Second Revolution at Quito....Massacre of the Prisoners....General
Meeting held....Spanish Troops leave Quito....Revolution at Santa
Fé....Arrival of Don Carlos Montufar at Quito....Arredonda invades
Quito....Arrives at Huaranda....Flies from....Montufar marches
towards Cuenca....Desists from attacking the City....Returns to
Quito....My Appointment to Esmeraldas....Capture and
Escape....General Montes enters Quito....Death of Montufar....Quito
taken by General Sucre.
After the departure of San Miguel for Santa Fé many of the soldiers who
had belonged to the insurgent army returned to the city, supposing that
the prosecution had closed; but they were apprehended, and sent to the
presidio. Several individuals also who came from different parts of the
country were apprehended on suspicion, and, although they were liberated
after examination, the alarm flew from one place to another, so that
none would bring their produce to market, and a consequent dearth of
provisions began to be experienced in the city. This, instead of
producing conciliatory measures for procuring them, enraged the Spanish
soldiers, who committed several depredations, and the injured
individuals through fear abstained from complaining to the officers, or
if they ventured to do it, they were insulted with the epithets of
rebels, insurgents, and traitors. Thus the evil increased daily till the
second of August, 1810, when some of the soldiers confined in the
presidio surprized the guard, and depriving them of their arms, and
putting on their uniforms, ran to the barracks at one o'clock in the
afternoon; the disguise prevented all suspicion on their approach, and
they succeeded in driving the sentry from his post at the door, and
securing the officer of the guard: at this moment a bell was rung in the
steeple of the cathedral, as an alarm: the officers who had just sat
down to dinner in the palace rushed into the plasa mayor, and observing
a considerable degree of commotion at the door of the barracks not fifty
yards from that of the palace, the guard was ordered to fire on those at
the barracks, which firing was returned by the opposite party. This
lasted about ten minutes, when, all being silent, an officer ran to the
barracks to inquire into the cause of the disturbance: on being informed
of what had taken place, as well as that all was then safe, he returned
with the report to his commandant, Arredonda. Another officer was
immediately sent to inquire into the state of the prisoners, and he as
briefly returned with the news, that they were all dead. Some had been
shot during the uproar by the sentries placed over them, and many had
been murdered by a zambo boy, one of the cooks to the soldiers, who had
entered their cells, and despatched them with an axe. Terror and
consternation for a moment were visible in the countenances of the
president and officers, when, on a sudden, the Spanish soldiers rushed
from the barracks into the streets, shouting revenge! revenge! our
captain is murdered. Scarcely was the alarm given, when the infuriated
soldiers abandoned their posts, and running up and down the streets,
murdered every individual they met with, without distinction either of
age or sex: the drums in different parts of the city beat an advance,
and murder and pillage raged in this horrid manner till three o'clock,
all the officers standing on the esplanade of the palace, without making
any effort to check the massacre: at length, the soldiers having
expended their stock of cartridges began to return to the barracks, some
of them so laden with plunder, that they had left their arms they knew
not where.
The number of prisoners confined in the cells, many of whom were secured
with irons, and who fell a sacrifice to the insubordination of the
soldiery, and the imbecility of the officers, was seventy-two; a
clergyman of the name of Castelo, and an individual of the name of
Romero, were the only prisoners that escaped, and they saved their lives
by feigning to be dead. Morales, Quiroga, Riofrio, and Salinas perished;
but to the memory of these, and their fellow sufferers, the government
of Venezuela ordered a day of mourning to be kept annually; thus paying
to them the greatest possible respect; they also afterwards determined
to call them the martyrs of Quito. In the streets of Quito about three
hundred individuals perished, including seven of the Spanish soldiers,
who were killed by some indian butchers, whom they had repeatedly
insulted. Such was the fury displayed by the pacifying troops, that a
party of them having met a captain in his uniform, who belonged to the
Guayaquil cavalry, a soldier seized the sword of his captain, and ran
him through the body with it, laying him weltering in his gore not fifty
yards from the door of the barracks.
No powers of language can describe the anxiety which this dreadful
affair excited in the minds of the inhabitants, who, ignorant of the
origin, considered it as an unprovoked slaughter of their countrymen,
and consequently dreaded that it might be again repeated in the same
manner. Only five of the soldiers who left the presidio entered the
barracks--had twenty entered, they would doubtlessly have succeeded in
liberating the prisoners; but these were murdered while those were
engaged with the guard at the door.
