., & Cubitt, D.A. (1985). Economic nationalism in post-independence Ecuador: The Guayaquil Commercial Code of 1821-1825. Ibero-Amerikanisches Archiv , eleven (1), 65-82.
- Conniff, M.L. (1977). Guayaquil through independence: urban development in a colonial system. The Americas , 33 (3), 385-410.
- Rodríguez, J. E. (2004). From fidelity to revolution: the process of independence of the old province of Guayaquil, 1809-1820. Processes. Ecuadorian history magazine , 1 (21), 35-88.
- Cubitt, D. J. (1982). The Social Composition of a Hispano-American Elite to Independence: Guayaquil in 1820. Magazine of History of America , (94), 7-31.
- Gray, W. H. (1947). Bolívar's conquest of Guayaquil. Hispanic American Historical Review , 603-622.