Battle of Camino Real | |||||||
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Part of the Ecuadorian War of Independence | |||||||
![]() Charge of the "División Protectora de Quito" | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
León de Febres-Cordero Luis Urdaneta | Antonio Fominaya Damián Alba | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1 cavalry battalion 6 infantry battalions | 300 men | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
unknown | unknown |
The Battle of Camino Real, was the first battle in the Ecuadorian War of Independence, that took place on 9 November 1820. The battle was fought between Royalist soldiers in support of the Spanish Empire, and the Patriot forces of the Free Province of Guayaquil, who won the battle.
The Royal Audiencia of Quito had been a Royalist stronghold after the brutal suppression of the Quito Revolution (1809–1812).
But after Bolívar's campaign which liberated Colombia in 1819, the Patriots in Guayaquil regained courage and organized in 1820 the successful October 9 Revolution, which led to the establishment of the Free Province of Guayaquil . The Guayaquil revolutionaries decided that their first objective should be the liberation of the capital Quito, and raised an army to this end.
The combat took place in the Camino Real sector, near the small town of Bilován, south of the city of Guaranda. The Guayaquil troops advanced towards the northwest, in an attempt to reach Quito. However, the Royalists had fortified themselves in Camino Real with the aim of stopping the Patriots and after this, organize an attack on the city of Guayaquil itself, and thus end the rebellion within the Royal Audiencia of Quito.
The Guayaquil forces, or the so-called División Protectora de Quito, were commanded by Colonels Luis Urdaneta and León de Febres-Cordero, while the Royalists was led by Colonel Antonio Fominaya. The Royalists had prepared several ambushes, however, the pro-independence troops were alerted to Fominaya's movements, after which they conceived and developed a strategy that allowed them to win the battle and, subsequently, make the Royalists retreat towards the north.
The victory at Camino Real raised the hope of the Guayaquil troops in their desire to advance to the capital and thereby consolidate the independence of Guayaquil. However, in the following weeks, the Patriot troops suffered serious defeats that would jeopardize their independence.
But in 1821, they obtained help from Gran Colombia and with this they were able to achieve the final objective after a campaign that would last for 2 years.
Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá, known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho", was a Venezuelan general and politician who served as the president of Bolivia from 1825 to 1828. A close friend and associate of Simón Bolívar, he was one of the primary leaders of South America's struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire.
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The Ecuadorian War of Independence, part of the Spanish American wars of independence of the early 19th century, was fought from 1809 to 1822 between Spain and several South American armies over control of the Real Audiencia of Quito, a Spanish colonial jurisdiction which later became the modern Republic of Ecuador. The war ended with the defeat of the Spanish forces at the Battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, which brought about the independence of all the lands of the Real Audiencia of Quito.
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The Free Province of Guayaquil was a South American state that emerged between 1820 and 1822 with the independence of the province of Guayaquil from the Spanish monarchy. The free province had a provisional government and constitution until its annexation by Gran Colombia in 1822. Its successor was the Department of Guayaquil forming part of Gran Colombia.
The Spanish province of Guayaquil had been separated from the Viceroyalty of Peru and in those days it only depended legally on the court of the Real Audiencia de Quito. About a decade later, the Departments of Guayaquil, Azuay, and Ecuador separated from Gran Colombia forming the current Ecuador.
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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 and the control of the Pacific by the Liberating Expedition of Peru, under the command of José de San Martín.
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The Quito Revolution (1809-1812) was a series of events that took place between 1809 and 1812 in the Real Audiencia de Quito, which led to the establishment of a short-lived State of Quito, and which can be considered as the seed of the independence movements that ended up forming the current Republic of Ecuador.
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The Second Battle of Huachi was a confrontation that occurred on 12 September 1821 between pro-independence troops led by General Antonio José de Sucre and Royalist troops led by General Melchor Aymerich, president of the Real Audiencia of Quito. Sucre, after having won the Battle of Yaguachi on 19 August, advanced towards Quito. The Spanish, who followed closely, positioned themselves to do battle in a field called Huachi, where they had already defeated Guayaquil forces a year before.
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