Ecuador: War of Independence (1820-1822)

• Led by Antonio José de Sucre
• Won over spanish royalists on Cerro Pichincha (Andean volcano)
• Authorized rebels to occupy nearby Quito the day after the battle
• Simón Bolívar (leader of the revolutionary forces in northern South America) was acclaimed liberator.

• 1820- leaders of the independence movement in Guayaquil poorly organized a small army to capture Quito.
• Captured Cuenca (City in the Andes in southern Ecuador)
• Defeated by Spanish forces at the Battle of Huachi.
• 1821- Bolívar sent Antonio José de Sucre to Guayaquil to organize a second attempt.
• Sucre raised an army and marched into Quito in July, 1821, but was defeated at the Second Battle of Huachi.

• Night of May 23, Sucre ordered his men to move on Quito- Wanted to fight on Pichincha volcano.
• Next morning, the armies fought.
• Sucre’s forces had become spread out during march- Spanish were able to decimate leading unit before the rear guard caught up.
• When the rebel Scots-Irish Albión Battalion wiped out a Spanish elite force- royalists were forced to retreat.
• Spanish were defeated- Ecuador was able to break away from Crown (Spain)

Origin: Written by Christopher Minster, who is a Latin American History Expert.

Purpose: The purpose of this document/source is to teach the reader about the Battle of Pichincha, which was the battle that got Ecuador its Independence.

Values: It is written by a Latin American History Expert, the author focuses on both sides of the Battle, the Royalists vs. South American Rebels, which gives an insight into what both sides could have been thinking and also how each side decided to approach the battle.

Limitation: It wasn't written during the same time period as the event happened and the author mostly focuses on one side.

Criollos

Failing Economy

Enlightenment Ideas

• Brought to Quito
• Spread throughout Royal Audience of Quito
• Concepts of equality and freedom
• Nationalism- national identity
• Individualism- wanted Independence

• Criollos entered revolutionary picture = independence really began to take form.
• Resented privileges given to Peninsulares.
• Sought for Independence from Crown (Spain)
• Napoleon invaded Spain.
• King Ferdinand VII was overthrow
• Napoleon's brother took over throne.

Causes of the War of Independence

• 18th century- brought hardship to Spain & colonies, including modern day Ecuador.
• As a result of the economic depression in Spain & its colonies, it set stage for the independence of Ecuador.

Bibliography:

Economy:

Ideas & Social:

Ecuadorian Economy

• Separation- negative effects in terms of economic efficiency:
• Commercial links- no longer guaranteed
• Costs in defense and law enforcement-duplicated
• Coordination in the supplying of public goods- more difficult
• Challenge of creating a new fiscal (government revenue, i.e taxes), monetary system & domestic financial market.
• Had debt- first half of the nineteenth century- tax revenues stagnated & military expenses increased.

You can see that the causes for Ecuador's independence are similar to the overall causes for Latin American Revolutions.

Caste System

• Individualism was achieved- broke away from Spanish rule
• Nationalism was achieved- became independent.
• Equality & Freedom- Criollos & Peninsulares- still social classes.
• Dominated by a white, European–oriented oligarchy.
• Ethic conflicts
• 1860- 1875- Blacks & Mestizos- unified force aiming at the position of the whites.
• Today- Social Classes- Upper, Middle & Lower
• Lower- blacks
• Middle- refer to themselves as white/ white mestizo- show superiority.
• Upper- whites

After Independence

Halberstadt, Jason. "The Struggle for Independence." The Struggle for Independence. Ecuador Explorer, 1997. Web. 25 May 2015. <http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com/html/struggle_for_independence.html>.

"Ecuadorian War of Independence." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Apr. 2015. Web. 25 May 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuadorian_War_of_Independence>.

Halberstadt, Jason. "First Years of Independence." First Years of Independence. Ecuador Explorer, 1997. Web. 25 May 2015. <http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com/html/first_years_of_independence.html>.

Suasnavas, Carlos. "Ecuador: The Cry for Independence 200 Years Ago · Global Voices." Global Voices Overall RSS 20. Global Voices, 09 Aug. 2009. Web. 25 May 2015. <https://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/08/09/ecuador-the-cry-for-independence-200-years-ago/>.

