Francisco José de Caldas was a Colombian lawyer, military engineer, self-taught naturalist, mathematician, geographer and inventor, who was executed by orders of Pablo Morillo during the Spanish American Reconquista for being a forerunner of the fight for the independence of New Granada. Arguably the first Colombian scientist, he is often nicknamed "El Sabio".
Woodcut of Francisco José de Caldas from the Papel Periodico de Bogotá
Statue of Francisco José de Caldas in Popayán
Monument of Francisco José de Caldas on the Plaza de Caldas, Bogotá
Pablo Morillo y Morillo, Count of Cartagena and Marquess of La Puerta, a.k.a. El Pacificador was a Spanish military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and in the Spanish American Independence Wars. He fought against French forces in the Peninsular War, where he gained fame rose to the ranks of Field Marshall for his valiant actions. After the restoration of the Spanish Monarchy, Morillo then regarded as one of the Spanish Army's most prestigious officers, was named by King Ferdinand VIII as commander-in-chief of the Expeditionary Army of Costa Firme with the goal to restore absolutism in Spain's possessions in the Americas.
Image: Pablo morillo
Image: Pablo Morillo firma
An engraving made in 1814, with caption "Field Marshall Pablo Morillo of the Royal Armies and Commander-in-chief of the expreditionary troops destined for Montevideo"
