About José Prudencio Padilla
Admiral José Prudencio Padilla López (Riohacha, 19 March 1784, – Bogotá, Colombia, 2 October 1828) was a Neogranadine military leader who fought in the Spanish American wars of independence and a hero in the battles of independence for Gran Colombia (present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama). He was the foremost naval hero of the campaign for independence led by Simón Bolívar, and the creator of the first Navy and Admiral of Great Colombia. He is best known for his victory in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo on 24 July 1823, in which a royalist Spanish fleet was defeated. == Life and career == His parents were Andres Padilla, who was a builder of small boats, and Lucia Lopez. He started life as a seaman at 14 years old in the service of merchant's vessels sailing between overseas ports and the Spanish homeland, and appeared as a porter at the Royal Spanish chamber of the New Kingdom of Granada. On October 21, 1805, he received his baptism of fire at the battle of Trafalgar, where he served aboard the San Juan Nepomuceno where he would be wounded and taken prisoner by the English. In 1808, after his release he returned to Spain, where he was appointed to the boatswain's arsenal at Cartagena de Indias. On April 11, 1811, he took part in the decision of the people of Getsemani, who, in sympathy with the city of Cartagena, joined in the proclamation of independence of Cundinamarca, thus disregarding the authority of the metropolis. In 1814, he saw action at Tolu and captured a Royalist sloop of war with a crew of 170 that was heading to Panama. Although the ship he captured had more powerful guns than the one he commanded, it could not resist the attack and surrendered.
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