Antonio Amador José de Nariño y Álvarez del Casal (Santa Fé de Bogotá, Colombia April 9, 1765 – Villa de Leyva, Colombia December 13, 1823), 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. Early life Nariño was born to an aristocratic family. He was the third son of Vicente Nariño y Vásquez, a Spaniard from Galicia, and Catalina Álvarez. His father had moved to New Granada in 1751 as Official Royal Accountant of the Matrix Arcs of New Granada, and was later promoted to Major Accountant, an important role that he played up to his death in 1778. Nariño's mother was the sister of Manuel de Bernardo Álvarez del Casal, one of the attorneys of the Royal Audience. Nariño and his numerous siblings grew up surrounded by books. 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 was founded in 1604. Nariño married Magdalena Ortega y Mesa in 1785, with whom he had six children. By then, he was already a merchant and he was very active involved in politics. In 1789, he was appointed as ordinary major of Santafé (modern-day Bogotá), as well as General Treasurer of Tithes. By 1793, he had opened his own print shop, and had obtained a license from the government to be allowed to print, which would later bring him trouble. Early political activity Nariño was intellectually curious and admired the political ideologies of the leaders of the French and American Revolutions. In his impressive library there was a portrait of Benjamin Franklin above the mantle. 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. Attendees included later notables , , Luis de Rieux, Manuel Torres and Francisco Antonio Zea. Nariño was one of the most outspoken and articulate participants at these meetings, and was widely respected by his fellow revolutionaries. In 1794, Nariño procured a copy of the "Declaration of the Rights of Man", which was being distributed by the French Assembly. He translated the Declaration of the Rights of Man from its original French into Spanish and printed several