Historical and descriptive narrative of twenty years' residence in South America (Vol 3 of 3) / Containing travels in Arauco, Chile, Peru, and Colombia; with an account of the revolution, its rise, progress, and results

by active 1803-1825 William Bennet Stevenson

Dr. Riofrio was a secular clergyman, of a sullen morose temper, ready to coincide with any set of men whose plans were calculated to bid defiance to any thing that did not please him; yet, whether from natural imbecility, or natural cowardice, he seemed to be only an instrument, and probably became acquainted with the plans in agitation by being a frequent visitor at a house in Quito where Morales had lived, and on account of his own house being sometimes the residence of Morales, when he was estranged from Quito by the President Carondelet. This man and Salinas were both natives of Quito, but neither of them of families of rank or fortune, although from the situations which both had held they were very respectable.

After the release of the four denounced conspirators, Salinas and Riofrio returned to their former occupations; Quiroga to his home, more injured than ever; and Morales went into the country, without having reaped any advantage except experience. The government now appeared quite satisfied in having declared the acquittal of the prisoners honourable; they were pleased that no act of injustice had been committed, and flattered themselves that the papers lost by Muños had fallen into the hands of some pick-pocket, or that having been dropt in the street, they had ceased to exist in a shape which might betray their intentions. But they were deceived; the papers found their way into the study of Quiroga, who drew such conclusions from them as best suited his own ends, and disseminated their contents among such individuals as he judged most proper to entrust them with. From April to August, 1809, nothing particular occurred, except new advices from Spain; so that the abdication of Carlos, the accession of Fernando, the imprisonment of the King, and the invasion of the country by the French, were the subject matter of every conversation. But still tranquillity reigned in every part of the colonies, and their inhabitants seemed to vie with each other in enthusiastic demonstrations of loyalty and attachment to their amado Fernando. Every new advice from Spain served to increase the apprehension and the dismay of the governments and Spaniards residing in America; and their whole attention was so engrossed with the state of affairs in the country to which they belonged, that they had not time to meditate on the effects which might be produced by it in the country in which they were stationed—satisfied that the colonies must follow the fate of the parent state, just as if it had been annexed to it by the ties of nature, instead of being attached to it by the most unnatural connexions. But the bubble burst when and where it was perhaps least expected to happen, and although the effects of the explosion were soon repressed, yet it rent the veil, and laid the foundation of that emancipation which the whole of the heretofore enslaved nations of the new world now enjoy.

On the morning of the 10th of August, 1809, at an early hour, two natives of Quito, Ante and Aguire, waited on the president with a letter. The orderly who was at the door of the antechamber objected to carry any letter or message to his Excellency at so unusual an hour; but Ante persisted in the necessity of its immediate delivery, saying, that it contained matters of importance from the Junta Soberana, sovereign junta, a name as new in the ears of the orderly as was the body itself new in America. The orderly awoke the president, delivering the letter, and repeated the words which he had heard, as an excuse for his untimely errand. The president having read the superscription—"From the sovereign junta to the Count Ruis, ex-president of Quito," dressed himself, and read the following:

"The present unsettled state of Spain, the total annihilation of the lawfully constituted authorities, and the dangers of the crown of the beloved Ferdinand VII. and his domains falling into the hands of the tyrant of Europe, have impelled our trans-atlantic brothers to form provincial governments for their personal security, as well against the machinations of some of their traitorous countrymen, unworthy of the name of Spaniards, as against the arms of the common enemy: the loyal inhabitants of Quito, resolved to secure to their legitimate King and Master this part of his kingdom, have established a sovereign junta in this city of San Francisco de Quito, of which, and by the command of his Serene Highness the President and the vocal members, I have the honour to inform your lordship, and to announce to you, that the functions of the members of the old government have ceased: God preserve your lordship many years. Hall of the junta in Quito, August 10th, 1809: Manuel Morales secretary of the interior."

After reading this unexpected epistle, his Excellency entered the antechamber, and walked towards the messengers, who inquired whether he had received the note, and on being answered in the affirmative, they bowed, turned round, and retired. The count followed them to the outer door and attempted to pass it, but he was prevented by the sentry. He now sent his orderly to call the officer of the guard, who politely answered, that he could not consistently with the orders he had received, speak with the Count, pronouncing the last word with considerable emphasis. A great number of people began to assemble in the square before the palace, at six o'clock, when a royal salute was fired, and the military music, stationed on the esplanade in front of the palace, continued playing some national airs till nine o'clock. At this time the members of the new executive government met, the Marquis of Selva Alegre, president, the vocal members, the Marquis of Orellana, Marquis of Solanda, Count of Casa Guerrero, Marquis of Miraflores, Don Manuel Zambrano, Don Manuel Mateus, and Don Pedro Montufar, the two ministers. Morales and Quiroga: the declaration of the installation was published, and the form of the oath to be administered to all persons employed under the new government was drawn up. The Bishop of Quito was elected vice-president, but he refused to assist at this or any subsequent meeting.

The whole of the revolutionary change was effected in the night of the ninth. Morales came to Quito, and, with Quiroga, convened a meeting; he informed the members of the risk in which the country at large stood, set forth the intention of the government to acknowledge Napoleon as their sovereign, because the Kings of Spain had ceded their sovereignty to him, and exhorted them at the same time to preserve themselves and this part of the Spanish dominions from the fate that awaited the rest; and this he told them could only be done by establishing a provincial government in the name of Fernando, and of removing all suspicious persons from their offices. This harangue was nothing but a matter of form, because all the preliminaries had been agreed on beforehand. Salinas, being present, was deputed to bring over the soldiers, which he immediately did; he went to the barracks, and having formed the infantry in the square or patio—he informed them that their beloved King was a prisoner in France; expatiated on his sufferings; told them that the existing governments in America were determined to deliver up the country to the common enemy, and concluded by asking them, whether they would defend their beloved Ferdinand, or become the slaves of Bonaparte? The deluded soldiers immediately shouted Viva Fernando Septimo! Viva Quito! The commandant of the cavalry, Don Joaquin Saldumbide, received orders for the same purpose, and executed them in the same manner. On the return of these two individuals to the junta, they were commanded to give the necessary orders to the different guards, and to administer to the troops the following oath:

"I swear by God and on the cross of my sword, to defend my legitimate King, Ferdinand VII.; to maintain and protect his rights; to support the purity of the holy Roman Catholic Church; and to obey the constituted authorities."

After the conclusion of this ceremony, the necessary orders were given to the officer of the guard at the president's palace, barracks, and prisons: a guard was placed at the door of each suspected person, particularly at those of the Regent and Oidores; and the members of the government retired to their houses.

An express was immediately sent to Chillo, an estate belonging to the Marquis of Selva Alegre, with the news of what had taken place, and a request that his lordship would immediately come to Quito, and take possession of the supreme command of the government of the kingdom. Thus, in one night, without bloodshed or even without any popular commotion, a government which had been established for more than three centuries was displaced, and a new one erected on its basis.

The Marquis of Selva Alegre arrived on the morning of the tenth, and was visited by the members of the new government, while the two ministers proceeded on their duty to place new officers and clerks in the secretary's office, and to take charge of the archives belonging to the royal audience.