José Manuel Marroquín
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Jose Manuel Cayetano Marroquín Ricaurte (August 6, 1827 – September 19, 1908) was a Colombian
political figure 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 ...
and the 27th President of
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
.


Biographic data

José Manuel Marroquín was born in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
, on August 6, 1827. He died in the same city on September 19, 1908.Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posada, Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición, Page 145, Bogotá, Colombia, 1983


Early life

Marroquín studied literature and philosophy at the Seminary of Bogotá. He went on to study jurisprudence at the ''Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé''.


Professional career

Marroquín became a professor of literature and philosophy at the Colegio Mayor del Rosario, where he eventually was appointed as rector. Later, he was also co-founder of the
Academia Colombiana de la Lengua The Academia Colombiana de la Lengua (Spanish for ''Colombian Academy of Language'') is an association of academics and experts on the use of the Spanish language in Colombia. It is based in Bogotá, Colombia's capital, and is a member of the ...
along with
Miguel Antonio Caro Miguel Antonio Caro Tobar (November 10, 1845 – August 5, 1909) was a Colombian scholar, poet, journalist, philosopher, orator, philologist, lawyer, and politician. Early life His father, José Eusebio Caro and Mariano Ospina Rodríguez ...
and José María Vergara. He was elected as the first Rector of the Academy. As writer, philosopher, poet and scholar he wrote several novels, poems, stories, essays and text books in grammar, philology and orthography.


Political career

Marroquín joined the
Colombian Conservative Party The Colombian Conservative Party ( es, Partido Conservador Colombiano) is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was formally established in 1849 by Mariano Ospina Rodríguez and José Eusebio Caro. The Conservative party along ...
and was elected to the House of Representatives and the Senate. He was also appointed as Minister of Education. He was elected as vice-president of the
Republic of Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
in 1898 and later elected as president in 1900 and served until 1904.


The Presidency

Marroquín was President twice. The first time, as acting President on August 7, 1898, when president elect
Manuel Antonio Sanclemente Manuel Antonio Sanclemente Sanclemente (September 19, 1814–March 12, 1902) was President of Colombia between 1898 and 1900.Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posada, Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición, Page 141, Bogotá ...
was unable to attend his inauguration due to his poor health. The second time, on July 31, 1900, by default, when President Sanclemente was deposed by a civil-military coup d’état. The nationalist conservative army echelon, in light of the demanding responsibilities of the civil war known as the
Thousand Days War The Thousand Days' War ( es, Guerra de los Mil Días) was a civil war fought in Colombia from 17 October 1899 to 21 November 1902, at first between the Liberal Party and the government led by the National Party, and later – after the Conser ...
, had approved and supported the coup d’état.Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posada, Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición, Page 146, Bogotá, Colombia, 1983 In an effort to end the civil war, President Marroquín offered the liberals a truce and armistice on June 12, 1902. The liberals rejected his offer, and the war intensified. After three years of bloody battles the war came to an end. Three peace treaties were signed. The first one was the Treaty of ''"Nerlandia"'', on October 24, 1902, which brought to an end the fighting in the provinces of Bolívar and Magdalena, signed by General Juan B. Tovar for the government and General Rafael Uribe Uribe as Commander in Chief of the insurrectionists. The second treaty was the one of ''“Wisconsin”'', signed on November 12, 1902, by the government’s Generals Alfredo Vásquez Cobo and Victor Manuel Salazar and insurgent Generals Lucas Caballero and Eusebio Morales. The terms of this treaty called for congressional elections, amnesty for all political and prisoner of war and rebel sympathizers, restoration of all confiscated properties and assets, conversion of rebel’s money into government’s official currency and assuming the rebel’s war indebtedness. The third treaty was the one of ''“Chinácota”'', signed on December 3, 1902, by Marroquín’s administration General
Ramón González Valencia Ramón González Valencia (May 24, 1851 – October 3, 1928) was a Colombian conservative, military officer and statesman. He participated in the civil wars of 1876, Colombian Civil War of 1895, and the Thousand Days War.Gobernantes Colombianos ...
and revolutionary General Ricardo Tirado Macías. Thus, the civil war came to an end, after more than 200 battles, tens of thousands dead, tens of thousands wounded, millions in material losses, and an aftermath of great and tragic political, social and economic consequences. President Marroquín officially declared the nation at peace on June 1, 1903.Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posada, Interprint Editors Ltd., Italgraf, Segunda Edición, Page 147, Bogotá, Colombia, 1983 The nation had not yet recovered from the tragic events and devastation of the civil war, when another crisis erupted. On November 3, 1903,
Panamá Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...
, sponsored and fueled by the interests of the United States declared its secession from Colombia. The provincial troops and civil leaders proclaimed the independence of the Panamanian State from the Colombian nation, aided and abetted by the military forces and diplomatic agents of President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
. As part of the conspiracy and within days, Roosevelt recognized the independence of Panamá and, in a stern and illegitimate forewarning, stated that he would not allow the presence of Colombian troops in Panamanian territory. Behind this secession movement and action was the desire of Roosevelt’s administration to build, operate and control an interoceanic canal. The events leading to the separation of Panamá from Colombia arise from the desires of business and strategic interests that wished to construct an interoceanic canal between the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
and the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
oceans. The concept of such a canal through Panamá dates to the early 16th century. The first attempt to construct the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
began in 1880 under Colombian control and French leadership. But this effort had failed and another project was being considered through
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 ...
. President Marroquín vehemently opposed such idea and pushed for plan to build the canal through Panamá. Therefore, the administrations of Marroquín and Roosevelt signed the treaty ''“Tomás Herrán-John Hay"'' in January 1903. The treaty provided in part that the French company would transfer its construction rights to the US; the US would build, operate and exploit the canal for a period of 99 years; Colombia would receive a down payment of $10 million pesos and royalties of $250 thousand pesos every year until the end of the contract; and that the Colombian Congress would ratify the treaty within eight months. President Marroquín presented the treaty for Congress’ consideration and ratification. Colombian Congress rejected the treaty and Panamá proclaimed its independence.


References


External links


APUNTES AUTOBIOGRÁFICOS
La Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango, el Museo del Oro, accessed October 3, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Marroquin, Jose Manuel 1827 births Politicians from Bogotá Colombian male novelists Colombian male writers Major Seminary of Bogotá alumni 19th-century Colombian lawyers Vice presidents of Colombia Leaders who took power by coup Presidents of Colombia 1908 deaths Colombian Conservative Party politicians 19th-century Colombian novelists 19th-century male writers