Pedro Santana

Pedro Santana y Familias, 1st Marquess of Las Carreras (June 29, 1801June 14, 1864) was a Dominican soldier and politician who served three times as the president of the First Dominican Republic (1844–1861) and was the first governor-general during the period of annexation of the Dominican Republic to Spain (1861–1865), accomplished at Santana's request. Called " Libertador de la Patria" in life, Santana is today considered a dictator because of his authoritarian rule.

Santana was one of the signatories of the Manifesto of January 16, 1844 that proclaimed Dominican independence on February 27, 1844. He would assume the leadership of the southern expeditionary army and gain prominence for his victory in the Battle of Azua. He led a coup d'état against the Central Governing Board and was named president on a provisional basis. During his government, the first constitution of the Dominican Republic was promulgated, and he was designated the first constitutional president of the Dominican Republic. However in 1848 Santana resigned due to political intrigues and popular discontent.

Following the death of Haitian President Jean-Baptiste Riché in 1847, General Faustin Soulouque became President of Haiti and led an expedition into the Dominican Republic in March 1849. Due to the inaction of Dominican president Manuel Jimenes, the Dominican congress called on Santana to repel Soulouque. Santana led the successful defense against Haitian forces at the Battle of Las Carreras in April 1849. He then deposed Jimenes and served as head of state under the title of Supreme Chief until a new president was elected. Congress made him General in Chief of the armies of the Dominican Republic and gave him the title of Liberator of the Fatherland.

In 1853, he returned to the presidency, promulgated a new constitution in 1854, obtained recognition of the independence of the Dominican Republic by many countries and resigned again in 1856. Half a year later, he was banished from the country by president Buenaventura Báez, but he returned after the start of a civil war and joined the rebels. In 1858 he took the capital and deposed president José Desiderio Valverde, assuming the presidency for a third time.

Unlike his political opponents who wanted an independent Dominican state, Santana sought to reintegrate the Dominican Republic to the Spanish Empire. He oversaw the reestablishment of the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo, exiled and imprisoned a number of nationalist dissidents who had fought with him in the Dominican War of Independence. In 1862, queen Isabella II of Spain granted him the title of Marquess of Las Carreras for the reincorporation of Santo Domingo to Spain. He died during the Dominican Restoration War, after which the country regained independence in 1865.

Background

Santana was born on June 29, 1801 in Hinche Saint-Domingue,
Haiti. The same year, Toussaint Louverture occupied the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo in application of the 1795 Peace of Basel, through which Spain transferred Santo Domingo to France. Due to insecurity, Santana's parents Pedro Santana and Petronila Familias, rural cattle herders (''hateros'') of Canarian origin, moved east. First they stayed in Gurabo, near Santiago de los Caballeros, then in Sabana Perdida near Santo Domingo, and then in El Seibo.

Santana had a twin brother, Ramón, and a younger brother, Florencio (b. 14 November 1805), who was disabled, mute and mentally ill.

Santana's father became a militia captain and fought at the 1808 Battle of Palo Hincado under general Juan Sánchez Ramírez, during the Spanish reconquest of Santo Domingo. The elder Santana beheaded Jean-Louis Ferrand's body after his suicide and took his head as trophy.

In Sabana Perdida, Pedro and Ramón Santana frequently traveled to the city of Santo Domingo to sell firewood. In El Seibo, Santana's father acquired the El Prado herd in partnership with Miguel Febles, who had also migrated from Hinche. After the deaths of his father and Febles, Santana married Febles' widow, Micaela Antonia Rivera de Soto, who was 15 years his senior, while his brother Ramón married Febles's daughter, Froilana Febles. Because of these marriages, the Santana brothers acquired moderate wealth and great influence in El Seibo, although they never had an education.

Haitian rule

In 1822, when Santana was 20 years old, Haitian president Jean-Pierre Boyer invaded Santo Domingo and annexed it to the Republic of Haiti, just two months after José Núñez de Cáceres proclaimed independence as the Republic of Spanish Haiti. Boyer abolished slavery, confiscated the properties of the Catholic Church and criollo landowners, and distributed plots of land among the freedmen and others as had been done in Haiti. Although this policy was abandoned a few years later, the ''hateros'' remained opposed to the Haitians and wished to return to Spanish rule.

