Spanish Enlightenment In Ecuador Essay

It was in the mid eighteenth century when the idea of independence began in Ecuador. Ideas of Enlightenment began to spread throughout Europe and slowly leaked into parts of Ecuador. The Enlightenment embodied ideas of nationalism, individuality, equality and most importantly freedom. During this time the Spanish economy was also falling apart. With all this going on it seemed like the perfect time to fight for independence. However, no action was made until the Criollos expressed their displeasure with the current regime. The Criollos were people of pure spanish descent, but were born in the “new world”. They began to hate all the people who came directly from Spain because of all the privilege they received, so in 1809 they began to fight for independence. They started off by invading Quito which is the capital of Ecuador as well as the stronghold of the spanish. They were able to take it over, but that only lasted for 24 days. Sensing they couldn’t hold on to Quito for very long and as troops were pushing in, they peacefully gave Quito back to the spanish. The troops that were loyal to Spain weren’t so forgiving. To try and rat out those who revolted they tortured and jailed innocent citizens as well as abused women and children.

These street fights lasted for several days until an agreement was struck between the two sides which allowed a group of Criollos to govern Quito with the exception that the current president who was loyal to Spain would remain as the “figurehead leader” in Quito. In December of 1811 the people of Quito declared their independence. Two months later they made a constitution and launched a military attack against the spanish. This turned out to be a brutal decision as their troops were under trained and had very little weaponry. A year later Quito was defeated and it’s plan to free all of Ecuador was