José Hilario López Valdés (18 February 1798,

Popayán Popayán () is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in southwestern Colombia between the Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range. It has a population of 318,059 people, an area of 483 km2, is locate ...

, Cauca – 27 November 1869, Campoalegre, Huila) was a Colombian

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 ...

and military officer. He was the

President of Colombia The president of Colombia ( es, Presidente de Colombia), officially known as the president of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Presidente de la República de Colombia) or president of the nation ( es, Presidente de la Nacion) is the head of stat ...

between 1849 and 1853.Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; ''Gobernantes Colombianos''; trans. Colombian Presidents; Inter print Editors Ltd.; Italgraf; Segunda Edición; pg. 51; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983

Biographic data

The son of José Casimiro López and Rafaela Valdés y Fernández, José, completed his primary education in the seminary of

under the supervision of scholar, José Félix de Restrepo. At age 14, he ended his education to join the revolutionary army.

Military career

López joined the revolutionary army as a cadet, at the age of 14. He participated in military combat in the battle of Alto Palacé (30 December 1813), the battle of Calibío (January 1814), battle of Tacines (9 May 1814) and the battle of

Pasto Pasto, officially San Juan de Pasto (; "Saint John of Pasto"), is the capital of the department of Nariño, in southern Colombia. Pasto was founded in 1537 and named after indigenous people of the area. In the 2018 census, the city had app ...

(10 May 1813). During the battle of La Cuchilla del Tambo, López was taken prisoner by the Spanish Army. López was sent to Bogotá, where he was tried by court martial and was found guilty of treason against the Crown and sentenced to death. His death sentence was commuted in exchange for his service to the royal army. As a prisoner of war, he was assigned to the cobblestone duty of the ''Plaza Mayor de Bogotá'' and in the shooting squadron to execute insurgent leaders. On 28 June 1819, López was promised his freedom after his aunt Eusebia Caicedo intervened on his behalf. But it was not until 24 July 1819 that he was pardoned and freed.

Wars of Independence from Spain

In 1820, López met General Simón Bolívar, who appointed him lieutenant of the then newly created ''"Boyacá Battalion"''. While in the town of La Mesa, López saw his former prison mate, Vicente Azuero, among the prisoners of war and interceded for his release. López was promoted to the rank of lieutenant mayor and subsequently, captain. In that capacity, López participated in the ''"Northern Campaign"'' offensive in what is now

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n territory. Once the campaign ended in February 1823, López returned to Bogotá and was appointed by General

Francisco de Paula Santander Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña (Villa del Rosario, Norte de Santander, Colombia, April 2, 1792 – Santafé de Bogotá, Colombia, May 6, 1840), was a Colombian military and political leader during the 1810–1819 independe ...

as military chief of the province of Cauca. On 6 April 1823, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Military career

After the '' Conspiración Septembrína'' ( September Conspiracy) of 1828, and while being military chief of the Azuay province, López rebelled against General Simón Bolívar and joined the army of Colonel

José María Obando José María Ramón Obando del Campo (August 8, 1795 – April 29, 1861) was a Neogranadine General and politician who twice served as President of Colombia. As a General, he initially fought for the Royalist Army during the Independence Wars o ...

. Shortly after, the

Gran Colombia-Peru War Gran may refer to: People *Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran" * Gran (name) Places * Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary * Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...

broke out, and Bolívar headed south to confront the

Peruvians Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; Peruvian ...

and join forces with Field Marshal

Antonio José de Sucre Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá (; 3 February 1795 – 4 June 1830), known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" ( en, "Grand Marshal of Ayacucho"), was a Venezuelan independence leader who served as the president of Peru and as the second p ...

, who was in wait for him. By the end of January 1829, Bolívar came to an agreement with the rebel commanders and pardoned them after the Pact of Juanambú was signed on 2 March 1829. Bolívar also explained his decision to ignore the Constitution of Cúcuta, after General

José Antonio Páez José Antonio Páez Herrera (; 13 June 1790 – 6 May 1873) was a Venezuelan leader who fought against the Spanish Crown for Simón Bolívar during the Venezuelan War of Independence. He later led Venezuela's independence from Gran Colombia. ...

