As a result of meritorious military service, he was made a knight of the Order of Santiago in 1770 and lieutenant general in the royal army in 1802.

On the 22nd, at 7:30 in the morning, Viceroy Don Pedro Mendinueta left for Spain....Bulls, illumination — lights of paper of silk with little tallow candles — fireworks and a masked ball in the coliseum.... Minuets, paspiés, bretañas, contradances, fandangos, torbellinos, mantas, puntos and jotas were danced.

During the second period, up to the Cry of Independence on July 20, 1810, he faced destabilization of the regime and the breaking up of Spanish colonial power.

He intended to continue the progressive policies of the viceroys of the second half of the eighteenth century (i.e., the Bourbon reforms), but he found the people influenced by the ideas of the French Enlightenment, and on the point of beginning the struggle for independence.

There was strong support for King Ferdinand VII after he had been taken prisoner by the French, but the power vacuum in the colony caused by the crisis eroded the authority of the royal officials and strengthened the hand of the Criollos.

Amar did not agree to the demands of the Crillos to form a military force to defend against a possible French attack, because he was not confident of their loyalty to the Crown.

Amar had Antonio Nariño (forerunner of Colombian independence) imprisoned with shackles in Fort San José de Bocachica in Cartagena.

Camilo Torres protested against the reduction in the number of deputies from America in the Cortes called by the Supreme Junta of Seville.

This meeting elected by popular acclamation a Supreme Junta of the Kingdom of New Granada, with Viceroy Amar as its president.

A few days later, on August 1, a communication was received from the Supreme Junta of Seville ordering him to turn over his office to a new viceroy, Francisco Javier Venegas.

On the 15th they had him taken secretly from the capital to the convent of La Popa in Cartagena, where he was held a prisoner until his deportation to Havana, and thence to Spain, on October 12.