Minster, Christopher. "The Battle of Pichincha." About Education. About Education, 2015. Web. 25 May 2015. <http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/thehistoryofecuador/p/battlepichincha.htm>.

"HISTORY OF ECUADOR." HISTORY OF ECUADOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2015. <http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab93>.

U.S. Library of Congress. "Ecuador - THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE." Ecuador - THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. Country Studies, n.d. Web. 25 May 2015. <http://countrystudies.us/ecuador/7.htm>.

ray! Here's your new citation:

"History of Ecuador." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 May 2015. Web. 25 May 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ecuador#Spanish_colonial_era>.

Lonely Planet. "Ecuador." History of Ecuador. Lonely Planet, 2015. Web. 25 May 2015. <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ecuador/history>.

Bulmer-Thomas, Victor. "Latin American Economic Development." The Economic History of Latin America since Independence (2014): 1-19. London School of Economics. London School of Economics, Feb. 2005. Web. 25 May 2015. <http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/22482/1/wp10.pdf>.

ray! Here's your new citation:

Every Culture. "Countries and Their Cultures." Culture of Ecuador. Every Culture, 2015. Web. 25 May 2015. <http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Ecuador.html>.

Political:

• Economy, like in Spain, suffered a severe depression throughout most of the 18th century.
• Textile production dropped between 50- 75 percent between 1700 & 1800.
• By 1790 the elite was reduced to poverty, selling haciendas and jewelry in order to survive.
• Native Ecuadorian population- experienced an overall improvement- work under less arduous conditions on either haciendas (a large plantation) or traditional communal lands.

• Criollos- Spanish people born in the New World.
• Peninsulares- Spanish people born in Spain.
• Criollos were considered inferior to Peninsulares.
• Caste system was in force throughout the Spanish colonies the New World since the 16th century.
• Higher offices were held by Peninsulares.
• Peninsulares often owned large quantities of land.
• Peninsulares worked to preserve Spanish power & acted as agents of patrol.

Borders of present day Ecuador.

• Bolívar’s dream was to form a united South America.
• Began by merging Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador- Gran Colombia- eight years.
• Venezuela withdrew from Gran Colombia- Ecuador followed
• Ecuador drafted the first of its many constitutions & formally dissolved its association with Gran Colombia.
• Ecuador becoming fully independent in 1830.
• 1830- Treaty with Peru- drew boundary.
• 1942- border was redrawn after war with Peru. Now acknowledged since1998.

A chart showing the Social Classes in the Spanish Colonies.

OPVL

http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/thehistoryofecuador/p/battlepichincha.htm

Victory by South American Rebels

First Two Attempts

Conclusion

Before Independence

Region:

March to Quito

In conclusion, the Ecuadorian War of Independence was a success, but also a failure. Problems regarding economy and ideas weren't solved after independence, however they did manage to break away from Spain and create their own Nation.

The Battle

• 1544-1563- Ecuador was a Spanish colony in the New World- Viceroyalty of Peru.
• Within the viceroyalty- own audiencia in 1563- allowed to deal directly with Madrid on certain matters.
• The Quito Audiencia.
• Remained a part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until 1720- joined Viceroyalty of New Granada

New Tactic

Battle of Pichincha

• January 1822- Sucre was ready to try again.
• New army took a different tactic.
• Cuenca was captured again, preventing communication between Quito and Lima.
• Army of approx. 1,700 consisted of Ecuadorians, Colombians sent by Bolívar, a troop of British, Spanish who had switched sides, and French.
• February- reinforced by 1,300 Peruvians, Chileans and Argentines sent by San Martín.
• By May, they had reached the city of Latacunga.

A map of the viceroyalty of New Granada, which Ecuador became a part of in 1720.

• Aymerich (leader of Spanish troops)-placed his strongest forces in defensive positions.
• Sucre did not want to lead his men straight into the enemy- decided to go around them and attack from the rear.
• Up Cotopaxi volcano and around Spanish positions.
• It worked- able to get into the valleys behind Quito.

Research Question:

Was the Ecuadorian War of Independence a success or a failure?

Thesis Statement:

The Ecuadorian War of Independence was somewhat of a successful revolution, but it was also a failure to some extent. Ecuador got their independence and some ideas were achieved, but it terms of economy and social, it was a failure.

Ecuador: War of Independence (1820-1822)