The streets of the city were entirely deserted; groups of people were
scattered about on the neighbouring hills, looking wistfully at their
apparently desolated town; dead bodies were strewed about the streets
and squares, and all was horror and dismay. During the night the bodies
of the prisoners were conveyed to the church of San Augstin, and those
that were murdered in the streets, to the nearest churches. The two
succeeding days, the third and the fourth of August, the inhabitants
kept within their houses, and, except the soldiers, not an individual
ventured into the streets. The government now began to fear that the
whole of the provinces would rise _en masse_; and as the news of the
revolution at Caracas, which took place on the nineteenth of April,
1810, had reached their ears, this, with their ignorance of what was
passing in the mother country, except that Bonaparte had taken
possession of Madrid, suggested to them an effort at reconciliation, but
without in the least reflecting on their own baseness and treachery, in
having violated the conditions which had replaced the president in his
authority, and thus branded themselves with the name which they most
justly deserved, that of _infames traidores_, INFAMOUS TRAITORS.
On the fifth an order was published for the heads of all the corporate
bodies, officers, and principal inhabitants to meet at the palace, and
resolve on such means as were most likely to restore peace,
tranquillity, and confidence to the country. Accordingly the persons who
were summoned met; the president took the chair, having the Bishop on
his right, and Colonel Arredonda on his left, the Regent, oidores,
fiscals, attorney-general, and other officers and persons of distinction
took their seats. The president rose, and in very few words expressed
his sorrow for what had happened, and his sincere wish to restore peace
and unanimity among the people. The Bishop in a short speech answered,
that he was afraid such wishes would never be fulfilled, until those
persons who had advised his Excellency to forget his promises made to
the people were removed from that part of the country. Arrechaga rose
and observed, that his lordship recriminated on his conduct; to which
the prelate replied, that years and dignity precluded any recrimination
on Don Arrechaga from him. This debate induced the president to request,
that Arrechaga would leave the hall, which request was reluctantly
complied with; although such a rebuff from the Bishop would only four
days before that of the meeting have shewn him the way to a dungeon.
Dr. Rodrigues, a secular priest, greatly revered for his wisdom and his
virtue by all who knew him, rose from his seat, and, advancing to the
centre of the hall, delivered a most eloquent and animated speech, which
lasted for more than an hour. He portrayed the character of the Quiteños
in general, explained the causes of the late revolution with evangelical
charity, and dwelt on the fatal results with the truest symptoms of
grief, in such a manner, that, not through sympathy but sensibility,
conviction, shame, and remorse, the big tear flowed down the cheeks of
his hearers. He concluded by repeating what his prelate had said, and
added further, that the people of Quito could no longer consider their
lives and property secure, unless those individuals who had so lately
forfeited their title of pacificators were removed from the country. "I
allude," said he, "to the officers and troops; they have already made
upwards of three hundred unoffending fellow-creatures, as faithful
Christians and as loyal subjects as themselves, the peaceful tenants of
the grave, and, if not stopped in their career of slaughter, they will
soon convert one of the most fruitful regions of the Spanish monarchy
into a desert; and future travellers, while execrating their memory,
will exclaim, 'here once stood Quito!'"
Don Manuel Arredonda, trembling for his personal safety, now rose. He
observed, that he was fully convinced the government of Quito ought to
rely on the loyalty of the Quiteños, and allow _him_ to retire with the
troops under his command. This was immediately agreed to, and the act of
the meeting having been drawn up, was signed by the President, the
Bishop, the Commander of the troops, and several other members.
Preparations for the evacuation of the city immediately commenced, and
the troops under the command of Arredonda began their march on the
following morning, leaving the two hundred soldiers from Santa Fé and
the government to the mercy of a populace driven almost to despair by
their cruel and murderous conduct.
A few days after the departure of Arredonda and the soldiers, Dr. San
Miguel returned from Santa Fé, bringing tidings of an insurrection
having taken place in that city. It commenced on the twenty-third of
July, 1810, the day before the arrival of San Miguel with his cargo of
papers. When he presented himself before the new authorities at Santa
Fé, he was commanded to repair to the plasa mayor with his papers, and
here he was ordered to deliver them into the hands of the hangman, who
immediately committed them to the flames. Thus a trial was concluded,
which, perhaps, in point of infamous intrigue was unparalleled in any
age or nation; and had the conductors of it suffered a similar fate at
the same time, numbers of Americans would have had just cause to have
been satisfied. The return of San Miguel only served to throw the
government of Quito into greater consternation, and the citizens who had
lost their relatives or their friends on the second of August into
deeper sorrow.
The insurrection of Santa Fé was conducted, like that of Quito, without
any bloodshed; the news of the commission conferred on Villaviencio by
the central junta of Spain, to visit his native place, and to make any
such alterations in the form of the government as might appear necessary
for the preservation of the country, had arrived at Santa Fé. The
friends of this American wished to prepare a house for his reception;
one of them begged the loan of a chandelier of a European Spaniard, who,
chagrined at the idea of a royal commission having been conferred on a
colonist, insulted the borrower; this conduct produced an altercation
between the parties, a mob collected at the door, the Spaniard attempted
to drive the people away with threats and insults, which at last
produced a cry of _Cabildo Abierto!_ an open meeting at the City Hall.
