Lorenzo Alcantuz (1741–1782) was a Colombian revolutionary. He was born in

Sogamoso Sogamoso () is a city in the department of Boyacá of Colombia. It is the capital of the Sugamuxi Province, named after the original Sugamuxi. Sogamoso is nicknamed "City of the Sun", based on the original Muisca tradition of pilgrimage and ado ...

. Alongside

Jose Antonio Galan Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean *Jose ben Halafta *J ...

, he was a key leader of the

Revolución Comunera The Revolt of the Comuneros was a popular uprising in the Viceroyalty of New Granada (now Colombia and parts of Venezuela) against the Spanish authorities from March through October 1781. The revolt was in reaction to the increase in taxation to ...

of 1781. This is considered to be the most important revolutionary movement in

New Granada New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia: *New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717 *Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1822 *United Provinces of ...

/Colombia prior to the achievement of national independence in the early 19th century. The insurrection was triggered by violent riots in

Simacota Simacota is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in Nor ...

Mogotes Mogotes () is a town and municipality in the Santander Department, in northeastern Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions i ...

Barichara Barichara is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia. In 2010, in recognition of its history, architecture, and touristic potential, Barichara was declared a Colombian '' Pueblo Patrimonio'' (heritage town). ...

and

Curití Curiti is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in North-Eastern Colombia. The area is famous for crafts made from fique, or agave sisal. Curiti is the birthplace of Alejandro Galvis Galvis, a renowned politician and publisher. Ref ...

in December 1780. The town of

San Gil San Gil is a town and municipality in the Department of Santander in northeastern Colombia, located roughly 300 km (192 mi) from Bogotá and 95 km from the department's capital, Bucaramanga. As of 2020, San Gil had a population of 5 ...

quickly joined the protests and it was there that Alcantuz carried out the symbolic revolutionary act of trampling on the royal coat of arms, which represented Spanish colonial power. The authorities took a dim view of the insurgency, and the main instigators Alcantuz, Galán, Isidro Molina and Juan Manuel José Ortiz were all hanged in Bogota on 1 February 1782. They were then decapitated and their dead bodies quartered and burned. Alcantuz's head was displayed in San Gil.Bio
/ref> An indoor stadium in San Gil is now named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcantuz, Lorenzo Colombian revolutionaries 1741 births 1782 deaths People from Sogamoso Viceroyalty of New Granada people