Pedro Santana

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Pedro Santana Familias, 1st Marquess of Las Carreras
Pedro Santana
In office
November 13, 1844 – August 4, 1848
February 15, 1853 – May 26, 1856
July 28, 1858 – March 18, 1861
Preceded by Buenaventura Báez
José Desiderio Valverde
Succeeded by Council of Secretaries of State
Manuel de Regla Mota
In office
May 30, 1849 – September 23, 1849
Preceded by Manuel Jimenes
Succeeded by Buenaventura Báez
In office
March 18, 1861 – July 20, 1862
Preceded by Himself as President
Succeeded by Felipe Ribero
Born 1801
Dominican Republic
Died July 21, 1864
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Pedro Santana Familias (Pedro Santana Familias, 1st Marquess of Las Carreras) (1801-1864) was a wealthy cattle rancher, soldier, politician and dictator of the Dominican Republic born in the border community of Hincha (now in Haiti). He was the first constitutional President of the Dominican Republic, and the first Marqués de las Carreras.

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[edit] Background

His parents were Pedro Santana and Petronila Familias, landowners in the border zone. Around 1805, Santana moved with his family to El Cibao, and later to El Seibo at the eastern part of the country, where he eventually became a cattle rancher.

[edit] Military and political role

He held the office of the presidency during the years 1844-1848, 1853-1856, and 1858-1861 (when Spain annexed the country). Thereafter, Santana became Governor, with the rank of Captain General of the territory. He continued in this post until 1862. He also received the Spanish noble title of Marquess de las Carreras.

Santana was characterized by his great military talents, dictatorial tendencies, annexationist desires, and meticulousness in public affairs. Politically, his actions are criticized by many historians, though without doubt he was a great soldier, which is demonstrated by his participation in numerous battles, including: Battle of March 19; Azua in 1844; and Battle of Las Carreras. He also fought with distinction in the Revolution of July 7, 1857, when the residents of Cibao placed the revolutionary army under his command.

The Congress of the Dominican Republic awarded him the title of “Liberator of the Nation” on July 18, 1849 for his victory in the Batalla de las Carreras.

[edit] 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, 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 sister 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[1].
  • After being defeated in the elections of 1848, he reluctantly handed over the presidency to Manuel Jimenes González, only to overthrow him by force less than a year later.

[edit] Last years

On July 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) by Queen Isabel II of Spain, and was buried in the Santo Domingo fortress next to the Torre del Homenaje.

[edit] External links