António Pinto Soares also known as ''Tata Pinto'' (1780 – 6 April 1865), was

Head of State A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

from 11 to 27 September 1842. He led the popular uprising that overthrew

Francisco Morazán José Francisco Morazán Quesada (; born October 3, 1792 – September 15, 1842) was a liberal Central American politician and general who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president ...

Early life and family

Born in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, in 1780 to wealthy parents Alexandre Pinto and María Custodia Soares. He was a marine merchant and settled in

circa 1810. He married María del Rosario Castro Ramírez on 26 April 1813, in San José. She was daughter of Francisco Castro y Alvarado and María de la Trinidad Ramírez y Ulloa. From this marriage he had fifteen children: José Dolores, Fernando, Mercedes, José Antonio, Baltazar, Petronila, José Antonio Raimundo, Francisca, Liborio, José Concepción, Jesús, Francisco, José, Manuel, and Remigio (all by the surnames of Pinto Castro).

Public and private activities

He dedicated himself to sea trade, coffee agriculture, and commerce although he also served in the military and earned the rank of General. He commanded the Republican artillery units during the 1823

Battle of Ochomogo The Ochomogo War was a civil war fought in Costa Rica, the first in its history, and was fought shortly after the country became independent from Spain. The most important event was the Battle of Ochomogo (5 April 1823) which was fought on Oc ...

, served as Costa Rica's Commandant of Artillery, Prosecutor for the 1823 Special Tribunals, Second in Command of the Provincial Battalion for the Disciplined Militias, General Internal Commandant and lastly General Arms Commandant. He also aided the government during the 1835 Civil War before retiring from military service. After this he served as mayor of San José for several terms.

Head of State

In September 1842, when discontent with

had peaked and the country was on the brink of a war with

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, Pinto led a popular uprising to overthrow him. He became Head of State on 11 September 1842, but he did not desire this power and peacefully conceded to José María Alfaro Zamora who was elected as Temporary Head of State by a collection of nobles from the different cities in the country. During his brief administration, Soares restored relations with the rest of Central America which had been broken with Morazán's rise to power and had even led to an alliance by them against his administration. The government of

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

granted him the rank of Division General.

Later achievements and death

From September 1842 to April 1844 he once again served as General Arms Commandant. He had great difficulties with the

Juan Rafael Mora Porras Juan Rafael Mora Porras (8 February 1814, San José, Costa Rica – 30 September 1860) was President of Costa Rica from 1849 to 1859. Life and career Mora first assumed the presidency upon the resignation of his younger brother, Miguel Mor ...

administration, which in 1851 accused him of plotting against the government. This led to a criminal case being opened against him and his son Liborio but this was interrupted shortly after. He died in San José on 5 April 1865.

Sources

:Obregón Quesada, Clotilde, "Nuestros gobernantes". {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto Soares, Antonio 1780 births 1865 deaths Presidents of Costa Rica Leaders who took power by coup Costa Rican people of Portuguese descent People from Porto 19th-century Costa Rican people Costa Rican liberals People from New Spain