Manuel del Castillo y Rada (

Cartagena de Indias Cartagena ( ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Region of Colombia, Caribbean Coast Region, along the Caribbean Sea. Cartagena's past ...

, 1781 –

, 24 February 1816) was a Neogranadine general, who fought for the independence of New Granada from Spain. He was executed during the

Spanish Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

after the

Siege of Cartagena (1815) The siege of Cartagena (1815) () was a successful 105-day Spanish siege by combined naval and ground forces under command of General Pablo Morillo, of the Colombian city and fortress of Cartagena de Indias, defended by Republican forces under t ...

, by order of

Pablo Morillo Pablo Morillo y Morillo, Count of Cartagena and Marquess of La Puerta, a.k.a. ''El Pacificador'' (The Peace Maker) (5 May 1775 – 27 July 1837) was a Spanish military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and in the Spanish American I ...

Biography

His father was Don Nicolás del Castillo, a native of

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

, and his mother, Doña Manuela Rada, of aristocratic lineage. His elder brother was

José María del Castillo y Rada José María del Castillo y Rada (December 20, 1776, in Cartagena de Indias – June 5, 1833, in Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) ...

. He was orphaned at the age of five. He married Isabel de Blasco on 6 August 1815. After obtaining the degree of Doctor of Law, he joined the militia with the rank of captain. On 19 November 1810 he joined the National Battalion in

Santa Fe de Bogotá Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christma ...

. In January 1811, the government of Santa Fe entrusted him with incorporating the province of Mariquita into Cundinamarca. Castillo then returned to Santafé where

Antonio Nariño Antonio Amador José de Nariño y Álvarez del Casal (April 9, 1765 – December 13, 1823),Hector, M., and A. Ardila. Hombres y mujeres en las letras de Colombia. 2. Bogota: Magisterio, 2008. 25. Print. was a Colombian ideological wiktionary:p ...

had become president. In January 1812, Manuel del Castillo joined Commander Joaquín París Ricaurte to submit the province of El Socorro to Cundinamarca. Castillo was then appointed by Congress as commander of the Province of Pamplona and head of the army vanguard in order to protect the Union from the Royalist forces in Venezuela. In December 1812, Colonel Castillo joined Bolívar's troops to attack the Royalist army from Tunja and Cartagena. Bolívar's forces were supported by hundreds of Castillo's men in the victorious

Battle of Cúcuta The Battle of Cúcuta was a military conflict in the Spanish American wars of independence fought on 28 February 1813 between the pro-independence forces led by Simón Bolívar and Spanish royalist troops under General Ramón Correa at the town ...

on 28 February 1813. However, relations deteriorated due to Bolívar's plan to continue towards Caracas, and Castillo's refusal to follow him. In January 1814 he was appointed military commander of

. On 25 September 1814, Bolívar returned to Cartagena after the destruction of the

Second Republic of Venezuela The Second Republic of Venezuela () is the name used to refer to the reestablished Venezuelan Republic declared by Simón Bolívar on 7 August 1813. This declaration followed the defeat of Domingo Monteverde by Bolívar during the Admirable Cam ...

. Castillo supported the legitimate government of Cartagena against a revolt, and with the help of

Pedro Gual Escandón Pedro José Ramón Gual Escandón (17 January 1783 – 6 May 1862), was a Venezuelan lawyer, politician, journalist and diplomat who was President of Venezuela for three short periods in 1858, 1859 and 1861. In 1861, he was ousted from power i ...

, he took control over Cartagena on 18 January 1815.
In March 1815,

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

was advancing to take

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially the Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta (), is a port List of cities in Colombia, city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena Department and the fou ...

and requested extra men and supplies from Cartagena, but Manuel del Castillo refused to support him. As a reaction, Bolívar laid siege to Cartagena for a month and a half, without success. The siege was lifted on 8 May and a disillusioned Bolivar left

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 ...

for Jamaica. In the meantime, a large Spanish fleet under command of

had arrived on the Venezuelan coast in April. In August 1815, Pablo Morillo arrived in

to restore the monarchy in New Granada. From there he advanced on Cartagena and besieged the city from 18 August. Manuel del Castillo led the defense of Cartagena until October, when a conspiracy of

José Francisco Bermúdez José Francisco Bermúdez (23 January 1782, Cariaco – 15 December 1831, Cumaná) was a Venezuelan revolutionary and military officer. A prominent lieutenant of Simón Bolívar, he fought in the Venezuelan War of Independence and rose to the ...

Mariano Montilla Mariano Montilla (8 September 1782 in Caracas – 22 September 1851 in Caracas) was a major general of the Army of Venezuela in the Venezuelan War of Independence. Biography Youth As a young man he went to Spain where he joined the Americ ...

and

Louis-Michel Aury Louis-Michel Aury (1788 – August 30, 1821) was a French privateer operating in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean during the early 19th century. Early life Louis Michel-Aury was born in Paris, France in the 1780s, likely between 21 July 178 ...

deposed him from military command and placed him under arrest. In December, the situation in the city had become so desperate that the revolutionary leaders decided to escape by the sea, the imminent occupation by Morillo's army. But Manuel Castillo was prohibited from accompanying them in their escape, under threat of death. Left at the mercy of the Spanish, commander Manuel del Castillo y Rada was tried by a Permanent War Council established by the Spanish government and shot on 24 February 1816.

Sources

El UniversalHistoria biografiabicentenarioindependencia.gov.co
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo y Rada, Manuel del 1781 births 1816 deaths Colombian generals People of the Colombian War of Independence Executed military personnel Viceroyalty of New Granada people