Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 February 1919 — REPUBLIC’S TWO GREAT DAYS [ARTICLE]

REPUBLIC’S TWO GREAT DAYS

Ecuador Twice a Year Celebrates Its Freedom From the Domination ——the Spaniard. * - The republic of Ecuador celebrates two national holidays. and. strange to Ray, both are “independence days.” Both are observed vith the same enthysmsui and patriotic fervor tliaf~iS~ displayed here “ii the anniversary or i lie adoption" of the iinmort al decl lira” tion, according to the I‘un-American - Union.- . • The liberty-loving patriots had tn shoot two bolts at Spanish domination before they succeeded in gaining perimrnent independence.’ The first time they had a quiet but determined revolution in Quito, the present capital of the republic, the patriots assembling at the house of Manuela Canizares. a brave and beautiful Woman. on August 5, ISO 9. when they prepared their declaration of independence and chose the officials who were to compose the provisional government. That night the conspirators gathered their forces in dlfferent parrs of the city. and t'afr tain Saltnas, who commanded the two companies of regular troops ail'd guarded the city, sent to their barracks, read to them Hie .declaration and won them over to the cause of the patriots. They overpowered the bodyguard of Ruiz de Castilla, the Spanish governor,' early on the morning of August 10 and thus established the first republic without shedding a drop of blood. It lasted only about a year, when Castilla succeeded in overthrowing the patriotic government and again brought the country under Spanish dominion. .

The fires of liberty TiacT been kindled, however, and the Ecuadoreans kept up their heroic struggle notwithstanding many reverses, until in 1820 the people of Guayaquil, the leading seaport of the country, succeeded in rebelling on the 9th of October. With the aid of Gen. Simon Bolivar, the great Venezuelan emancipator, and of his compatriot, Gen. Antonio Jose Sucre, the Ecuadoreans after many bloody battles succeeded in completely annihilating the Spanish forces and established freedom in Ecuador forever. Therefore it is that the Ecuadoreans celebrate two “independence days.” the 10th of August and the 9th of October.