Quick Facts
Biography
Felipe Martin de Villamil or Martin Villamil ("Gonzalez de la Galea y Villamil" or "Villamil Joly") (1783-1843) was a trader in the Caribbeans and in Europe.
In the Caribbeans
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.
In 1809, he married the daughter of the lieutenant of the king of Spain in Panama (1). 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.
In Europe
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. In Firenze, Madame Martin de Villamil, was a friend of Jérôme Bonaparte (brother of Napoléon Bonaparte), former king of Westphalia, who gave her the guard of his daughter, la princesse Mathilde, and of his house.
Martin de Villamil died in Paris in 1843.