Antonio Amador José de Nariño y Álvarez del Casal (April 9, 1765 – December 13, 1823),[1][2] was a Colombian ideological precursor of the independence movement in New Granada (present day Colombia) as well as one of its early political and military leaders.

His foray into politics would see him become mayor of the second vote elected by the council of Santafe in 1789, as well as interim treasurer of tithes of the archbishopric, appointed in July of the same year.

After his release in Cartagena in June 1810, Nariño returned to Santa Fe in time to collaborate in the organization of the first Neogranadine congress of which he was appointed secretary at the beginning of sessions in December 1810.

However, as time passed the unity between the delegates of the various provinces of New Granada would crumble as the argument between Federalism and Centralism arose, Nariño was a staunch centralist and vehemently attacked and criticized his federalist opponents through the press that he owned.

The two sides engaged in a brief civil war in 1812, where Narino took command of the Centralist military forces and successfully defeated them when they attempted to capture Santafe in early 1813.

Nariño was not originally a military officer by nature, but would take his first steps in that direction in 1813 when he was president of Cundinamarca and he offered to command the united forces of the State that he governed with those of the United Provinces of New Granada, contributed from Tunja by his political rival Camilo Torres Tenorio, in order to march south to recover Popayán and prevent Spanish royalist troops from advancing into the interior of the Republic in an invasion effort ordered by the presidency of Quito.

[3] Born to an aristocratic family, he was the third son of Vicente Nariño y Vásquez, a Spaniard from Galicia, and Catalina Álvarez del Casal a noblewoman from Santafe.

[5] Details about his early life are scarce, but apparently, he studied in the Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé, a well-known Jesuit school in Bogotá, which had been founded in 1604.

In 1781 during the crisis sparked by Revolt of Comuneros of the Socorro Province, Nariño was enlisted as second lieutenant flag bearer in the Urban Infantry Militia Regiment to defend the viceregal government from the uprising, however he did not take place in any of the confrontations of the revolution.

[6] With the rebellion crushed, he returned to civilian life as a merchant establishing business contacts in the important ports of Honda and Cartagena as he dealt in the export of tobacco, cacao, and other crops.

In his youth, Nariño was a strong influence among the progressive young people of Bogotá, Colombia, hosting secret political gatherings that he called "The Sanctuary," where the need for independence and the means of achieving it were discussed.

His attorney, José Antonio Ricaurte [fr], was arrested as well, so no other lawyer wanted to defend his case, and he and his followers were sentenced to ten years of imprisonment in Africa for his leading role in the political group and was exiled from South America.

After spending some time in France, Nariño went to England to look for economic and military support from the British but when he was denied it, he decided to return to Santafé (modern-day Bogotá).

Fearful of popular rioting, the legislature elected Nariño as president and conceded to his demands, which increased the influence of the executive power.

Nariño and his followers became ardent opponents to federalism and to the congress and were convinced that the economic and political power of Cundinamarca would allow the province to dominate and unify New Granada.

Nariño convened an assembly to revise the constitution of the state and make it even more centralist and then decided to annex the surrounding provinces of Tunja, Socorro, Pamplona, Mariquita, and Neiva, but was mostly unsuccessful on both enterprises.

Nevertheless, the relentless hostility and harassment from Nariño's partisans pushed the members of the Congress to leave Santafé and to escape, first to Leyva and finally to Tunja.

Following this defeat, and the subsequent declaration of independence from the province of Socorro, Nariño resigned as soon as he arrived in the city, but not finding a suitable replacement, he was reinstalled as dictator.

[10] In July 1813, General Nariño began an intensive military campaign against the Spanish and Royalist forces in the south of the country, intending to reach Pasto and eventually Quito.

As things went, however, the constant raids by Royalist guerrillas, the harshness of the terrain, the lack of promised reinforcements from Antioquia, and the delays in bringing up his army's artillery contributed to weakening the morale of many of the troops under Nariño's command, when they had practically reached the gates of Pasto.

Nariño was left practically alone in the battlefield, and attempted to hide in the surrounding mountains, but finally surrendered himself when Royalist scouts found him, hungry and exhausted, on May 14.

Nariño was freed from imprisonment in 1821, following the revolt of Rafael del Riego, and returned to his home country, Colombia, now independent from Spain after the republican victory at the Battle of Boyacá.

Nariño was one of the candidates for election to the presidency of Gran Colombia in 1821, which he lost to Simón Bolívar by the significant margin of 50 to 6 votes in the Congress held at Cúcuta, finishing second.

Nariño returned to Santafé, now officially called Bogotá, in 1821, defeated politically and in poor health, following the many years of struggles and imprisonment.

According to his biographers (arguably partisans), to make sure he did not get elected they accused him of malfeasance of public funds, cowardice, and treason, but Nariño managed to defend himself.

While playing a minor role in the independence war against Spain, Nariño was widely acknowledged at his time and afterwards as a precursor of separatist ideas.