Juan Germán Roscio (27 May 1763 – 10 March 1821) 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 ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

of Italian background. He served as the secretary of foreign affairs for the Junta of Caracas, as Venezuela's first foreign minister, and as chief of the Executive during the

First Republic of Venezuela The First Republic of Venezuela () was the first independent government of Venezuela, lasting from 5 July 1811, to 25 July 1812. The period of the First Republic began with the overthrow of the Spanish colonial authorities and the establishment ...

. He was also editor for ''

Gazeta de Caracas Gazeta may refer to: Newspapers Albanian language * Gazeta 55, daily newspaper * Gazeta Express, a Kosovo newspaper published in Pristina * Gazeta Rilindja Demokratike, daily newspaper * Gazeta Shqip, daily newspaper * Gazeta Sot, a daily new ...

'' and ran the '' Correo del Orinoco''. He was the main editor of the

Venezuelan Declaration of Independence The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence () is a document drafted and adopted by Venezuelan on July 5, 1811, through which Venezuelans made the decision to separate from the History of Spain (1810–1873), Spanish Crown in order to establish a ...

, the chief architect of the Venezuelan Constitution of 1811 and the electoral rules for the election of the first Congress. He was also president of the Angostura Congress in 1819 and vice president of

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 ...

Early years

Roscio was born to Italian migrants from Milan, Giovanni Roscio, and Paula María Nieves, a

n native from La Victoria.Biografía de Roscio
/ref> Living in San Francisco de Tiznados, he studied Italian and Latin. He moved to Caracas in 1774 in order to further his studies, undertaken under tutelage from the Count of San Javier's daughter. He studied theology and civil law, attaining degrees in

Canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

and civil law in 1794 and 1800 respectively. Filing for licensing at the Real Audiencia de Caracas in 1796, the College of Law alleged his unsuitability in light of irregularities in his maternal heritage claims, specifically his failure to state his " Indian" heredity. He appealed this determination in a nine-year-long process termed "trial of Inés María Paéz", after which he was admitted into the college. It is for this reason Roscio is considered an early defender of civil rights and anti-discrimination activist. Roscio is known to have contracted marriage with Guyanese native María Dolores Cuevas, with whom he had a daughter, Carmen Roscio Cuevas, born 10 March 1821.

Public life

Roscio was one of the

's most important ideologues, taking a leading role in the 19 April 1810 revolution, as "representative of the people". He held the foreign ministry during the Supreme Junta, during which time he lobbied for emancipation, particularly during the Constitutional Congress of 1811. Attending the Congress as a representative for Calabozo, he took part in redacting the declaration of independence signed on 5 July 1811. He also helped redact the 1811 Federal Constitution, approved on 21 December 1811. During August 1810 he founded the Sociedad Patriótica, later attended by

Francisco de Miranda Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary who fought in the American Revolutionary War, the French R ...

, and where

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 to give his notable "Acaso 300 años de calma no bastan" speech. He was elected substitute member of the 1812

triumvirate A triumvirate () or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs (). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are notionally equal, the actual distr ...

that March. As part of his role, he supported ascribing Miranda the title of Generalisimo and Dictator of Venezuela. Following Domingo de Monteverde's triumph and the defeat of the First Republic, Roscio was sent to jail in the Arsenal de la Carraca in Spain. He was then transferred to

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

, along with seven co-prisoners, including José Cortés de Madariaga, Juan Pablo Ayala, Juan Paz del Castillo, Francisco Isnardi, Joseph Mires and Juan Baraona. He escaped to Gibraltar in 1814 with three of them, but was extradited to Spain by the British governor

George Don George Don (29 April 1798 – 25 February 1856) was a Scottish botanist and plant collector. Life and career George Don was born at Doo Hillock, Forfar, Angus, Scotland on 29 April 1798 to Caroline Clementina Stuart and George Don (b.1756), pr ...

. From Ceuta Roscio sent, through close friend Thomas Richard, a letter to

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

, which played a part in Fernando VII's decision to release the four prisoners. Roscio then travelled to Jamaica and then the United States, where he published ''Triunfo de la libertad sobre el despotismo'' (Philadelphia, 1817). He supported Simón Bolívar in 1818 at Angostura, throughout the creation of the

Third Republic of Venezuela The Third Republic of Venezuela () was the reestablished Republic of Venezuela declared by Simón Bolívar in the year 1817, during the Venezuelan War of Independence. The beginning of the Third Republic of Venezuela is attributed to the peri ...

and the formulation of Gran Colombia. During this time he acted as finance minister and president of the Angostura Congress, as well as vice president of the Department of Venezuela and Gran Colombia. Roscio died on the eve of acting as president of the Cúcuta Congress, on 10 March 1821. Roscio created paper money in Venezuela, proposing the name "Bolívar", which remains to this day. He was also a founding member of the ''Correo del Orinoco'' newspaper, its second director; and lobbied for the creation of a national library.. In 2011, his remains were decreed to be interred in the National Pantheon of Venezuela, a process which has been delayed due to difficulties in properly identifying his actual remains.

Early years

Public life

References

Further reading