Carlos de Montúfar y Larrea-Zurbano (Quito, November 2, 1780 - Buga, July 31, 1816) was a Creole nobleman and soldier considered one of the liberators of current Ecuador. He fought alongside Simón Bolívar and was nicknamed El Caudillo.
Biography
Carlos was the third son of the marriage of Creole nobles Juan Pío de Montúfar y Larrea, II Marquis of Selva Alegre, and Teresa de Larrea y Villavicencio. His father was a politician in the independence movement developed in Quito between 1809 and 1812, a forerunner to the independence of Ecuador.
Military career
In 1805 he moved to Spain to begin his military training at the Royal Academy of Nobles. He fought against the Napoleonic army in the War of Independence, taking an active part as Aide-de-Camp to General Castaños in the Battle of Bailén.In 1808, considered Napoleon's first military defeat.
Royal commissioner and defender of the State of Quito
He was appointed in Cádiz by the Supreme Central Board as royal commissioner for the Court of Quito, with broad autonomy from the viceroys of Peru and New Granada, in order to calm the rebel tumults.