Concepción Bona Hernández, Mother Founder (December 6, 1824 - July 2, 1901) was a nursery school teacher and a campaigner for the independence of the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
. Together with
María Trinidad Sánchez
María Trinidad Sánchez, Mother Founder (16 May 1794, Santo Domingo- 27 February 1846, Santo Domingo) was a Dominican freedom fighter and a heroine of the Dominican War of Independence. She participated on the rebel side as a courier. Together wit ...
, Isabel Sosa and María de Jesús Pina, she took part in designing the
Dominican flag.
Biography
Concepción Bona was a daughter of Ignacio Bona Pérez, one of the signatories of the
Manifesto of January 16, 1844
A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or Consensus decision-making, publi ...
, and Juana de Dios Hernández, who was the eldest daughter of Josefa Brea Hernández, wife of the patrician
Matías Ramón Mella
Matías Ramón Mella Castillo (February 25, 1816 –June 4, 1864), who was most known by his middle name (Ramón), was a Dominican revolutionary, politician, and military general. Mella is regarded as a Folk hero, national hero in the Dominican ...
. She was also niece of a famous citizen Juan Pina, the father of , who was prominent in the national independence movement and co-founder of the
La Trinitaria secret society. The
Haitian occupation of Santo Domingo
The Haitian occupation of Santo Domingo ( es, Ocupación haitiana de Santo Domingo; french: Occupation haïtienne de Saint-Domingue; ht, Okipasyon ayisyen nan Sen Domeng) was the annexation and merger of then-independent Republic of Spanish Hai ...
began two years before her birth, and she grew up under Haitian rule.
When
Jean-Pierre Boyer
Jean-Pierre Boyer (15 February 1776 – 9 July 1850) was one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, and President of Haiti from 1818 to 1843. He reunited the north and south of the country into the Republic of Haiti in 1820 and also annex ...
took possession of the Dominican territory in 1822, the result was a political and cultural clash between the two countries, since the cultural base of the Haitians was Franco-African, while that of the Dominican people was
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
. For this reason the country was placed under military repression under , who set about recruiting youths for the military service of the Dominican Republic.
Bona grew up in a family fully committed to the patriotic cause that followed the ideas of
Juan Pablo Duarte
Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez (January 26, 1813 – July 15, 1876) was a Dominican military leader, writer, activist, and nationalist politician who was the foremost of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic and bears the title of Father of ...
. Young and brave, with her family she unconditionally adopted the Trinitarian ideas. Thus it was that together with her cousin, María de Jesús Pina, Isabel Sosa and María Trinidad Sánchez,
using fine fabrics she made the tricolor flag that was hoisted by the independence supporters in
Puerta del Conde
La Puerta del Conde (The Count's Gate) was the main entrance to the fortified city of Santo Domingo (in present-day Dominican Republic), named to honor Governor Captain-General Bernardino de Meneses Bracamonte y Zapata, 1st Count of Peñalva, wh ...
on February 27, 1844.
This marked the birth of the independent Dominican Republic. According to Dominican historians, it was Bona herself who brought the flag to General
Matías Ramón Mella
Matías Ramón Mella Castillo (February 25, 1816 –June 4, 1864), who was most known by his middle name (Ramón), was a Dominican revolutionary, politician, and military general. Mella is regarded as a Folk hero, national hero in the Dominican ...
, founder of the country and the husband of her cousin Josefa Brea Hernández. Concepción Bona was aged 19 at the time and her cousin was 16.
Bona married Marcos Gómez y Carvajal, who was from
Baní
Baní is a capital town of the Peravia Province, Dominican Republic. It is the commercial and manufacturing center in the southern region of Valdesia. The town is located 65 km south of the capital city Santo Domingo.
Baní is the headquarte ...
, on June 2, 1851. The couple had six children: Marcos Antonio, Manuel de Jesús, Eloísa, Rafael María, José María, and another José María.
Concepción Bona died on July 2, 1901, in Santo Domingo. Her remains are preserved in the
National Pantheon.
A
metro station
A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase Train ticket, tickets, board trains, and Emergency eva ...
in Santo Domingo is named after her.
See also
*
Dominican War of Independence
The Dominican War of Independence made the Dominican Republic a sovereign state on February 27, 1844. Before the war, the island of Hispaniola had been united for 22 years when the newly independent nation, previously known as the Captaincy Gen ...
References
External links
Bilirrubina.comWiki Dominicana (La Enciclopedia Virtual)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bona, Concepcion
1824 births
1901 deaths
Dominican Republic women
Dominican Republic independence activists
Flag designers