José Francisco de Peralta y López del Corral (April 3, 1786 - September 16, 1844) was a

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He was born in Cartago, Costa Rica, the son of José María de Peralta y La Vega and Ana Benita de Nava López del Corral. Peralta attended the University of León and was ordained as a pastor in

León, Nicaragua León () is the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. Founded by the Spanish as Santiago de los Caballeros de León, it is the capital and largest city of León Department. , the municipality of León has an estimated population of 2 ...

in 1812. He was named a

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

for the village Olocuilta,

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de 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 b ...

. In 1822, Costa Rica elected Peralta to represent it in the First Constituent Congress of the Mexican Empire, but he did not attend the Congress, because he did not receive instruction from the municipal council of Cost Rican until September, too late to arrive before Iturbide abolished the Congress in October. In 1825, he was elected Deputy for Costa Rica to the Congress of the

Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America ( es, República Federal de Centroamérica), originally named the United Provinces of Central America ( es, Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), and sometimes simply called Central America, in it ...

, a post which he held until 1826, during which he participated in the legislation of several important laws, including the

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

of the

Partido de Nicoya The Partido de Nicoya was a major part of what is now the Guanacaste province in Costa Rica. Originally the territory was bounded on the northeast by the La Flor river and Lake Cocibolca, or Lake Nicaragua, on the south by Costa Rica (Gulf of Nic ...

to Costa Rica. From 1827 to 1828 Peralta was a Deputy for

Ujarrás Ujarrás is a village and historical site in the Orosí Valley of Cartago Province in central Costa Rica, southeast of the provincial capital of Cartago. It lies near the northeastern bank of the man-made Lake Cachí, created by the damming o ...

in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Costa Rica, and in November, 1829, he was elected to represent Costa Rica in the Senate of the

. From 1832 to 1833 he was the Deputy for

Santa Cruz, Costa Rica Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Costa Rica. Peralta served as President of the Assembly from September 1832 to February 1833 and from July 1833 to September 1833. In 1835, Peralta participated in the Costa Rican

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the '' Guerra de la Liga'' ( en, "War of the League") against Head of State

Braulio Carrillo Colina Braulio Evaristo Carrillo Colina (March 20, 1800, Cartago, Costa Rica – May 15, 1845) was the Head of State of Costa Rica (the title as it was known before the reform of 1848) during two periods: the first between 1835 and 1837, and the de ...

. For this reason, his property was seized by the state and he had to flee in exile. Peralta had been an enthusiastic admirer of General

Francisco Morazán Quesada Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

, who he honored during the general's stay in Cartago, Costa Rica in 1834. Peralta was one of the most prominent supporters of the government of General Francisco Morazán, who rose to power on 12 April 1842. As a result, Peralta was elected Deputy for Cartago to the Constituent Assembly convened by Morazán, which began on 10 July 1842 in

San José, Costa Rica San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Central Valley, within San José Canton. San ...

. Peralta was named President of the Assembly. Among the legislative projects that he pushed were the creation of the college San Luis Gozaga in Cartago, which would not actually open until 1869. Peralta died in Cartago on 16 September 1844, after an accident riding a horse. He left an important bequest for the foundation of a school for the children of Cartago, an institution which retains his name today. In the city a bust in honor of Peralta was unveiled in 1917.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peralta, Jose Francisco Presidents of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica 1786 births 1844 deaths People from Cartago Province Deaths by horse-riding accident Accidental deaths in Costa Rica Costa Rican liberals