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José Antonio Páez Herrera (; 13 June 1790 – 6 May 1873) was a
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
n politician and military officer who served as the
president of Venezuela The president of Venezuela (), officially known as the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (), is the executive head of state and head of government of Venezuela. The president leads the National Executive of the Venezuelan go ...
three times. The first as the 5th president from 1830 to 1835, the second as the 8th president from 1839 to 1843, and the third as the 15th president from 1861 to 1863. He fought against the
Spanish Crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...
for
Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...
during the
Venezuelan War of Independence The Venezuelan War of Independence (, 1810–1823) was one of the Spanish American wars of independence of the early nineteenth century, when independence movements in South America fought a civil war for secession and against unity of the S ...
. Páez later led Venezuela's independence from
Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), also known as Greater Colombia and officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish language, Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and parts of Central ...
. Páez dominated the country's politics for most of the next three decades once the country had achieved independence from Gran Colombia, serving either as president or as the power behind puppet presidents. He is considered a prime example of a 19th-century South American
caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...
, saddling the country with a legacy of authoritarian rule that lasted with only a few breaks until 1958. He lived in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
and
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
during his years in exile and died in the latter in 1873.


Biography


Early life

Páez was born in Curpa (now part of
Acarigua Acarigua (), founded as San Miguel de Acarigua in 1620, is a city in northwestern Venezuela, in the northern part of the state of Portuguesa (state), Portuguesa and its former capital. It encompasses the Páez municipality. It is a major commerc ...
), Portuguesa State in the
Captaincy General of Venezuela The Captaincy General of Venezuela (), was an administrative district of colonial Spain, created on September 8, 1777, through the Royal Decree of Graces of 1777, to provide more autonomy for the provinces of Venezuela, previously under the ju ...
part of the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
. His paternal grandmother, Luisa Antonia de Mendoza y Mota, was daughter of Luís Rodríguez de Mendoza, a native of
Icod de los Vinos Icod de los Vinos is a municipality in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands (Spain), located in the northwestern part of the island. Inhabitants of Icod are known in Spanish as ''"icodenses"''. ...
,
Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
( Canary Island). He was of humble origins, his father being a low level employee of the colonial government. His mother Maria Violante Herrera is said to have been born in Quíbor, Lara as one of the descendants of Welser German settlers. She had a nickname "La Catira de los ojos azules" (The blue-eyed blonde
Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...
slang of "blond."]) As a boy he was forced to work like a slave. By the age of 20, Páez was married and earning a living by trading cattle. Late in 1810, he joined a cavalry squadron, led by a former employer, set up with the purpose of fighting the colonial government. In 1813, he asked for leave from his squadron with the intent of setting and leading his own, which he did, joining the Western Republican Army with the rank of sergeant. Páez had an ingratiating personality which made him very much liked amongst those who knew him. He was also looked up to for his skills as a horseman and for his physical capabilities.


