 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.