José María de Peralta y de la Vega (28 September 1763 – 7 August 1836) was a Spanish-born

Costa Rican 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 ...

politician. De la Vega served in a number of political positions including as mayor of the municipal government of Cartago, a member of the Junta Superior Gubernativa of Costa Rica, and member and president of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

Personal life

Peralta was born to Antonia de la Vega y Castañeda and José de Peralta y Barrios on September 28, 1763 in

Jaén, Spain Jaén () is the urban capital city of the province of Jaén, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. The city of Jaén is the administrative and industrial centre for the province. Industrial establishments in the city include chemical ...

. Peralta first came to then- colonial Costa Rica in 1782 as a member of the entorauge of Bishop Esteban Lorenzo de Tristan of

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

and Costa Rica. When Tristan returned, Peralta remained in Costa Rica. Peralta married Ana Benita Nava López del Corral, the daughter of José Joaquín de Nava y Cabezudo (the governor then-province of Costa Rica), on April 12, 1783 in Cartago, Costa Rica. Ana Benita died on March 11, 1812. On October 29, 1816, the widowed Peralta married Ana Basilia de Alvarado y Oreamuno. Peralta had a number of children including

José Francisco de Peralta José Francisco de Peralta y López del Corral (April 3, 1786 - September 16, 1844) was a Costa Rican priest and politician. He was born in Cartago, Costa Rica, the son of José María de Peralta y La Vega and Ana Benita de Nava López del Corra ...

Political career

In 1785, Peralta became Syndico Procurato of Cartago; two years later, he became the provincial mayor of the

Santa Hermandad Santa Hermandad (, "holy brotherhood") was a type of military peacekeeping association of armed individuals, which became characteristic of municipal life in medieval Spain, especially in Castile. Modern hermandades in Spain, some of which evo ...

of Cartago. In 1808, Peralta served as the first mayor of Cartago. In January of 1822, Peralta was elected to the Junta Superior Gubernativa which governed Costa Rica at the time.From 1828 to 1831, Peralta served as the Superior Political Chief (Jefe Politico Superior) of Costa Rica. Peralta opposed the union of the Central American provinces to Mexico and is credited with influencing movements towards independence in Costa Rica.

References

1763 births 1836 deaths Costa Rican politicians People from Jaén, Spain {{DEFAULTSORT:Peralta y La Vega, José María