Who is Colonel Ruiz from Sharpe's Devil and what is their importance? Sharpe's_Devil_(novel) English & Literature Colonel Ruiz | Sharpe's Devil

Colonel Ruiz is an artillery officer who Sharpe meets while sailing on the Espiritu Santo. Colonel Ruiz is going to Chile to fight the rebels. He foolishly believes that it will be easy to defeat the rebels once his troops and artillery arrive. During the meeting with Napoleon, most of Napoleon's remarks are directed at Colonel Ruiz because Ruiz is the ranking officer among the Spanish visitors. Ruiz boasts endlessly about how devastating his artillery will be to the Chilean rebels, and Napoleon humors him. But as soon as Ruiz has departed and Napoleon can speak to Sharpe alone, Napoleon says that Ruiz is a fool, and everyone except fools like Ruiz know that the Spanish Empire has collapsed in South America.