José María Caminero y Ferrer (1782 – January 2, 1853) was a Dominican lawyer and politician. He played a significant role in the different political processes that occurred on the island from the early independence movement of

José Núñez de Cáceres José Núñez de Cáceres y Albor (March 14, 1772 – September 11, 1846) was a People of the Dominican Republic, Dominican revolutionary and writer. He is known for being the leader of the first Dominican independence movement against Spanish E ...

, the Haitian occupation and the independent Dominican governments until his death in 1853.

Birth and early years

José María Caminero y Ferrer was born in the city of

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

, Cuba, in 1782. Before arriving on the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

, José María Caminero married María Guadalupe Heredia in his hometown. She is believed to be the sister of the French poet José María de Heredia. From his early years, he demonstrated his ability as an interpreter and translator of from

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

before the courts of Santiago de Cuba, a position he held from 1806 to 1809. Later, he served as a public interpreter for the Government in the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo in 1818. He was elected deputy for Santo Domingo in the Chamber of Commons of Haiti, a position he held from 1822 to 1827, during the years of Haitian domination. Caminero also participated in commissions of inquiry in the years 1822 and 1842. By 1828, at the age of 39, he held the position of Receiver of the Register and Interpreter. He was also a prominent member of the

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

section, an influential organization of the time. In 1834, José Caminero assumed an important role as Port Interpreter of Santo Domingo, thus consolidating his presence in the port area of the city. However, his career would take a momentous turn on March 9, 1835, when

Jean-Pierre Boyer Jean-Pierre Boyer (; 15 February 1776 – 9 July 1850) was one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, and the president of Haiti from 1818 to 1843. He reunited the north and south of the country into the Republic of Haiti in 1820 and also ann ...

appointed him Government Commissioner near the Civil Court of the city of Santo Domingo.

Dominican independence

Not only did he stand out in the governmental sphere, but Caminero was a fervent supporter of the separatist movement and signed the Manifesto of January 16, 1844, joining the country's independence process. In addition, he joined the separatist movement of the

Trinitarios The Trinitarios is a Dominican American criminal organization founded by Dominicans in New York City, New York in 1993. History The Trinitarios were established in 1993 on Rikers Island, the New York City jail,Luis Ferré-Sadurní & Barbara Mar ...

in Santo Domingo and acted as Delegate of the Provisional Governing Board before the Haitian general Henri Etienne Desgrotte for the capitulation of Santo Domingo. On March 1, 1844, he joined the Central Governing Board and on June 1 of that same year, he presided over the Governing Board. At that time, he requested protection and recognition of independence by France. However, secretly,

Juan Pablo Duarte Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez (January 26, 1813 – July 15, 1876) was a Dominican military leader, writer, activist, and nationalist politician who was the foremost of the Founding Fathers of the Dominican Republic and bears the title of Father ...

and

José Joaquín Puello José Joaquín Puello de Castro (1805 – December 23, 1847) was a Dominican revolutionary and government minister who stood out as a key leader in the Dominican War of Independence. His participation in the proclamation of Independence on ...

, two liberal Generals, conspired to stage a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

and overthrow the Board presided over by Caminero. On June 9, 1844, Duarte and Puello led the

18 Dominican Brumaire The Coup of 18 Dominican Brumaire was a Coup d'état, military coup d'état that took place on June 9, 1844, in the Dominican Republic. This event was part of the Dominican War of Independence. In May 1844, after the defeat of Haitian president C ...

that overthrew Caminero. Following this, the arrest of Caminero and

Tomás Bobadilla Tomás Bobadilla y Briones (March 30, 1785 – December 21, 1871) was a writer, intellectual, and politician from the Dominican Republic. The first ruler of the Dominican Republic, he had significant participation in the movement for Dominic ...

, among others, was ordered, although they managed to escape thanks to the warning given to them by

Francisco del Rosario Sánchez Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comm ...

and both took refuge in the house of the French consul until the coup d'état of General

Pedro Santana Pedro Santana y Familias, 1st Marquess of Las Carreras (June 29, 1801June 14, 1864) was a Dominican soldier and politician who served three times as the president of the First Dominican Republic (1844–1861) and was the first governor-genera ...

on July 12, 1844. After this last coup, Caminero returned to the Board. On November 6, 1844, as secretary of the Constituent Congress, Caminero participated in the drafting of the country's first political Constitution.

Diplomatic career

In 1844, the Dominican Republic was faced with the challenge of obtaining international recognition of its newly proclaimed independence. At this important juncture, President Pedro Santana made the decision to appoint Caminero to his most relevant role as commissioner and public envoy to the Government of the

United States of America 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 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. Caminero's mission, which left for

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

on December 5, 1844, was to establish relations of friendship, alliance, and trade with all the great nations, especially with the one that had been a pioneer in the fight for freedom in America. On January 6, 1845, Caminero was received by Secretary of State

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist who served as the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. Born in South Carolina, he adamantly defended American s ...

and fulfilled his mission by delivering a copy of the Dominican Constitution and a letter to the President of the United States,

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president of the United States, vice president in 1841. He was elected ...

, formally requesting recognition of Dominican independence. However, at that time, the international agenda of the United States was not focused on establishing diplomatic relations with countries in

Spanish America Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' Spanish Empire, imperial era between 15th and 19th centur ...

, as its efforts were focused on completing territorial expansion to the West. Despite Caminero's efforts and the favorable interest shown by President Tyler, the latter decided to send a special commissioner, John Hogan, to Santo Domingo to gather detailed information about the country. Hogan's mission, carried out in 1845, resulted in an exhaustive report that assessed the political, economic, and military situation of the Dominican Republic, as well as the opinion of the population regarding the United States. Despite the interest shown by the administrations of Tyler and later

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

, the recognition of Dominican independence by the United States would take many years to materialize. The American government, aware of its interests in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, had to ensure that recognizing Dominican independence was beneficial and convenient for its foreign policies.

Later career

Caminero also had a distinguished career in the judicial field and held important positions in the Dominican government. He held various ministerial positions, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance and Commerce, during the administrations of Santana and

Manuel Jimenes Manuel José Jimenes González (January 14, 1808December 22, 1854) was one of the leaders of the Dominican War of Independence. He served as the 2nd President of the Dominican Republic from September 8, 1848, until May 29, 1849. Prior to that h ...

. In addition to his distinguished career in the political arena, Caminero also left his mark in the judicial field. In 1847, he stood out as Public Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Justice and participated as a public prosecutor in the special court that tried the Puello brothers. During the invasion of

Faustin Soulouque Faustin-Élie Soulouque (; 15 August 1782 – 3 August 1867) was a Haitian politician and military commander who served as President of Haiti from 1847 to 1849 and Emperor of Haiti from 1849 to 1859. Soulouque was a general in the Armed Forces ...

, the Battle of Las Carreras took place at the Caminero estate on April 21, 1849. As plenipotentiary, he signed together with Juan Esteban Aybar and Ricardo Ramón Miura the treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation with France on May 8, 1852.

Death

He died in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo on January 2, 1853. He was 71 years old.