Following the fall of Boyer in 1843, the Dominican organization La Trinitaria conspired to proclaim independence. On May 3, 1843, the Santana brothers were approached by Juan Pablo Duarte and Vicente Celestino Duarte, the latter of which had commercial activities in Los Llanos, near El Seibo. Duarte offered the rank of colonel to Ramón Santana, but he declined in favor of Pedro. According to Ramón, "The boss must be my brother Pedro, who likes to command and knows how to understand people well; I am content to serve under his orders." Juan Esteban Aybar y Bello relied the independence plan to Pedro, who replied "Yes, I am willing to contribute to the Revolution, but I command." Despite joining the Trinitarios, Santana did not share their political beliefs.

Due to a conflict with the Haitian Richiez family, the new president Charles Rivière-Hérard forced the Santana brothers to go daily to the Palace in Santo Domingo's Plaza de Armas, but the Santanas fled to Sabana Buey, near Baní, and hid in Los Médanos on the property of Luis Tejeda and Rosa Pimentel, from there they went to Loma del Pinto. Hérard offered a reward of 200 gourdes for the Santanas.

First Republic

Leader of the southern army

At the end of 1843, the Trinitarios led by Francisco del Rosario Sánchez reached an agreement with a part of the conservative ''afrancesados'' ("Frenchified"), led by Tomás Bobadilla. Both leaders wrote the Dominican Act of Independence, which called for the proclamation of the Dominican Republic as a sovereign state. Hours before Sánchez proclaimed the Dominican Republic on February 27, 1844, Pedro and Ramón Santana took El Seibo and prepared to march on Santo Domingo. After this the Dominican Central Government Board assigned Santana de rank of general.

Santana then headed west with 3,000 men to meet the advancing army of Haitian president Hérard. On March 19, Santana defeated Hérard's army of 10,000 at the Battle of Azua, which helped Dominican morale. However, Santana cautiously fell back to Sabana Buey, allowing Hérard to enter Azua unopposed. After this Hérard did not advance further.

Juan Pablo Duarte returned from exile in Venezuela and was named general and joint chief of the southern army with Santana. Differences between the two emerged; Duarte wanted to go on the offensive, Santana to defend until France established a protectorate over the Dominican Republic, which had been requested on 8 March by the Central Government Board led by the conservative Bobadilla, before Duarte came to the country. Bobadilla then recalled Duarte to Santo Domingo.

On May 26, 1844, following the deposition of Hérard, Bobadilla publicly called for the establishment of the French protectorate, creating disagreement among the Dominicans. On June 9, the Trinitarios under Duarte expelled the conservatives from the governing board. The presidency passed to Sánchez, and Duarte was sent to Cibao to get support for the new government. In Santiago, the Trinitario Matías Ramón Mella proclaimed Duarte president of the Republic. Santana first remained cautious and submitted his resignation citing poor health, but when the Junta sent colonel Esteban Roca to replace him, the troops incited by colonel Manuel Mora proclaimed obedience to Santana. Santana then marched to Santo Domingo to overthrow the Junta. The head of the capital's garrison, José Joaquín Puello, did not resist and the Board was deposed. Some Trinitarios were imprisoned, and a new Board was formed under the presidency of Santana. Cibao recognized the new government and Duarte was expelled from the country with his closest companions.

Santana's brother Ramón died on June 15, during the war of Independence.

First presidency

A constituent assembly was established in October 1844. The members of the assembly, almost all conservatives, moved to San Cristóbal in order to reduce the influence of Santana. The drafter of the 1844 Constitution and leader of the ''afrancesados'', Buenaventura Báez, proposed that the constituents should proclaim the inviolability of their function. The Constitution, approved on November 6, designated Santana as president for two consecutive terms, but his powers were restricted. Santana refused the presidency under such conditions and, advised by Bobadilla, demanded the inclusion of article 210, which made him unaccountable for his actions. Santana subsequently used the article to execute those who opposed him.

Some liberals tried to remove the secretaries of state, which was considered a conspiracy by Santana, so he ordered the establishment of special courts which sentenced to death María Trinidad Sánchez, aunt of Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, his brother and two other people. All were executed on February 27, 1845, the first anniversary of independence. In 1847, a new conspiracy led by the Secretary of the Interior José Joaquín Puello was discovered, intended to depose Santana. Puello, his brother Gabino Puello, and others were shot. Small theft was also punished with the death penalty, as exemplified when an elderly man named Bonifacio Paredes was shot in El Seibo for stealing bananas.

