Battle of Camino Real

The combat took place in the Camino Real sector, near the small town of Bilován, south of the city of Guaranda. The Guayaquil troops advanced towards the northwest, in an attempt to reach Quito. However, the Royalists had fortified themselves in Camino Real with the aim of stopping the Patriots and after this, organize an attack on the city of Guayaquil itself, and thus end the rebellion within the Royal Audiencia of Quito.

The Guayaquil forces, or the so-called División Protectora de Quito, were commanded by Colonels Luis Urdaneta and León de Febres-Cordero, while the Royalists was led by Colonel Antonio Fominaya. The Royalists had prepared several ambushes, however, the pro-independence troops were alerted to Fominaya's movements, after which they conceived and developed a strategy that allowed them to win the battle and, subsequently, make the Royalists retreat towards the north.

The victory at Camino Real raised the hope of the Guayaquil troops in their desire to advance to the capital and thereby consolidate the independence of Guayaquil. However, in the following weeks, the Patriot troops suffered serious defeats that would jeopardize their independence.
But in 1821, they obtained help from Gran Colombia and with this they were able to achieve the final objective after a campaign that would last for 2 years.

• Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana
• Enciclopedia del Ecuador
• Avilés Pino, Efrén; Hoyos Galarza, Melvin (2009). Historia de Guayaquil (Primera edición). Guayaquil: M.I. Municipalidad de Guayaquil.
• Salvador Lara, Jorge. Del Alzamiento de Guayaquil a la Batalla del Pichincha; Historia del Ecuador (Primera edición). Quito: Salvat.