Juan Germán Roscio (27 May 1763 – 10 March 1821) was a

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 ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

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 ...

of Italian background. He served as the secretary of foreign affairs for the Junta of Caracas, as Venezuela's first foreign minister, and as chief of the Executive during the

First Republic of Venezuela The First Republic of Venezuela ( es, Primera República de Venezuela) was the first independent government of Venezuela, lasting from 5 July 1811, to 25 July 1812. The period of the First Republic began with the overthrow of the Spanish colonial ...

. He was also editor for ''

Gazeta de Caracas ''La Gazeta de Caracas'' ( es, The Caracas Gazette) was the first newspaper printed in Venezuela; its first issue was published on October 24, 1808. In 1814, its name changed to ''Gaceta de Caracas''. The newspaper was issued, with some interruptio ...

'' and ran the ''

Correo del Orinoco ''Correo del Orinoco '' (the ''Orinoco Post'') was a Venezuelan newspaper created by Simón Bolívar. As such, it is the oldest sovereign newspaper on the Latin American continent and South America. The weekly paper was published from 1818 to 18 ...

''. He was the main editor of the

Venezuelan Declaration of Independence The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence () is a statement adopted by a congress of Venezuelan provinces on July 5, 1811, through which Venezuelans made the decision to separate from the Spanish Crown in order to establish a new nation based ...

, the chief architect of the Venezuelan Constitution of 1811 and the electoral rules for the election of the first Congress. He was also president of the Angostura Congress in 1819 and vice president of

Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), or Greater Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 18 ...

Early years

Roscio was born to Italian migrant from Milan, Giovanni Roscio, and Paula María Nieves, a

n native from La Victoria. Living in San Francisco de Tiznados, he studied Italian and Latin. He moved to Caracas in 1774 in order to further his studies, undertaken under tutelage from the Count of San Javier's daughter. He studied theology and civil law, attaining degrees in

Canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

and civil law in 1794 and 1800 respectively. Filing for licensing at the

Real Audiencia de Caracas The Captaincy General of Venezuela ( es, Capitanía General de Venezuela), also known as the Kingdom of Venezuela (), was an administrative district of colonial Spain, created on September 8, 1777, through the Royal Decree of Graces of 1777, t ...

in 1796, the College of Law alleged his unsuitability in light of irregularities in his maternal heritage claims, specifically his failure to state his "

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

" heredity. He appealed this determination in a nine-year-long process termed "trial of Inés María Paéz", after which he was admitted into the College. It is for this reason Roscio is considered an early defender of civil rights and anti-discrimination activist. Roscio is known to have contracted marriage with Guyanese native María Dolores Cuevas, with whom he had a daughter, Carmen Roscio Cuevas, born 10 March 1821.

Public life

Roscio was one of the

's most important ideologues, taking a leading role in the 19 April 1810 revolution, as "representative of the people". He held the foreign ministry during the

Supreme Junta The Supreme Junta (or Junta Suprema de Caracas) was the institution that governed the Captaincy General of Venezuela following the forced resignation of the Captain General Vicente Emparán on April 19, 1810, marking the beginning of the Venezue ...

, during which time he lobbied for emancipation, particularly during the Constitutional Congress of 1811. Attending the Congress as a representative for Calabozo, he took part in redacting the declaration of independence signed on 5 July 1811. He also helped redact the 1811 Federal Constitution, approved on 21 December 1811. During August 1810 he founded the Sociedad Patriótica, later attended by

Francisco de Miranda Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary. Although his own plans for the independence of the Spani ...

, and where

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

was to give his notable "Acaso 300 años de calma no bastan" speech. He was elected substitute member of the 1812

triumvirate A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...

that March. As part of his role, he supported ascribing Miranda the title of Generalisimo and Dictator of Venezuela. Following

Domingo de Monteverde Juan Domingo de Monteverde y Rivas (born Juan Domingo de Monteverde; 2 April 1773 15 September 1832), commonly known as Domingo de Monteverde, was a Spanish soldier, governor and Captain General of Venezuela from June 1812 to 8 August 1813. Mont ...

's triumph and the defeat of the First Republic, Roscio was sent to jail in the

Arsenal de la Carraca Arsenal de la Carraca, also Naval Station of La Carraca, is a naval shipyard and a naval base in San Fernando, Spain. It is a naval base for the construction and repair of ships, and the storage and distribution of arms and ammunition. The first m ...

in Spain. He was then transferred to

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

, along with seven co-prisoners, including

José Cortés de Madariaga José Cortés de Madariaga (8 July 1766 – March 1826) was a South American patriot. Biography Cortés de Madariaga studied theology in Santiago de Chile, and was ordained in 1788. He continued his studies at the Universidad de San Felipe and g ...

Juan Pablo Ayala ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

, Juan Paz del Castillo, Francisco Isnardi, Joseph Mires and Juan Baraona. He escaped to Gibraltar in 1814 with three of them, but was extradited to Spain by the British authorities. Roscio sent, through close friend Thomas Richard, a letter to

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

, which played a part in

Fernando VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_pla ...

's decision to release the four prisoners. Roscio then travelled to Jamaica and then the United States, where he published ''Triunfo de la libertad sobre el despotismo'' (Philadelphia, 1817). He supported Simón Bolívar in 1818 at

Angostura Angostura may refer to: Places Mexico * Angostura, Sinaloa, a city in north-west Mexico ** Angostura Municipality, Sinaloa, a municipality in Sinaloa, Mexico * Puerto de la Angostura, Coahuila, site of the 1847 Battle of Buena Vista between Ame ...

, throughout the creation of the

Third Republic of Venezuela The Third Republic of Venezuela ( es, Tercera República de Venezuela) is the reestablished Republic of Venezuela declared by Simón Bolívar in the year 1817, during the Venezuelan War of Independence. The beginning of the Third Republic of Ve ...

and the formulation of Gran Colombia. During this time he acted as finance minister and president of the Angostura Congress, as well as vice president of the Department of Venezuela and Gran Colombia. Roscio died on the eve of acting as president of the Cúcuta Congress, on 10 March 1821. Roscio created paper money in Venezuela, proposing the name "Bolívar", which remains to this day. He was also founding member of the Orinoco Mail, its second director; and lobbied for the creation of a national library.. In 2011, his remains were decreed to be interred in the

National Pantheon of Venezuela The National Pantheon of Venezuela (''Panteón Nacional de Venezuela'') is a final resting place for national heroes. The Pantheon (Latin ''Pantheon'', from Greek ''Pantheon,'' meaning " Temple of all the Gods") was created in the 1870s on th ...

, a process which has been delayed due to difficulties in properly identifying his actual remains.Busto dedicato a Roscio
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Early years

Public life

References

Further reading