Battles

Páez, a soldier at heart, started moving up the ranks by winning year after year several engagements against the royalists with his band of marauding llaneros (plainsmen). He came to be known by the nicknames of "El Centauro de los Llanos" (The Centaur of the Plains), and "El León de Payara" (The Lion of Payara) or (The Lion of Apure). Páez had been leading the fighting in the plains while
Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...
was busy with the eastern part of the country. Early in 1818, both men met to discuss better coordination of their efforts. They briefly combined their forces to fight Pablo Morillo. This campaign included an incident wherein Páez and fifty of his men swam on horseback across the alligator-ridden
Apure River The Apure River is a river of southwestern Venezuela, formed by the confluence of the Sarare and Uribante near Guasdualito, in Venezuela, at , and flowing across the Llanos into the Orinoco. It provides significant transportation in the area. Ori ...
, seizing fourteen enemy boats in a rare instance of a cavalry attack defeating naval forces. Páez was soon ordered to go back to the western plains, where he took from the Spanish the city of San Fernando in
Apure Apure State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. Its territory formed part of the provinces of Mérida (state), Mérida, Maracaibo, and Barinas (state), Barinas, in accordance with successive territorial ordinations ...
. Páez won all of six major battles that he led by himself, the most celebrated one being the Battle of Las Queseras del Medio. Late in 1820, an armistice had been signed with the Spanish commander and a temporary suspension of hostilities had taken place. However, ongoing developments were making difficult to maintain the armistice and, consequently, it was agreed it would lapse on 28 April 1821. All five major fighting groups of the Venezuelan army were to start moving towards a central area. Some with the purpose of joining together in one single group and others with the intention of guarding the approach to that region to prevent royalists units from other far away areas from converging and reinforcing the main Spanish army stationed in the same area. In early June 1821, the 6,500 men republican army was divided and organized in three divisions. The 1st division, made up of 2,500 men, was under Páez's command and formed by two battalions: Bravos de Apure (Apure Braves) and Cazadores Britanicos (British Hunters or as more often translated to English, the
British Legions The British Legion () or British Legions were Foreign volunteers, foreign volunteer units which fought under Simón Bolívar against Spain for the independence of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, and under José de San Martín for the independen ...
) and seven cavalry regiments. By 20 June, all three republican divisions converge from different directions in the plain of
Carabobo Carabobo State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, located in the north of the country, about two hours by car from Caracas. The state capital city is Valencia, which is also the country's main industrial center. The state's area is and ...
. With the royalists well entrenched in the center and the south, on the morning of 21 June, Páez was given command of an additional cavalry regiment and ordered to take it together with his own division through the hills on the north side and into the plain and to engage the Spanish, while the 2nd division would stay behind Páez and the 3rd would remain in a defensive position waiting to engage the enemy in the center. On seeing Páez's men move, the Spanish commander, Miguel de la Torre, orders one of his elite battalions, the Burgos, to reinforce and defend the north flank. Initially, the Spanish so fiercely engage the Bravos de Apure battalion that it had to fall back on two occasions. Páez sent his Cazadores Britanicos to help the Bravos and together they fought back the Spanish, now reinforced themselves by two additional battalions. As the fighting intensified, de la Torre sent more troops to the north. Páez then sent his cavalry further north to outflank the Spanish and come down on the plain from behind. At this moment, the battle is obviously going against the Spanish, who in desperation kept sending reinforcements. In the meantime, Páez's men were gaining terrain and closing on falling Spanish from all sides. Some of the Spanish battalions supposed to join and reinforce the engagement in the north, on seeing how their comrades are faring, decide to disobey orders and retreat. As it becomes evident that the republicans were winning the battle, the other divisions moved forward, but by now the bulk of the work had already been done by Páez and his men. With the Battle of Carabobo, the military fate of the Spanish army in Venezuela was sealed. The victory was carried by Páez. Bolívar promoted him on site to General in Chief of the republican army. In the battle, the Spanish lost over 65% of their men; the survivors took refuge in the castle of
Puerto Cabello Puerto Cabello () is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State, about 210 km west of Caracas. As of 2011, the city had a population of around 182,400. The city is home to the largest and busiest port in the count ...
. Until it was taken by Páez and his men in 1823, this was the last Spanish stronghold in Venezuela territory.


