Silvestre Selva Sacasa (31 December 1777 – 1855) was a

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 ...

n politician of Basque origin, who, as a senator in the State Legislative Assembly, was appointed by the invading forces of

Francisco Malespín Francisco Malespín Herrera (1806 – 25 November 1846) was a Salvadoran military officer and politician, elected as the president of El Salvador in 1844. He served from 7 February 1844 to 15 February 1845, when he was deposed by his vice presi ...

to serve as provisional Supreme Director, served from 16 December 1844 to 20 January 1845 with headquarters in the city of

Masaya Masaya () is the capital city of Masaya Department in Nicaragua. It is situated approximately 14 km west of Granada, Nicaragua, Granada and 31 km southeast of Managua. It is located just east of the Masaya Volcano, an active volcano ...

Biography

Background

Born on 31 December 1777 in

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, he was the illegitimate son of Lieutenant General José Roberto Sacasa Marenco and Ubalda Rosalía Selva del Castillo Mayor. He was a maternal relative of Roberto Sacasa, the 10th President of Nicaragua.

Malespín's War

On 25 October 1844 the so-called '' Guerra de Malespín'' began when León was besieged by troops from El Salvador and Honduras under the command of General

, a Salvadoran military ruler and a conservative convinced that he obtained the support of the Granadan

legitimists The Legitimists () are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They reject ...

José Francisco del Montenegro José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

and Juan Ruiz were the ambassadors sent by Granada and Rivas to Malespín, with the result of the creation of a provisional government in charge of Senator Selva based in Masaya and without the consent of León, the seat of the government of

Emiliano Madriz Emiliano Madriz (c. 1800 – 24 January 1845) was a liberal Nicaraguan lawyer and politician who served as acting Supreme Director of Nicaragua from 26 September to 26 December 1844, and as the interim Supreme Director in León until 24 January ...

who as Supreme Director directed the defenses of the city, which was finally occupied with the subsequent looting of its churches.

Overthrow of Malespín

On 2 February 1845

Joaquín Eufrasio Guzmán Joaquín Eufrasio Guzmán (15 February 1801 – 1875) was a Central American politician and military general who served as acting President of El Salvador on three occasions: from 25 October 1844 to 16 February 1845, from 25 April 1845 to 1 Febru ...

, the Vice President of El Salvador, with support from much of

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

, declared himself

President of El Salvador President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. Malespín, backed by Honduran forces, returned to El Salvador in an attempt to regain his presidency, thus ending the war in Nicaragua. Selva was able to escape from León, where he was stationed after

Blas Antonio Sáenz Blas is mainly a Spanish given name and surname, related to Blaise. It may refer to Places *Piz Blas, mountain in Switzerland * San Blas (disambiguation) People * Ricardo Blas Jr. (born 1986) Judo athlete from Guam * Blas Antonio Sáenz (fl. 184 ...

and

José León Sandoval José León Sandoval de la Cerda (1789 – 1854) was a Nicaraguan politician, member of the short lived centrist Republican Party, who served as 4th Supreme Director of Nicaragua from 4 April 1845 to 12 March 1847. A mestizo descendant of the c ...

formed a counter-government in

, which on 20 January declared Sáenz as provisional Supreme Director, until

Sandoval Sandoval is a habitational surname of Spanish language, Spanish origin. It primarily originates from Sandoval de la Reina, Spain, earlier called ''Sannoval'', which is a blend word of Latin ''saltus'' (meaning 'grove' or 'wood') and Latin ''novalis ...

was elected on 4 April.Justin Wolfe
The everyday nation-state: community & ethnicity in nineteenth-century Nicaragua
/ref>

References

Presidents of Nicaragua 1777 births 1855 deaths People from New Spain {{DEFAULTSORT:Selva, Silvestre