’ actions in

Political career

Under the military government of

Rafael Urdaneta Rafael José Urdaneta y Farías (October 24, 1788 – August 23, 1845) was a Venezuelan General and hero of the Spanish American wars of independence. He served as President of Gran Colombia from 1830 until 1831. He was an ardent supporter ...

in September 1830, López and Obando rebelled once again and started a campaign to destabilize the government. Their forces took over most of the south and took control of the town of

. López advanced to

Tocaima Tocaima () refers to both a city and a municipality in Cundinamarca, Colombia. City The city of Tocaima was founded on March 20, 1544 as San Dionisio de los Caballeros de Tocaima by the Spanish explorer Hernán Venegas Carrillo. This small city ...

, where he confronted General

, but both reached a ceasefire that followed the "

Apulo Apulo (previously called ''Rafael Reyes Municipality'') is a Colombian town and municipality in the Cundinamarca Department. Municipalities of Cundinamarca Department {{Cundinamarca-geo-stub ...

Agreement", signed on 28 April 1831. The following year, during the government of

, López was appointed military chief of Bogotá, and two years later, in 1834 was appointed governor of Cartagena. After these posts, López also assumed other offices such as the Secretary of War and Navy, Ambassador of Colombia to the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

, Secretary of Foreign Relations, state advisor and senator.

President of Colombia

On 7 March 1849, López was elected

with the support of the

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

s and their democratic society clubs, having also taken advantage of the divisions among the conservatives. His government abolished slavery, created the agrarian law, supported the separation between church and state, freedom of the press and the

federalization Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments ( provincial, state, cantonal, territorial, or other sub-unit governments) in a single p ...

of the state. Resistance against abolition provoked a conservative uprising in the Cauca region, led by Julio Arboleda. The revolt was soon crushed by Lopez' government forces. In Cali, confrontations between landowners and the commoners became harshly violent. The defeat suffered by the landowners sparked an uprising of former slaves and peasants, who sabotaged and vandalized farms, to the point of taking physical vengeance over their former masters by whipping them with the same whips used on them. The government bonds issued to compensate the former slave owners may have contributed to inflation. López administration also authorized the dissolution of the Resguardos for

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

s and prohibited any businesses regarding this practice, going against the will of their main supporters, the Democratic Societies, and allowing the elites to benefit from the newly liberated laborers who searched for work in their

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

plantations.

Civil wars

A year after finishing his term as President of Colombia, in 1854, López joined the conservative and liberal armies against the “Artisans Revolution” and deposed General José Maria Melo from the presidency.Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; ''Gobernantes Colombianos'' ("Colombian Presidents"); Inter-print Editors Ltd.; Italgraf; Segunda Edición; pg. 64; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983 During the

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 ...

of 1859, López enrolled in the army of the “radical liberals”, who defended the Federation and autonomy of the states. López was elected as President of Tolima and assumed office in the city of

Neiva Neiva () is the capital of the Department of Huila. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River in south central Colombia with a population of about 357,392 inhabitants. It is one of the most important cities in southern Colombia, mainly ...

in July 1863. In 1865 he was postulated as candidate to lead the Colombian Union, but was defeated by President Tomas Cipriano de Mosquera. In 1867, President

Mosquera Mosquera is a Spanish surname (first name) originally from Galicia (Spain). The family crest states (Spanish) Gallego. It derives from the mansion of the family's founder, Ramiro de Mosquera. In the fifth century, it was already linked to ''Moscos ...

closed down the National Congress and, because of this, was deposed in reprisal. López was then named Army Chief by the new interim government of

Santos Acosta Manuel María de los Santos Acosta Castillo (November 1, 1828 – January 9, 1901) was a Colombian General and political figure. He served as the president of Colombia from 1867 until 1868. Biographic data Acosta was born in Miraflores, Boya ...

. After these, he retired from politics and returned to his farms until the day of his death.

References

External links

Presidencia de Colombia; José Hilario López
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Jose Hilario 1798 births 1869 deaths People from Popayán People of Andalusian descent People of Asturian descent Colombian people of Spanish descent Colombian Liberal Party politicians Presidents of Colombia Presidential Designates of Colombia Colombian generals People of the Colombian War of Independence Ambassadors of Colombia to the Holy See Colombian abolitionists 19th-century Colombian people