10 Facts About Antonio Villavicencio

Antonio Villavicencio y Verastegui was a statesman and soldier of New Granada, born in Quito, and educated in Spain.

Antonio Villavicencio served in the Battle of Trafalgar as an officer in the Spanish Navy with the rank of Second Lieutenant.

Antonio Villavicencio was sent as a representative of the Spanish Crown to New Granada, where his arrival was used as an excuse in Santafe de Bogota to start a revolt; this was known as the Florero de Llorente, which culminated in the proclamation of independence from Spain.

Antonio Villavicencio was later captured and became the first martyr executed during the reign of terror of Pablo Morillo.

Antonio Villavicencio attended Our Lady of the Rosary University in Bogota and afterwards his parents sent him to Spain to study in the Real Colegio de Nobles Americanos in the city of Granada.

Antonio Villavicencio then returned to Cartagena de Indias in New Granada as Lieutenant of a frigate patrolling the Atlantic Coast.

Antonio Villavicencio fought in the Battle of Trafalgar on October 25,1805, serving as Second Lieutenant of Antonio de Escano.

Antonio Villavicencio was not, and using his position as an official representative of the Crown, called for the open cabildo.

The Junta recognized the Crown of Spain and Ferdinand VII as King of Spain, rather than Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte, whom he had installed on the Spanish throne as Jose I Villavicencio found no reason to oppose the desire for local autonomy as long as the Junta de Cartagena acknowledged the supremacy of the Crown.

Antonio Villavicencio's presidency was short lived, however; on November 15,1815, Congress changed the executive power, entrusting it to a President Dictator and a vice president.