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La Rotonda in Guayaquil, the place that commemorates a famous meeting between José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar
Guayaquil, the “pearl of the Pacific,” is an important port on the Pacific coast of Ecuador, and it is the country’s largest city. Guayaquil played an important role in the battle for independence from Spain in the nineteenth century. The two great liberators of South America, los libertadores, were José de San Martín, who fought in the south, and Simón Bolívar, who fought in the north. An army dispatched by San Martín overthrew the Spanish government in Quito in 1822.
Soon afterward, San Martín and Bolívar held a secret meeting in Guayaquil. It appears that San Martín wanted Guayaquil to become part of Peru, but Bolívar did not agree. He wanted the city as part of his own Gran Colombia Federation. A committee was called to vote on a decision and Guayaquil, as per Bolívar’s wishes, became a part of the Gran Colombia Federation. As a result of this decision, San Martín went to live in exile in Paris, and never returned to the Americas. La Rotonda, located on the banks of the Guayas River, commemorates this secret meeting.
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If history and politics interest you, do some research on the political ideas and ambitions of José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar. How were they alike, and how were they different?