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to this time the struggle for emancipation, both in the South and in the North of the Continent had been the result of the instinctive desire for independence which was common to all the people of Spanish America, but towards the conclusion of this struggle, the peculiar idiosyncracy of each separate people began to show itself in action, and the ideas and personal interests of different leaders came into collision. Nevertheless the fundamental principles of the Revolution remained unchanged. The movement was essentially Republican, based on local autonomy. The monarchical ideas of San Martin, and the dreams of Bolívar of a continental union, left not a trace behind. The popular movements of the North and of the South of the Continent, joined hands at Quito; the diverse principles of the two great leaders came into conflict at Guayaquil.

When the Province of Guayaquil declared herself independent, she placed herself under the protection of the troops of San Martin and Bolívar, and became an apple of discord between the two leaders. Both accepted the Protectorate, San Martin with the idea of annexing the Province to Peru, Bolívar with the intention of annexing it to Columbia. In November, 1820, San Martin sent Guido and Luzuriaga to negotiate a treaty of alliance, which should place the province under his control; when