Sergio Elías Ortiz’ collection of documents is an interesting addition to published source material concerned with Colombia’s war for independence. Apparently impressed with the ample documentation of patriot activity and the relatively few published royalist accounts dealing with New Granada’s insurrection, Elías Ortiz has tried to right the balance by presenting a collection of heretofore unpublished royalist documents.
Elías Ortiz utilizes as his point of departure the classic collection of royalist source materials compiled by Dr. Gustavo S. Guerrero, published in 1912 and titled Documentos históricos de los hechos ocurridos en Pasto en la guerra de la independencia. Guerrero’s collection of one hundred and nineteen documents encompasses royalist accounts from 1809 through 1816. Elías Ortiz carries Guerrero’s work forward from 1816 through 1820 and adds some documents not included in Guerrero’s work relating to the period prior to 1816. Most of the ninety published documents in this work are transcribed from the Quito and Cuba sections of the Archivo General de Indias. Other sources include the Archivo Municipal de Pasto, José Manuel Restrepo’s collection, “Revolución de Quito, 1809-1817,” reproduced in Roberto Andrade’s Historia del Ecuador, and the Archivo Nacional de Bogotá. An appendix includes accounts by commanding officers, Melchor Aymerich, Basilio García, and Juan José Flores, all of whom played decisive roles in the events narrated.
Ortiz’ skillful compilation and editing have produced a graphic account of Spain’s alternating fortunes as she desperately attempted to retain control of her dissident colonists in Colombia. Social historians as well as those interested in politics and battles will find much of interest in this collection. Racial implications during the early years of the struggle are evident from the participation of the castas in support of the patriots as early as 1809. This contrasts with accepted versions which note that the royalists utilized colored support to crush patriot forces. Miguel Tacón, governor of Popayán, whom patriot sources have long called brutal, capricious, and inhuman, apparently won a similar reputation among his fellow royalists. Other documentation indicates frequent dissension among ranking officers of the royalist forces much like the better-known rivalry within the patriot ranks.
The documents vividly reflect the declining fortunes of the royalists and their complete demoralization after the defeat of Boyacá. They appealed desperately to Spain for supplies and for concessions by the Council of the Indies such as the remission of duties and the reduction of Indian tributes. These appeals and the ultimate climax of negotiations with Simón Bolívar give a different view of a familiar scene. To those interested in the day-by-day campaigns carried on by royalist forces, several diaries maintained by the chiefs of staff should prove of extreme value.
