Jose Maria Villamil: Soldier, Statesman of the Americas
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1976 Jose Maria Villamil: Soldier, Statesman of the Americas. Daniel W. Burson Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Burson, Daniel W., "Jose Maria Villamil: Soldier, Statesman of the Americas." (1976). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 3005. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/3005 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This material was produced from a microfilm copy of the original document. 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University Microfilms International 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 USA St. John's Road, Tyler's Green High Wycombe, Bucks, England HP10 8HR I 77-10,357 BURSON, Daniel W., 1927- JOS£ MARIA VILLAMIL: SOLDIER, STATESMAN OF THE AMERICAS. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Ph.D., 1976 History, Latin American Xerox University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 © 1 9 7 7 DANIEL W. BURSON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED JOS£ MARIA VILLAMIL: SOLDIER, STATESMAN OF THE AMERICAS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Latin American Studies by Daniel W. Burson B.S.E., University of Central Arkansas, 1950 M.A., Louisiana State University, 1971 December, 1976 General Jose Maria Villamil Print File, Scrapbook, Vol. 5, Genealogical Section, Special Collections Division, Howard Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans. Photo taken in 1853. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply indebted to my major professor, Dr. Jane DeGrummond, for the invaluable assistance and guidance which she gave me in the preparation of this paper. Without her personal interest and encouragement the research and writing would have been much more difficult. I am also indebted to Faye Hood, Librarian, Jackson Parish Library; Gerard Bradley of L.S.U. Library; the late Marjory LeDoux of Tulane University's Latin American Library; Mary Oalman of the Louisiana National Guard Archives; Joseph Jaeger, professor of French at St. Bernard Community College; Michael Hamerly, for his assistance while I was in Guayaquil; Luis Noboa Icaza, great-grandson of General Villamil; Pedro Robles y Chambers; Julio Estrada Icaza, director of the Archivo Historico del Guayas; Mayor Juan Pendola Avegno, of Guayaquil for use of the facilities of the Archivo de la Secretaria Municipal; Rafael Euclides Silva; my good friends Norberto Nurnberg, Muriel Bevens, Conchita Romo and Julieta San Miguel for their valuable assistance in translation of old documents; and finally my friend Joseph LeDew. iii I am especially grateful to the St. Bernard Parish School Board for granting leave from my teaching assign ment to do research in Ecuador. To my wife, Jackie, a special thanks for her encouragement and love. Without her help, my efforts would have come to nada. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..........................................iii LIST OF FIGURES........................................... vi ABSTRACT ..........................................vii INTRODUCTION ........................................... 1 CHAPTER I A PATRIOT’S BEGINNING........................ 4 II ECUADOR BEFORE VILLAMIL’S ARRIVAL............ 24 III EARLY YEARS IN GUAYAQUIL ...................... 46 IV REVOLUTION IN GUAYAQUIL......................... 70 V COLONIZATION AND EXPLOITATION OF GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: VILLAMIL AND UTHURBURU.................................. 129 VI THE STATESMAN V I L L A M I L ........................153 VII "...THEY JUST FADE AWAY" ..................... 177 CONCLUSION...............................................182 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................ 184 APPENDIXES A FAMILY LINEAGE ................................ 197 B RECORD OF SERVICE TO ECUADOR ............... 22 2 C LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT........................226 VITA...................................................... 223 v LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1 Provinces of Independent Guayaquil . 39 Figure 2 Galapagos Islands ........................... 130 Figure 3 Floreana ....................................... 134 vi ABSTRACT General Jose Maria Villamil, hero in the independence of Ecuador, is a man almost unknown in his native New Orleans. Few people in Ecuador know that he was not Ecuadorian. Stemming from his 78 years there evolved the adventurous careers of soldier, sailor, patriot, statesman and writer. In 1806, at the age of 18, he served in the New Orleans Territorial Militia. Three years later he left New Orleans for Spain. There, in Cadiz, he became ac quainted with Manuel Sarratea of Buenos Aires and Francisco Lorenzo de Velasco of Mexico who instilled and fired within him an ambition to help the Spanish American colonies throw off the yoke of their mother country. Subsequently the three took an oath toward that end. Villamil went to Venezuela where his two brothers were living and began his revolutionary activities. The Spanish Royalists discovered his correspondence, arrested him, and sentenced him to death before a firing squad. However, because of his influential and wealthy brothers, he was released on condition that he go into exile. Jos<§ Villamil then went to Guayaquil where he established himself in the mercantile business. It was there he married Ana Garaycoa, daughter of a prominent Guayaquil family. Descending the Guayas River in 1815 in one of his schooners, he encountered Corsair Commodore William Brown and rushed back to warn the city of Guayaquil against what he thought was an imminent pirate attack. His fears were well founded and he took an active part in the defense of Guayaquil and the resulting capture of Brown. The year 1816 found General Villamil in Haiti where he met General Simon Bolivar. This was the beginning of a lasting friendship. Bolivar told Villamil that he could not be uncommitted in the revolution that was seething and encouraged him to work with courage and consistency in the fight for independence. Villamil organized the revolution of 9 October 1820 which liberated Guayaquil from Spanish rule. Two days later he embarked on a mission to take the news of the success of the revolution to Thomas, Lord Cochrane and General Jose de San Martin. Villamil took part in seventeen campaigns in the wars for independence. After Ecuador became an independent state in 1830, Villamil influenced the government to declare its sovereignty over the Galapagos Islands. His greatest dream was to colonize the Galapagos and he spent a large part of his personal fortune in a futile attempt to make this dream come true. He served as governor of the Galapagos, as governor of the province of Guayas and for 21 years served in the Ecuadorian Army for which he received no salary. He rose to the rank of Brigadier General. Under President Jose M. Urbina he served as Ministro Gener'1 - second highest position in the government. In 1853 Villamil was appointed Ecuador's Charge d'Affaires in Washington, D.C. The next year he returned to Ecuador and went to the Galapagos Islands with a group of Americans to confirm the existence of guano on the Islands. Six years later in 1859, he returned to military duty in the war with Peru and served as second in command. In 1862,