Background
Martin de Villamil, brother of the Ecuadorian independence hero José de Villamil, was born in New Orleans in 1783, son of a trader and administrator (mayordomo) of the hospital of the city.
Martin de Villamil, brother of the Ecuadorian independence hero José de Villamil, was born in New Orleans in 1783, son of a trader and administrator (mayordomo) of the hospital of the city.
He became a trader in the Caribbean. Around 1812, he was one of the cofounders of the trade consulate in Cartagena. Later, he lived in Jamaica, where he owned sugar cane plantations.
After that, Martin de Villamil and his family went to Europe: London, Paris, Italy (Bologna, Firenze).
In 1820-1822, he welcomed in his villa of Sèvres, near Paris, the great Irish poet Thomas Moore (1779-1853). In 1830, Martin Villamil met in Paris the général Francisco de Paula Santander (1792-1840), hero of the independence of Great Colombia.
In Bologna, he may have been a British consul. Martin de Villamil died in Paris in 1843.