JUAN PÍO MONTÚFAR: BIOGRAPHY AND CONTRIBUTIONS - HISTORY - 2025

Juan Pío Montúfar (1758-1819) was a nobleman of Spanish origin who was born in Quito and who led the first autonomous government board of Quito, one of the first steps to achieve the independence of Ecuador.

His thoughts of autonomy awakened in many Ecuadorians the desire to consecrate themselves as an independent country from Spain. This promoter of independence maintained a very active political life: he was mayor, later marquis and even knight of the Crown, positions thanks to which his fame and reputation increased in a short time.

By Fzura, from Wikimedia Commons

His knowledge of different life issues was very broad and he had an admirable personality. It was easy for him to gain the trust of those around him, thanks to which he secured a high position in society.

He was the promoter of several clandestine meetings together with other Creole nobles and intellectuals, whose main subject to be discussed was concern about the French invasion of Spain and the impact of the Bourbon reforms.

They feared for the chaos that they would experience as a consequence of what happened in Spain, so they decided among themselves to give a coup and establish the Autonomous Government Board of Quito, which should be made up of the nobles born in that land.

Although the governing junta did not last long in command, it unleashed a series of protests and activities by other nobles and important figures to demand the total liberation of the Crown. This indicates that Montúfar's actions had a great influence on the history not only of Ecuador, but of Latin America.

Biography

Juan Pío Montúfar y Larrea-Zurbano was born in Quito on May 29, 1758 into a family of the most important of the time.

Juan Pío de Montúfar y Frasso was his father. He was a Spanish official who was born in Granada who presided over the Royal Court of Quito; Furthermore, he was the Marquis of Selva Alegre, the first of his kind.

His mother, Rosa Larrea y Santa Coloma, was a noble Creole. Juan Pío had three brothers who were younger than him, named Pedro, Ignacio and Joaquín.

Juan Pío Montúfar was raised by his grandparents on his mother's side after the early death of his mother, followed by the death of his father. The early death of his parents and having to take care of family assets caused him to mature quickly.

First training

His grandfather, Pedro Ignacio Larrea, was a distinguished general and sought for him private teachers who had outstanding performance, among whom stood out the renowned professor Apolinario Hoyos.

He enrolled in the St. Louis Seminary to pursue higher studies in philosophy and Latin. However, he did not complete his studies because he decided to focus on training through the very well-nourished library that was in his home.

This turned out to be an excellent decision: thus he obtained a great knowledge of the general culture, which later allowed him to develop an important role in the political and social area.

Nuptials

Very little is known of his family life: it is only known that he married his second cousin, Josefa Teresa de Larrea-Zurbano y Villavicencio, in 1779.

With her he had six children: Francisco Javier, Juan José, Carlos, Joaquín, Rosa and Juan. In 1786 Josefa died, leaving her alone in the task of answering for her offspring.

Political and social life

From his early interest in reading, he developed a remarkably broad knowledge of life, especially of how to function in society and politics.

This knowledge allowed him to acquire different important titles and positions, as well as to meet and interact with influential people in the social and political sphere of the time. Chronologically, the positions Juan Pío Montúfar held were the following:

- In 1780 he became an advisor to the then president of the Audiencia of Quito.

- In 1783 he served as mayor of second vote in Quito.

- In 1786 he was appointed Marquis of Selva Alegre, an appointment attributable to him thanks to his father.

- In 1790 he obtained the name of Knight of the Royal and Sovereign Order of Carlos III. With this mention the Crown of Spain awarded those it considered its most illustrious followers.

- In 1791 he served as deputy mayor of La Alameda. That year he also founded the Patriotic Society of Friends of the Country, through which he edited the newspaper Primicias de la Cultura de Quito, with the support of the journalist, historian and politician Eugenio Espejo.

As a curious fact, it can be mentioned that in 1802 he took Aimé Bonpland and Alejandro Von Humboldt as guests, who were delighted with his hospitality. For this reason, Humboldt baptized a plant species as Trachypogon montufari, in honor of Montúfar.

Last years and death

Juan Pío Montúfar played a leading role in what constituted the first steps towards the independence of Ecuador. In 1809 he created a governing board through which it is assumed that independence would be obtained without retaliation thanks to the false loyalty to Fernando VII that this board professed.

Eventually, other members of the governing board showed interest in diverting the course of action originally proposed by Mantúfar, so the latter decided to disengage from the group, after which he was declared a traitor and was requested to be shot.

Despite the fear of being imprisoned or shot, Montufar's ideals were so strong that he could not keep them hidden, and in 1813 he was again accused of being a traitor for continuing to organize conspiratorial meetings behind the Crown.

