(May 24, 1822), in the Latin-American wars of independence, a victory by South American rebels, commanded by Antonio José de Sucre (Sucre, Antonio José de), over the Spanish royalists on the lower slopes of Cerro Pichincha, an Andean volcano. It enabled the rebels to occupy nearby Quito, Ecuador, the following day. Simón Bolívar, leader of the revolutionary forces in northern South America, was acclaimed liberator, and Ecuador was joined to the newly formed but transitory Republic of Gran Colombia.