José Gregorio Monagas (4 May 1795 – 15 July 1858) was the

president of Venezuela The president of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de Venezuela), officially known as the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is the head of state and head of government in Ven ...

1851–1855 and brother of

José Tadeo Monagas José Tadeo Monagas Burgos (28 October 1784 – 18 November 1868) was the president of Venezuela 1847–1851 and 1855–1858, and a hero of the Venezuelan War of Independence. Career Presidency In 1846, to head off the challenge from the Libe ...

.Official biography

Early life and education

General José Gregorio Monagas was born in Aragua de Barcelona,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, in 1795. His parents were Francisco José Monagas, a merchant from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...

, and Perfecta Burgos, a native of Cojedes. Monagas started his military career at an early age, in 1813, along with his brother José Tadeo.

Career

Military campaigns

During Venezuela's emancipation war, Monagas participated in several important campaigns against Spanish royalists

Juan Domingo de Monteverde Juan Domingo de Monteverde y Rivas (born Juan Domingo de Monteverde; 2 April 1773 15 September 1832), commonly known as Domingo de Monteverde, was a Spanish soldier, governor and Captain General of Venezuela from June 1812 to 8 August 1813. Mont ...

and

José Tomás Boves José Tomás Boves ( Oviedo, Asturias, September 18, 1782 – Urica, Venezuela, December 5, 1814), was a royalist caudillo of the Llanos during the Venezuelan War of Independence, particularly remembered for his use of brutality and atro ...

. Because of his brave participation in the

Battle of Carabobo The Battle of Carabobo, on 24 June 1821, was fought between independence fighters, led by Venezuelan General Simón Bolívar, and the Royalist forces, led by Spanish Field Marshal Miguel de la Torre. Bolívar's decisive victory at Carabobo le ...

, Venezuelan independence hero

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

dubbed him the ''First Spear of the East''.

1851–1855: Presidency

In 1851, José Gregorio Monagas succeeded his brother

President of Venezuela The president of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de Venezuela), officially known as the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is the head of state and head of government in Ven ...

. During his presidency, Monagas proclaimed Venezuela to be a nation free of slavery, in an edict signed on 24 March 1854. This decision was one of the main causes of the

Federal War The Federal War ( es, Guerra Federal) — also known as the Great War or the Five Year War — was a civil war (1859–1863) in Venezuela between the Conservative party and the Liberal party over the monopoly the Conservatives held over govern ...

. The combined rule of Jose Tadeo and Jose Gregorio Monagas (1847–1858) is commonly referred to as the ''Monagas Dynasty'', or ''Monagato''. It ended with the overthrow of José Tadeo at the hands of Julián Castro and his allies during José Tadeo's second term.

Personal life

José Gregorio Monagas was married to Clara Marrero de Monagas, who served as

First Lady of Venezuela First Lady of Venezuela (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Primera Dama de Venezuela'') is the unofficial title traditionally held by the wife of the List of Presidents of Venezuela, president of Venezuela. The current office of the first lady is dispu ...

from 1851 until 1855. File:Clara Marrero.jpg, Clara Marrero de Monagas

Death

Monagas is reported to have known he was dying on the day before, finding it hard to breathe and with his tongue lead-coloured. He wished to return to Maracaibo, where three local doctors (Tomás Troconis, Francisco Valbuena, and Joaquín Esteva) were instructed to meet him at the dock by Governor Serrano. A great number of other people also went to the ports to watch the arrival. Monagas arrived at 5 pm on the boat ''Céfiro'', lifted by his sons and other people because he was unconscious. The doctors believed he was just faint and had him sat in a chair that had been placed on the dock. However, he did not recover at died at 5:15 pm without having come round. An autopsy and the statements from his sons and personal doctor determined the cause of death as

acute enteritis Acute may refer to: Science and technology * Acute angle ** Acute triangle ** Acute, a leaf shape in the glossary of leaf morphology * Acute (medicine), a disease that it is of short duration and of recent onset. ** Acute toxicity, the adverse eff ...

. On the day after his death he was buried in a service with full military honours, with son Julio giving the eulogy.^:257–259

References

External links

*
Official biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monagas, Jose Gregorio Presidents of Venezuela Venezuelan soldiers People from Barcelona, Venezuela 1795 births 1858 deaths Venezuelan people of Canarian descent Venezuelan people of Spanish descent Great Liberal Party of Venezuela politicians Burials at the National Pantheon of Venezuela Monagas family