May 24 is a date that all Ecuadorians have engraved in their hearts, since this day but in the year 1822 the Independence of our country was sealed in the Battle of Pichincha on the slopes of the volcano above Quito . Given the importance of the date and its meaning for all Ecuadorians and the history of our great nation, May 24 is a holiday throughout Ecuador.
Next, learn more about this date and the Battle of Pichincha that definitively gave us freedom from the Spanish yoke.
History of the Battle of Pichincha
The Battle of Pichincha , as its name indicates, was a warlike confrontation that took place on May 24, 1822 on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano. The confrontation was between the independence army led by Commander Antonio José de Sucre; in which Venezuelan and Ecuadorian soldiers fought, and the royalist army commanded by the military man Melchor Aymerich.
The events that gave rise to the Battle of Pichincha were those related to the independence movements in 1810 that demanded the liberation of the Spanish colonies in America.
In the year 1820, the city of Guayaquil declared its independence from Spanish rule, aided by the Creole armies led by Simón Bolívar. Then, on January 11, 1821, Bolívar appointed Antonio José Sucre commander of the Army of the South in Bogotá and was sent to Guayaquil to achieve independence from the Spanish empire and for Ecuador to join the Republic of Greater Colombia.
Thus, Sucre began to plan the strategy to carry out the liberation campaign and in mid-May when he approached Quito the Battle of Pichincha took place, which allowed the capitulation of the Spanish general Aymerich and the taking of the city of Quito. finally declaring the Independence of Ecuador.