Finally, in January 1818, he was taken as a prisoner to Spain. Juan Pío Montúfar y Larrea-Zurbano died on October 3, 1819 on a farm in Alcalá de la Guadaíra, where he was probably isolated for contracting some disease. According to his death certificate, he was buried in the same chapel of the hacienda.

Contributions

The main contribution attributed to Juan Pío Montúfar was to lead the autonomous government that had a marked influence on the independence actions that were generated later, and that led to the freedom of Ecuador from the Spanish yoke.

Despite the fact that the Supreme Junta of Quito did not stay in power for long and did not carry out any concrete action while it ruled, it aroused the desire to fight and free themselves from the Crown both in Quito and in the inhabitants of other provinces.

Governing Board Background

The political positions and social relations that Juan Pío Montúfar held for so many years made him quickly understand the seriousness of the situation when Napoleon's attempts to invade Spain became known.

He was one of the first to reject the invasion; For this reason, on December 25, 1808, he organized a meeting at his farm using as an excuse to celebrate Christmas. In this meeting, the measures to be taken in the face of the political context were discussed.

He summoned a group of Quito-born nobles who also refused to allow France to become involved in the Spanish throne. They knew that measures taken from such a long distance would hurt them even more; they were not willing to allow that which could destabilize Spain to destabilize them as well.

Months after the meeting, their intentions were discovered and several of the participants were jailed, accused of plotting against Spain.

Although they were released due to lack of evidence, this action delayed the execution of their plans for fear of being discovered again.

Conception of the governing board

In Napoleon's next attempts to invade Spain, Montufar took the opportunity to resume those plans that had been left paused.

It was then that on the night of August 9, 1809, a nucleus of intellectuals, doctors, marquises and creoles met again, and they decided to create a Supreme Government Board that was chaired by Juan Pío Montúfar.

The idea was to eliminate the Audiencia de Quito led only by Spaniards and establish a Supreme Board as an interim government, in which there would be a president and a vice president, and for the Creoles of Quito to participate as “people's deputies”.

The idea was that through this board the needs of the inhabitants of the province would be defended, despite the conflicts that were being experienced in Spain at that time.

Strategically, for fear of reprisals and to avoid further conflicts, they drew up an act in which they declared that they would continue to provide their services to Fernando VII and that the board would remain in force and active until order was restored in Spain. This strategy is known as Fernando's Masks.

Uncovered intentions

The autonomist nature of the coup was so clear that it could not be hidden after the proclaimed loyalty to the king, and despite the fact that the junta requested the support of the nearby provinces, none offered it.

Instead, the other provinces decided to join forces to subdue it, and it was when the viceroy of Lima, named José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa, sent the troops to attack the members of the Supreme Board of Quito.

Fearing imminent danger, the junta disintegrated and all the participants were declared traitors to the Crown, thus starting a persecution.

As Juan Pío Montúfar was the brave one who raised his voice in the first place to motivate them to achieve autonomy, his greatest achievement is credited with giving rise to the first cry of independence, on August 10, 1809.

After the failure of the board

As a result of differences between the members, Juan Pío Montúfar resigned as president of the Supreme Board of Quito long before it was dissolved, which allowed him to flee and hide when he learned of the failure of said board.

However, on December 4, 1809, when order was restored at the Quito Hearing, Juan Pío Montúfar was declared a traitor to the Crown and an incarceration order was issued in his name.

Four years later, in 1813, Montúfar was declared a traitor again because he continued to participate in meetings that dealt with issues related to emancipation. In 1818 he was transferred to Spain.

First he was a recluse in the castle of Santa Catalina, located in Cádiz; and then he was transferred to the Martín Navarro farm, where people with serious contagious diseases were confined; On this farm he died a year later, in 1819.

References

1. Efrén Avilés Pino. "History of independence" in Encyclopedia of Ecuador. Retrieved on November 6, 2018 from Encyclopedia of Ecuador: encyclopediadelecuador.com
2. Efrén Avilés Pino. "Juan Pío Montúfar y Larrea" in Encyclopedia of Ecuador. Retrieved on November 6, 2018 from Encyclopedia of Ecuador: encyclopediadelecuador.com
3. Juan J. Paz and Miño Cepeda. "August 10, 1809: FIRST CRY OF INDEPENDENCE" (August, 2018) in El Mercurio, Cuenca's Independence newspaper. Retrieved on November 6, 2018 from El Mercurio: elmercurio.com.ec
4. Carlos Landázuri Camacho. "Background and development of Ecuadorian independence" (2014) at Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar Ecuador. Retrieved on November 6, 2018 from Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar Ecuador: uasb.edu.ec
5. Juan J. Paz and Miño Cepeda. "Revolution and Restoration: The Revolution of Quito (Ecuador) Within the Independence Process of Latin America" ​​(February, 2015) in David Publishing. Retrieved on November 6, 2018 from David Publishing: davidpublisher.org