Santana also rejected the Catholic Church's request to return their properties confiscated by the Haitians, despite being a practicing Catholic himself. General Manuel Jimenes, Secretary of War and a Trinitario, led another conspiracy. Faced with growing discontent, Santana took refuge in El Prado and then offered his resignation on August 4, 1848.

Second presidency

Jimenes was elected by the chambers to the presidency and enacted an amnesty, allowing the exiled Trinitarios to return to the country. All did except Duarte. However the country was then invaded by Haitian general Faustin Soulouque, who had become president two years earlier. Jimenes first appointed general Antonio Duvergé as chief of the southern army, but the legislative chambers conspired to appoint Santana as head of the army following the suggestion of Buenaventura Báez.

Santana gathered another troop of Seibanos and defeated the Haitians in the Battle of Las Carreras on the banks of the Ocoa River, on April 21, 1849. A few days later, the chambers impeached Jimenes and named Santana leader of the nation. In gratitude for his services, he was awarded the title of '' El Libertador'', the honorary Sword of the Liberator, and his portrait was placed in the government palace along with those of Christopher Columbus and Juan Sánchez Ramírez. Santana was also granted the exploitation of Saona Island and a house in Santo Domingo. However, Santana was not interested in resuming the presidency, so the chambers focused on appointing Jimenes' replacement. Santana's favorite was Santiago Espaillat, representative of Santiago de los Caballeros, but Espaillat declined. Báez, who had led the opposition to Jimenes, was elected instead.

Between 1849 and 1853, Báez developed an efficient administration and obtained diplomatic recognition by the United Kingdom (1850), Denmark (1851), France (ratified in 1852, though informally recognized in 1848), and the Netherlands (1853).Gallego Cosme, M. J. (2014). Contexto histórico e internacional de las relaciones diplomáticas de la república dominicana con españa durante la segunda mitad del siglo xix. ''REIB: Revista Electrónica Iberoamericana'', 8(2), 90-110. Santana decided to return to the presidency after Báez's four-year term ended; shortly after his reinstatement, he attacked Báez and expelled him from the country, polarizing the nation between them. A third Haitian invasion followed at the end of 1855, commanded again by Soulouque. Although Santana did not go to the front this time, he used the war to reaffirm his authority with constitutional reforms in February and December 1854. The latter strengthened the Executive even to a greater degree than article 210.

During Santana's second presidency, the Dominican Republic was recognized by the Kingdom of Sardinia, the United States, Spain, and the Free City of Bremen. The Dominican delegate to Spain, Matías Ramón Mella, offered the choice between annexation and recognition (showing that Santana was already considering annexation at the time), but the Spanish government, fearing the opposition of France and Britain, chose recognition.

General Duvergé conspired with the Baecists, was tried in El Seibo and shot with his son. After this the Baecists of Santo Domingo flocked to the Spanish consul Antonio María Segovia, who arrived at the end of 1855. Segovia granted Spanish nationality to any Dominican who requested it, which was used by the Baecists to protect themselves against Santana. As demonstrations against Santana proliferated, Santana chose to resign rather than come into a conflict with Spain. Santana also negotiated the lease of the Samaná Peninsula to the United States, but he canceled it due to the pressures of the consuls of Great Britain and France.

Third Presidency

Shortly after Santana's resignation, Báez returned to the country and was appointed vice president with the intention that he immediately replace the provisional president Manuel de Regla Mota. Once president, Báez arrested Santana and deported him to Martinique on January 11, 1857. However on July 7, a liberal rebellion broke out in Santiago against Báez and installed a provisional government under José Desiderio Valverde. Valverde recalled Santana and appointed him commander in chief of military operations against Báez, who was holed in the walled capital of Santo Domingo. After an 11-month siege, Santana took the capital. Then almost immediately Santana betrayed Valverde and deposed him in July 1858.

In September, Santana's third presidency formally began. After almost a year of civil war, Dominican paper money was devalued with a price of more than 500 pesos for each peso, and discontent grew rapidly. General Domingo Ramírez defected to Haiti along with some of his subordinates. Conspiracies proliferated again. Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, a supporter of Báez, was involved in one and had to march into exile.

Spanish service and death

Annexation to Spain

In 1860, Santana sent general Felipe Alfau to Spain, a member of the delegation that had visited in 1853. Envoys from the Spanish captain-general of Cuba, Francisco Serrano, arrived in Santo Domingo, and the Dominican Secretary of the Treasury, Pedro Ricart, moved to Havana

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