António Pinto Soares (1780 – April 6, 1865) was

Head of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state (polity), state#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international p ...

of Costa Rica from September 11 to September 27, 1842. He led the popular uprising that overthrew Francisco Morazán on September 11, 1842, and served as

until September 27, when he peacefully handled power to

José María Alfaro José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernac ...

Early life and family

Born in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

, in 1780 to wealthy parents Alexandre Pinto and María Custodia Soares. He was a marine merchant and settled in Costa Rica circa 1810. He married

María del Rosario Castro Ramírez Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

on April 26, 1813, in

San José San José or San Jose (Spanish for Saint Joseph) most often refers to: *San Jose, California, United States *San José, Costa Rica, the nation's capital San José or San Jose may also refer to: Places Argentina * San José, Buenos Aires ** San ...

. She was daughter of Francisco Castro y Alvarado and María de la Trinidad Ramírez y Ulloa. From this marriage he had fifteen children: José Dolores, Fernando, Mercedes,

José Antonio José Antonio is a common pairing of personal names in Spanish and Portuguese, and may refer to: Arts * Antonio Banderas, full name José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 1960), Spanish actor * José Antonio Abreu (1939–2018), Venezuelan m ...

, Baltazar, Petronila, José Antonio Raimundo, Francisca, Liborio, José Concepción, Jesús, Francisco, José, Manuel, and Remigio (all by the surnames of Pinto Castro).

Public and private activities

He dedicated himself to sea trade, coffee agriculture, and commerce although he also served in the military and earned the rank of General. He commanded the Republican artillery units during the 1823

Battle of Ochomogo The Ochomogo War was a civil war fought in Costa Rica, the first in its history, and was fought shortly after the country became independent from Spain. The most important event was the Battle of Ochomogo (5 April 1823) which was fought on O ...

, served as Costa Rica's Commandant of Artillery, Prosecutor for the 1823 Special Tribunals, Second in Command of the Provincial Battalion for the Disciplined Militias, General Internal Commandant and lastly General Arms Commandant. He also aided the government during the 1835 Civil War before retiring from military service. After this he served as mayor of San José for several terms.

Head of State

In September 1842, when discontent with Francisco Morazán had peaked and the country was on the brink of a war with

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

, Pinto led a popular uprising to overthrow him. He became Head of State on September 11, 1842, but he did not desire this power and peacefully conceded to José María Alfaro Zamora who was elected as Temporary Head of State by a collection of nobles from the different cities in the country. During his brief administration, Soares restored relations with the rest of Central America which had been broken with Morazán's rise to power and had even led to an alliance by them against his administration. The government of

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 by ...

granted him the rank of Division General.

Later achievements

From September 1842 to April 1844 he once again served as General Arms Commandant. He had great difficulties with the

Juan Rafael Mora Porras Juan Rafael Mora Porras (8 February 1814, San José, Costa Rica – 30 September 1860) was President of Costa Rica from 1849 to 1859. Life and career He first assumed the presidency following the resignation of his younger brother, Miguel ...

administration, which in 1851 accused him of plotting against the government. This led to a criminal case being opened against him and his son Liborio but this was interrupted shortly after.

Death

He died in San José on April 6, 1865.

Sources

:Obregón Quesada, Clotilde, "Nuestros gobernantes". {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto Soares, Antonio 1780 births 1865 deaths Presidents of Costa Rica Leaders who took power by coup Costa Rican people of Portuguese descent People from Porto 19th-century Costa Rican people Costa Rican liberals