Francisco Eugenio Tamariz

Born in Spain, he participated in the Spanish War of Independence against Napoleon's troops and traveled to America in 1812, as part of General Pablo Morillo's expedition. After occupying the Governorate of Popayán for a year, he participated in the First Battle of Huachi, where the Patriot armies were defeated, and settled in Cuenca.

When Mariscal de Campo Melchor Aymerich ordered him to march with his troops to support him, Tamariz was taken prisoner by the Patriot armies after the defeat at the Battle of Yaguachi (August 1821). General Antonio José de Sucre invited him to become a Colombian national, with the promise that he would not be forced to fight against the Spanish. Tamariz accepted, returned to Cuenca, and there married his fiancée Rosa García de Trelles.

He fought in the Gran Colombia–Peru War (1829) and as Ecuadorian, he took up various positions in the government, including Minister of Finance from 1834 to 1836.