Very rare pamphlet, printed in Lima, proclaiming the decision of the Canton of Portoviejo (in modern Ecuador) to join the Republic of Greater Colombia. The text was presumably written by the priest and revolutionary Cayetano Ramírez y Fita (1776-1854) and adapted in December 1821. Since the text was printed in Lima and refutations of the text appeared in a Guayaquil newspaper between May and June 1822, it is likely that the pamphlet appeared at the beginning of 1822.
As part of the Spanish colonies in South-America, Portoviejo had been an important centre for conquistadors. In October 1820, as the Spanish empire in South-America was disintegrating, Portoviejo joined the other cities in the region of Guayaquil in declaring independence. The future of the region was uncertain as president Simón Bolívar of Colombia considered the region to be part of his state, while a number of movements in Guayaquil advocated joining the Republic of Peru. Portoviejo opposed to the rest of Guayaquil when in December 1821 its "cabildo" (administrative council) declared the canton to be part of the Republic of Colombia. Bolivár annexed the rest of the Province of Guayaquil in July 1822.
With a Colombian library stamp ("Archivo Prov. O. P. de Colombia") on the title-page, page 3 and page 11. Some small waterstains in the inner margins and a large waterstain at the head. Some small tears and folds near the edges and the title-page and last pages somewhat soiled; otherwise in good condition, edges untrimmed. Biblioteca de ex-coronel Pineda, vol. II (1873), p. 158; Dueñas de Anhalzer, "Marqueses, cacaoteros, y vecinos de Portoviejo", p. 289; WorldCat (2 copies); not in Medina; Palau; Sabin.