Politics, La Cosiata

Following the Battle of Carabobo, Páez was named General Commander of the provinces of Caracas and Barinas (at the time they included the important regions of Caracas,
Barquisimeto Barquisimeto (; ) is a city in Venezuela. Barquisimeto is located in the Central-Western Region, Venezuela. It is the capital of the state of Lara (state), Lara and head of Iribarren Municipality. It is an important urban, industrial, commercial a ...
, Barinas and Apure). It had been Bolivar's dream to unite the liberated Spanish provinces into a single great country: La
Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), also known as Greater Colombia and officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish language, Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and parts of Central ...
. This was made up of present-day
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
, Venezuela,
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
, and
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
. As the war against Spain came to an end, federalist and regionalist sentiments began to arise in these areas. While Bolívar was engaged in military campaigns in
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, he was unable to carry on his duties as president of Gran Colombia. As a result, the center of power of the executive branch was in Bogotá under the leadership of Vice President
Francisco de Paula Santander Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña (April 2, 1792 – May 6, 1840) was a Neogranadine military and political leader who served as Vice-President of Gran Colombia between 1819 and 1826, and was later elected by Congress as the President ...
, from New Granada (modern-day Colombia, Ecuador, and
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
). While some leaders saw Gran Colombia as only a military necessity, others considered it an active administrative entity. Confusion arose between the central government in Bogotá and the provinces and the municipalities. Páez and some Venezuelan politicians became uncomfortable. In 1826, after the Congress in Santa Fe de Bogotá under Santander found a Venezuelan hero from the independence war guilty of assassinating the French Colonel Emanuel Roergas Serviez in Colombia, Páez initiated and led a movement that became known as " La Cosiata." (This word did not exist in the Spanish language; it was coined to refer to this movement, meaning something along the lines of "that weird thing without a name"). La Cosiata started in April 1826 as a quasi-spontaneous movement (historical interpretations differ) of local politicians and figures supporting Páez. There was pressure in favor of Páez's removal from his office by some locals in Venezuela; they accused him of abusing his authority in relation to implementing orders coming from Bogotá. Páez himself allegedly disagreed with these, which called for the forced recruitment of men for the army. The Congress in Bogotá, including several of the Venezuelans among it, received complaints coming from Venezuela. They alleged that Páez had not properly understood the extent of his orders and had exceeded them in his implementation. Congress decided that it alone could judge Páez for his actions, and ordered him to go to Bogotá for trial. Páez was initially willing to go. But, some of the local figures who had complained of Paez's actions now felt insulted that their leader was being forced to go to Bogotá to be tried. After a few days of uncertainty and tension in the streets, the municipality of
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
broke with Bogotá and claimed Páez as military commander. In the following days, leaders of more municipalities followed suit, including
Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
(they had been among the first to accuse him of exceeding his orders.) Other municipalities and local officials did not join in this change of opinion. In July, Santander declared Páez to be in open rebellion against the central government. While all this was happening, Páez wrote to Bolívar, asking him to come back to take charge and solve the imbroglio. While Páez and his supporters were willing to have Bolívar as supreme leader, they were reluctant to follow Santander. While they wanted changes to be made to the constitution, they initially wanted to do it under Bolívar as part of the Gran Colombia. Bolívar, finally returned from his campaigns in the south, took command of the executive towards the end of 1826. He assumed the extraordinary powers granted to him by the Congress. Conflicting letters between Santander and Bolívar, and Bolívar and Páez, created a degree of uncertainty as to what he would do. He finally declared a general amnesty to all those who were involved in La Cosiata. But, he put them on notice that from then on, any disobedience of his orders would be considered a crime against the state. Páez welcomed Bolívar and accepted his authority, and Bolívar named him Supreme Civil and Military Commander of Venezuela. This action confused and disappointed both Santander in Bogotá and the few local officials in Venezuela who had not supported the La Cosiata. They were removed or transferred to other posts while those who had backed Páez remained or were promoted. Until La Cosiata, Páez had been mostly respected as a result of his military successes during the war. From that time, he started to be seen as a politician with the power and the wit needed to pursue and defend any changes, or lack thereof, made under the constitutional order. Páez came out from La Cosiata with more power than he had before.


