José Camilo Clemente de Torres Tenorio (November 22, 1766 – October 5, 1816) was a Colombian politician. He is credited as being an early founder of the nation due to his role in early struggles for independence from Spain. Biography Torres was born in Popayán, Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1766. He was the son of Francisco Jerónimo Torres and María Teresa Tenorio. Torres studied in the Seminary of Popayán, where he met others of the leaders of the Colombian independence movement like Francisco Antonio Zea and his cousin, Francisco José de Caldas. He then moved to Santafé (now known as Bogotá), to study jurisprudence in the Colegio del Rosario, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Canonical Law in June of 1790, and a J.D degree in 1791. He decided to settle in Santafé, where he opened an attorney's office. Torres married María Francisca Prieto y Ricaurte in 1802 in Bogotá. They had six children. Torres was part of a generation that had witnessed the Insurrection of the Comuneros in 1781, and had experienced the independence of the United States in 1776 and the French Revolution in 1789. Antonio Nariño had translated into Spanish the "Declaration of the Rights of Man" in 1794, and had spread the influence of these ideas all throughout Latin America. This translation led to Nariño being exiled, and many of the students in the Colegio del Rosario were in turn persecuted, including Torres. With the abdication of Ferdinand VII in Spain, Torres advocated the formation of a Junta, such as were being created in Spain, in support of the abdicated king. Torres also supported the creation of the Supreme Central Junta in 1809, particularly as it was supposed to include representation from the American colonies. This representation, however, was very small and insignificant, and this led to Torres writing his famous "Memorial de agravios" (Memorial of Grievances), where he complained about the lack of equality for American Spaniards and the scarce attention that the American colonies received from the Spanish crown. Torres, however, praised the Spanish authority and expressed his desire that the colonies would not secede. The dissolution of the Supreme Central Junta led to the creation of local juntas in many provinces in Latin America, which consolidated the thirst for independence of the American colonies. In Santafé, a Junta was established on July 20, 1810, which demanded the creation of an open