Pedro Santana
| Pedro Santana | |
|---|---|
 | |
 1st President of the Dominican Republic | |
|
In office November 14, 1844 – August 4, 1848 | |
| Vice President | None |
| Preceded by | Inaugural holder |
| Succeeded by | Council of Secretaries of State |
| 4th President of the Dominican Republic | |
|
In office February 15, 1853 – May 26, 1856 | |
| Vice President |
Felipe Benicio Alfau Bustamante (1853) Manuel de Regla Mota y Alvarez (1853-1856) |
| Preceded by | Buenaventura Báez |
| Succeeded by | Manuel de Regla Mota |
| 8th President of the Dominican Republic | |
|
In office August 31, 1858 – March 18, 1861 | |
| Vice President | Benigno Filomeno de Rojas y Ramos (1858-1861) |
| Preceded by | José Desiderio Valverde |
| Succeeded by | Annexation to Spain |
| 1st Governor-General of Santo Domingo | |
|
In office March 18, 1861 – July 20, 1862 | |
| Preceded by | Himself as President |
| Succeeded by | Felipe Ribero |
| Supreme Chief of the Dominican Republic | |
|
In office May 30, 1849 – September 23, 1849 | |
| Preceded by | Manuel Jimenes |
| Succeeded by | Buenaventura Báez |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 29, 1801 Hincha, Captaincy General of Santo Domingo (now part of Haiti) |
| Died |
June 16, 1864 (aged 62) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| Spouse(s) |
Micaela Antonia Rivera Ana Zorrilla |
| Children | Jorge Andre |
| Religion | Catholic |
Don Pedro Santana y Familias, 1st Marquis of Las Carreras (June 29, 1801 – June 14, 1864) was a wealthy cattle rancher, soldier, politician and dictator of the Dominican Republic. He was born in the city of Hincha (today Hinche), which was part of the Colony of Santo Domingo and at the time, the third largest city of the Spanish colony, with 12,000 inhabitants (1785 church census).[1] Currently, Hinche is located in Haiti. He was the first constitutional President of the Dominican Republic, and the first Marquess of Las Carreras.
Background
His parents were Pedro Santana, a Native Mexican man, and Petronila Familias, a Canarian woman, both landowners in the border zone between Santo Domingo and Saint Domingue; this meant that Santana was a Mestizo man.[2] Around 1805, Santana moved with his family to the Cibao valley, and later to El Seibo at the eastern part of the colony, where he eventually became a cattle rancher for two years.[2]
Military and political role
Santana was the Dominican Republic's president (although he ruled as a dictator) during the years 1844–48, 1853–56, and 1858–61 (when Spain annexed the Dominican Republic as Santana wished). Thereafter, Santana became Governor, with the rank of Captain General of the territory. He held those titles until 1862.
Santana had great talent as a military leader, but was unable to leave his dictatorial personality on the battlefield. Though many historians criticise his rule as an economic disaster, Santana was meticulous in conducting public affairs, and obviously a great soldier.
Santana also fought with distinction in the Revolution of July 7, 1857, when Cibao placed their revolutionary army under his command. The Congress of the Dominican Republic awarded Santana the title of “Liberator of the Nation” on July 18, 1849 for his victory in the Battle of Las Carreras.
As a dictator
He is considered a brilliant military strategist, and was a key figure in the successful separation of the Dominican Republic from Haiti. But many historians think that some of his later actions barred him from becoming a genuine national hero.
- After he drove the Haitian army out of the country in the Dominican War of Independence, he almost immediately moved to eliminate the very Independentists that fought alongside him. Santana felt that the new nation could not survive without being annexed to Spain, which the Trinitarian Independentists did not accept.
- He relentlessly arrested or exiled members of La Trinitaria. The very first person that was forced out of the country was Juan Pablo Duarte, founding father of the new Dominican Republic.
- Santana attacked María Trinidad Sánchez, the first heroine of the Republic and aunt of Francisco del Rosario Sánchez of the Founding Fathers of the nation. She and Concepción Bona made the first national flag. Santana imprisoned her, tortured her, and sentenced her to death when she refused to name "conspirators" against him in the newly independent republic. Exactly one year after the proclamation of Independence (February 27, 1845) María Trinidad Sánchez was executed by a firing squad. This made her the first (but not last) female martyr of the republic.[3]
Last years
On June 16, 1864, Pedro Santana died in the city of Santo Domingo, shortly after having been awarded the hereditary title of Marqués de las Carreras (28 March 1862), in recognition of his victory in the Battle of Las Carreras, by Queen Isabella II of Spain, and was buried in the Ozama Fortress next to the Torre del Homenaje.
References
- ↑ Antonio Sánchez Valverde
- 1 2 Lugo Lovatón, Ramón (1953). "El Carácter de Pedro Santana" [Pedro Santana’s Personality] (PDF). Boletín del Archivo General de la Nación (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Archivo General de la Nación. 78 (2). Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ↑
External links
- Dominican Republic Heads of State
- Pedro Santana Familias (in Spanish) by Miosotis de Jesus
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tomás Bobadilla |
President of the Dominican Republic 1844–1848 |
Succeeded by Council of Secretaries of State |
| Preceded by Buenaventura Báez |
President of the Dominican Republic 1853–1856 |
Succeeded by Manuel de Regla Mota |
| Preceded by José Desiderio Valverde |
President of the Dominican Republic 1858–1861 |
Vacant Title next held by Benigno Filomeno de Rojas |
| Spanish nobility | ||
| Preceded by Title created |
Marquess of Las Carreras 16 June 1862 – 28 March 1864 |
Succeeded by ? |