President

In 1830, Páez declared Venezuela independent from Gran Colombia and became president. Although he was not the first president of Venezuela (which declared its independence from Spain in 1811 and named Cristóbal Mendoza as president), he was the first head of government after the dissolution of Gran Colombia. From 1830 to 1847, Páez was the most powerful man in Venezuela. He served as president only twice during this time (1830–1835 and 1839–1842), but ruled as the power behind puppet presidents when he was not in office. The government, dominated by the oligarchy, followed a constitution that had largely been written by Páez in 1830. Páez and the conservative oligarchy were conveniently allied because the oligarchy controlled a great amount of the country's wealth but was not popular with the masses, whereas Páez was very much liked by the masses. Historians consider the period of the 1830s to the 1860s as a golden era in Venezuela's history, in contrast to previous and future dictatorships. But, the constitution was supported by Páez, a military caudillo, and the rule by law was dependent on his personal prestige. Paez generally respected the law and was not interested in personal gain, as demonstrated by the common conditions in which he lived. Between 1830 and 1848 under the power of Páez and the oligarchy, the economic power of the church was broken and its dominance destroyed. From then on, the conflict between church and state ended, unlike in other countries in Latin America. In 1842, Páez arranged to have the remains of Simón Bolívar repatriated from Santa Marta, Colombia, to the Liberator's hometown of Caracas. His funeral procession was accompanied by exuberant honors before Bolivar's remains were entombed in the
Caracas Cathedral The Caracas Cathedral or Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Anne is the seat of the Roman Catholic Metropolitan archdiocese of Caracas, located on the Plaza Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela. Its chapel of the Holy Trinity is the burial site of the ...
. In 1847 President José Tadeo Monagas, who was put into power by Páez, dispersed the Congress and proclaimed himself dictator. Páez led a rebellion against him but was defeated by General
Santiago Mariño Santiago Mariño Carige Fitzgerald (25 July 1788 in Valle Espíritu Santo, Margarita – 4 September 1854 in La Victoria, Aragua), was a nineteenth-century Venezuelan revolutionary leader and hero in the Venezuelan War of Independence (1811– ...
in the 'Battle of the Araguatos', imprisoned, and eventually exiled. Páez was
exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
d from the country in 1850 and did not return until 1858. In 1861, Páez returned to power as president and supreme dictator, but ruled for only two years before again returning to exile. During this period, Erastus D. Culver, an attorney and judge from New York, was appointed as American Minister to Venezuela in 1862. He presented himself to Páez, not realizing that the United States did not officially recognize the dictator. He and Culver established amicable relations nonetheless. Páez lived in New York City during his years in exile. He returned in 186
Boarding Pass
living there for another decade before his death in 1873.


Personal life

Páez was married to Dominga Ortiz Orzúa, who served as First Lady of Venezuela from 1830 until 1835, and 1839 until 1843. She was First Lady again from 1861 until 1863. Páez suffered from
epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...
, even experiencing a seizure during the Battle of Carabobo in 1821. File:Dominga Ortiz de Páez.jpg, Dominga Ortiz Orzúa


The Paez Medal of Arts

The Paez Medal of Arts is a condecoration awarded by The Venezuelan American Endowment for the Arts (VAEA) that is presented once a year to an individual or group that has had an impact and contributed to excellence, growth, support and the proliferation of the
arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...
in
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It is named in honor of José Antonio Páez, leader of the
Independence of Venezuela Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
, who lived in exile the last years in New York, where he became a philanthropist.


See also

*
Presidents of Venezuela President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
* List of presidents of Venezuela *
Venezuelan War of Independence The Venezuelan War of Independence (, 1810–1823) was one of the Spanish American wars of independence of the early nineteenth century, when independence movements in South America fought a civil war for secession and against unity of the S ...


References


Citations

* John A. Crow. 1992. ''The Epic of Latin America''. Fourth Edition. California University Press. * Thomas E. Skidmore and Peter H. Smith. 2004. ''Modern Latin America''. Sixth Edition. Oxford University Press. (hereafter S&S) *
José Antonio Páez – Official biography.
*https://web.archive.org/web/20120305184218/http://elguanche.net/Ficheros3/emigracionytrascendenciaagm8.htm. LA EMIGRACION Y SU TRASCENDENCIA EN LA HISTORIA DEL PUEBLO CANARIO (VIII) (THE Emigration AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN THE HISTORY of CANARY (VIII)) (Accessed on 5 October 2010 at 17:55 (VIII))(In Spanish).


Footnotes

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Paez, Jose Antonio Presidents of Venezuela People of the Venezuelan War of Independence People of the Federal War Venezuelan soldiers People from Portuguesa (state) 1790 births 1873 deaths People from Gran Colombia Exiled Venezuelan politicians Venezuelan people of Canarian descent Conservative Party (Venezuela) politicians Venezuelan people of Spanish descent Burials at the National Pantheon of Venezuela Venezuelan independence activists People with epilepsy