José Joaquín Puello de Castro (

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

, 1805/1808–

ibid. Ibid. is an abbreviation for the Latin word '' ibīdem'', meaning "in the same place", commonly used in an endnote, footnote, bibliography citation, or scholarly reference to refer to the source cited in the preceding note or list item. This ...

, 23 December 1847) was a general and government minister from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. He and his brothers, Gabino and Eusebio, were the only prominent black Dominicans in the

Dominican War of Independence The Dominican War of Independence made the Dominican Republic a sovereign state on February 27, 1844. Before the war, the island of Hispaniola had been united for 22 years when the newly independent nation, previously known as the Captaincy Gen ...

Biography

Puello was former

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the

Haitian Army The Armed Forces of Haiti (french: Forces Armées d'Haïti—FAd'H), consisted of the Haitian Army, Haitian Navy (at times), the Haitian Air Force, Haitian Coast Guard, (ANI) and some police forces (Port-au-Prince Police). The Army was always ...

; when the Independence was proclaimed on

27 February Events Pre-1600 * 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity. * 425 – The University of Constantinop ...

1844 he was made part of the Central Independent Government (CIG) since he was very popular among mulattoes and blacks in order to allay fears and rumors regarding an alleged restoration of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

by the independence plotters. Before the involvement of Puello and his

afro-descendant The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were e ...

brothers with the secret society of La Trinitaria organized by Juan Pablo Duarte to attain its independence from Haiti, the majority of the population of African descent considered it a white supremacists organization because it was composed strictly of white middle class Dominican men. Juan Pablo Duarte's uncle suggested he should reach out to prominent Black leaders to gain the confidence of the people and help make the movement a reality. Therefore, Duarte made the important connection wit
Los Puellos
who helped make the independence of the nation a reality. He was suggested by General

Pedro Santana Pedro Santana y Familias, 1st Marquess of Las Carreras (June 29, 1801June 14, 1864) was a Dominican military commander and royalist politician who served as the president of the junta that had established the First Dominican Republic, a pre ...

, and then, appointed by the CIG, as Military Commander of Santo Domingo. On 16 July 1844, General

led a coup d'état and assumed the CIG’s Presidency. Puello’s refusal to face the coup against President Francisco del Rosario Sánchez favored the victory of the coup. President Santana appointed him as minister of Treasury and Commerce and promoted him to the rank of General. Following the ratification of the first constitution in November 1844, Puello was made governor of the Santo Domingo Province. In the 1845 Haitian invasion, Puello had an important role in the

Battle of Estrelleta The Battle of Estrelleta was a major battle of the Dominican War of Independence and was fought on September 17, 1845, at the site of Estrelleta, near Las Matas de Farfán, San Juan Province (Dominican Republic), San Juan Province. A force of Domi ...

that forced the Haitian retreat. However, his alignment with the liberals gained him enemies among the conservative-ruled government; the Consul of France, Eustache Juchereau de Saint-Denys, called him prejudiced against France and an enemy of the

whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as " ...

. The Puello brothers were indicted on charges of instigating an anti-white revolution in the country and ingratitude to the

white race White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

; they were judged ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in abse ...

''. José Joaquín and Gabino were sentenced to death by the twenty-five-man jury and executed by a

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

on 23 December 1847; Eusebio was sentenced to three years in prison and the loss of his military rank ( Lieutenant Colonel), however, shortly after he was released and reinstated into the military.

Biography

References

Further reading