Scarcely had the shout been re-echoed by the mob, when it was extended
to every part of the city, and Cabildo Abierto became the watchword.
Crowds of people flocked to the plasa mayor, the doors of the town hall
were thrown open, and several individuals, all natives, ranged
themselves round the table. At this juncture some one advanced to the
door, and asked the populace why they had collected in that manner, at
this particular time? Some one answered, _queremos gobierno nuevo, fuera
Españoles!_ We want a new government--out with the Spaniards! Nariño was
then sent to request the presence of the Viceroy Amar, as president of
the meeting. His excellency refused; a second message was sent, and met
with the same refusal: this conduct exasperated the people, and the cry
of fuera Españoles! _fuera chapetones!_ again resounded from every
quarter. A third messenger was shortly after sent to inform Don Antonio
Amar, that his functions, with those of all European Spaniards in the
government, had ceased. Amar now volunteered to go and preside at the
meeting; but he was told, that only his baston of command was requested;
this, after a little altercation, he delivered up. The new government
took possession of the barracks, the park of artillery, and the
government stores. The ex-viceroy and some of the ex-oidores were sent
to Carthagena to be embarked for Spain. In one day the change in the
government was completed, and on the following the people retired to
their several homes and occupations in the most perfect order, after
witnessing the public burning of the papers brought by San Miguel.
In the month of September of the same year, Don Carlos Montufar, son to
the outlawed Marquis of Selva Alegre, who with several others had again
presented himself publicly in Quito, arrived, bringing with him powers
from the central junta of Spain, to establish such a government, or make
such changes in the one existing, as might ensure the allegiance of the
country to Ferdinand on his restoration. The joy which this arrival
would have occasioned a short time before it took place was
considerably damped by the recollection of the second of August.
However, to support, and as it were to exculpate the conduct of the
government with respect to the treatment of the unfortunate victims who
had perished on that day, Montufar and his friends determined on
re-establishing the junta. A meeting was convened at the hall of the
university, at which the Count Ruis presided; the commission conferred
on Montufar was read, and the formation of a junta proposed, which was
immediately agreed to. The Count Ruis was nominated president, and the
Marquis of Selva Alegre vice-president; the members for the city were
elected by the five parishes, and those for the country by the parishes
of the heads of the provinces.
Don Carlos Montufar, desirous of preserving tranquillity, and
maintaining a good understanding with the Viceroy of Peru in particular,
immediately forwarded to his Excellency Don Jose de Abascal his original
commission; but the innovation was so great, and the decrease of Spanish
authority so alarming to the Viceroy, that he returned the papers with
an assurance, that he "should exert himself in the support of his own
authority, and that of all the faithful subjects of the crown of Spain."
This imprudent and ill-timed answer, accompanied by a knowledge of the
present state of affairs in Santa Fé and Venezuela; of the revolt of San
Miguel and el Valle de los Dolores in Mexico, which took place on the
nineteenth of August; of that of Buenos Ayres on the twenty-sixth of
May, 1819; together with the condition of the mother country--distracted
the attention of the Spaniards, and first disseminated the whisper of
Independence: a whisper which was confined to private conversations, and
was heard only among the higher classes.
Colonel Arredonda and his troops were at first ordered to remain at
Guayaquil; but on the arrival of the news communicated by the
newly-established government of Quito, he was commanded to invade the
territory belonging to that jurisdiction, and to declare war against the
newly-established authorities, as being traitors to the Crown of Spain.
At the same time that Arredonda began his march, Montufar collected the
armed force of Quito, began to discipline new troops, and proceeded with
them to Riobamba. Popayan and Pasto, under the influence of Samano the
governor of the former place, declared their adherence to the old
government, and avowed their intention of invading Quito to the
northward, while Arredonda should attempt the same to the southward. A
few troops placed by Montufar at Guaitara precluded all fear with
regard to Samano, and Montufar waited at Riobamba the advance of
Arredonda.
A sentinel placed at an advanced post at the Ensillada was alarmed early
one morning by a sudden report, caused by the ice on Chimboraso, which,
when the rising sun first illumes it, sometimes cracks with a tremendous
report. Alarmed at what he heard, he abandoned his post, and
communicated intelligence of the approach of Montufar with a train of
artillery. Arredonda was now filled with the greatest possible
consternation, and without waiting to inquire into the cause of the
alarm, or to investigate the report, he mounted his horse, and fled: the
officers and soldiers followed the example of their chief, and, leaving
every thing behind them, placed their safety in their heels. Montufar,
being immediately apprised of what had passed at Huaranda, Arredonda's
late head quarters, went and took possession of the abandoned stores,
consisting of eight hundred muskets, six field-pieces, a quantity of
ammunition, the military chest, and all the public as well as private
property belonging to the tropas pacificadoras.
The city of Cuenca declared its attachment to the royal cause, as it
now began to be called, in opposition to the insurgents, and Montufar,
flushed with his good fortune at Huaranda, marched towards that city;
the Bishop, Quintian Aponte, who with a crucifix in one hand and a sword
in the other had marshalled the natives, and exhorted them with more
than pastoral eloquence, fled on receiving advices that the insurgents
were within ten leagues of the city, and left his flock at the mercy of
the very man whom he had described the day before as a ravenous wolf.
In this state of affairs, when every thing seemed to promise success to
the insurgents, a post arrived from Spain, bringing the news of the
dissolution of the junta central, and the formation of a Regency and
Cortes, and commanding all his Majesty's faithful subjects to abjure the
traitorous junta, and to take the oath of allegiance to the
newly-constituted authorities. An order of the Regency commanded that
every thing in the colonies should remain in the same state in which it
might then be, until the Regency and the Cortes should decide. Carlos
Montufar, on the receipt of this intelligence, communicated to him by
the Viceroy of Peru, answered his excellency, that as a loyal subject,
and trusting that the conduct of his excellency would evince equal
loyalty and deference to the supreme order received, he should
immediately retire to Quito with the troops under his command.
A small detachment of soldiers continued on the heights of Guaitara, and
every thing in Quito remained tranquil until the middle of November,
when General Molina arrived at Cuenca, and, by the order of the Viceroy
Abascal, peremptorily insisted on the dissolution of the junta, which
was objected to. Captain Villavicencio arrived from Guayaquil to treat
with the government on the proposals made by General Molina, and such
was the spirit of party, and the dread of again being oppressed by
pacifying troops, that on the arrival of Villavicencio, a woman, named
Salinas, a servant to Captain Salinas, who was murdered on the second of
August, collected a body of females, who armed themselves with lances,
and escorted Villavicencio to the house prepared for him, where they
remained on guard till he quitted the city. Nothing could be more
ridiculous than the appearance of this naval hero when he had to attend
the meeting of the junta, marching along the street with an Amazonian
guard, composed of twenty-five females with lances, who conducted him to
and from the hall.
During the time that Montufar was absent from the city with the troops,
several popular commotions took place, particularly of the indians;
these were principally excited by a native of the name of Peña, who had
had a son slain in the massacre of the second of August. During this
time, the Oidor Fuertes and the postmaster-general attempted to escape,
with an intention of proceeding down the Marañon, but they were seized
by the indians, brought back to Quito, and before the respectable part
of the inhabitants could relieve them from the danger in which they were
placed, the indians erected a temporary gibbet in the plasa mayor, and
hanged them: being in the street myself, the indians seized me also, and
were hurrying me along towards the place of execution, but I was
providentially rescued by the interference of an old clergyman, to whom
I was known, and to whom I undoubtedly owe the preservation of my
existence.
The adherence of Popayan and Pasto to the Spanish governors precluded
all communication between Quito and Santa Fé, Venezuela, and other
places. The junta determined to open a communication by the coast with
Cali and Buga, and also with those parts of the country which had
established the same form of government as themselves. Owing to the
knowledge which I had acquired of the coast, the title of governor of
Esmeraldas, and military commander of the coast, with the rank of
lieutenant-colonel of artillery was conferred on me; and on the fifth of
December I left Quito with fifty soldiers, took possession of my
command, opened the communication, and secured the depôt of arms
belonging to the Spaniards at Tumaco.
During my residence on the coast of Esmeraldas, nothing particular
occurred in the capital, except preparations for defence: General Molina
died at Cuenca, and the Bishop of Cuenca at Guayaquil. Aymerich, the
governor of Popayan, solicited a brig of war, which was sent by the
governor of Guayaquil; with this assistance Esmeraldas was invaded, and
I was taken prisoner in May, 1811; but with the permission of Captain
Ramires I made my escape from the brig. Don Toribio Montes was appointed
by the Regency president of Quito, and immediately took the command of
the troops stationed at Guayaquil and Cuenca, and began his march on
Quito. The president, Count Ruis, retired to a small convent in the
suburbs of Quito; but a popular commotion of the indians in the city
occurred, a party of them went to the convent and dragged the venerable
good old man into the street, where they murdered him. Montes had a few
skirmishes with the Quiteños; but he entered the city, and caused
several of the principal individuals who had been concerned in the late
transactions to be put to death. Among these was Don Carlos Montufar,
who, being sentenced as a traitor, was shot through the back, his heart
taken out and burnt. Some of the indians who had been the ringleaders in
the death of the Count Ruis were hanged, and their heads placed in iron
cages in different parts of the city, where they remained until taken
down by order of General Sucre.
From the year 1811 Quito continued to be governed by the Spanish
authorities, till May, 1822, when General Sucre entered by force of
arms, and at that time it became a part of the republic of Colombia.