Juan Isidro Pérez de la Paz (November 19, 1817 – February 7, 1868) was a Dominican activist who was a key member and co-founder of the secret society La Trinitaria. He was a hero of the

Dominican War of Independence The Dominican War of Independence () was a war of independence that began when the Dominican Republic declared independence from the Republic of Haiti on February 27, 1844 and ended on January 24, 1856. Before the war, the island of Hispaniola ...

Early life

He was born in Santo Domingo on November 19, 1817. He was the son of María Josefa Pérez de la Paz y Valerio (1788–1855), and the priest Valentín Morales. He was the uncle of

Juan Isidro Jimenes Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra (November 15, 1846 – May 9, 1919) was a Dominican Republic political figure. He served as the president of the Dominican Republic between 15 November 1899 and 2 May 1902, and again between 5 December 1914 and 7 May ...

and brother-in-law of

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 ...

. He was a student of

Gaspar Hernández Gaspar Hernández is a small city in Espaillat Province, Espaillat Provinces of the Dominican Republic, province on the North Coast Dominican Republic. Gaspar Hernandez exhibits characteristics typical of towns in the region. While there is some ...

, with whom he studied

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. He was also known for his skills as a swordsman.

Activism

He actively fought against the Haitian leader Jean Pierre Boyer in the Reform Revolution carried out in

Praslin Praslin () is the second largest island (38.5 km2) of the Inner Seychelles, lying northeast of Mahé, Seychelles, Mahé. Praslin has a population of around 7,533 people and comprises two administrative districts: Baie Sainte Anne and Grand ...

in 1843. That same year, he was declared captain of one of the companies of the National Guard. Due to the persecution launched by the Haitians, Juan Isidro Pérez was one of the rebels who was forced to abandon the cause along with

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

Pedro Alejandro Pina Pedro Alejandrino Pina García (November 20, 1820 – August 24, 1870) was a Dominican politician and military man considered one of the heroes of Dominican independence. He was the co-founder of the Secret Society La Trinitaria and first cousi ...

. They returned months later in March 1844 aboard the schooner-brig ''Leonor'', shortly after the Dominican independence was proclaimed. Following the

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 ...

led by Brigadier General Juan Pablo Duarte on June 9, 1844, he served as Secretary of the Central Governing Board of the Dominican Republic. On July 15, two days after Major 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 ...

had been proclaimed Supreme Chief, Perez went to the Central Board to inform it of its reorganization. During those moments, Pérez had an incident with a supporter of Santana, called Juan Ruiz; Ruiz claimed that the Board had been dissolved after the proclamation of Santana as Supreme Chief and Pérez would protest against this declaration. They went from arguing to threatening each other and then things escalated after they took out their weapons; Santana would intervene to avoid a tragedy but Pérez would shout at him in a threatening manner: "If Rome had a Brutus, Santo Domingo has one too." Some of Santana's officers, believing that it was a plot to assassinate him, rushed out to the Plaza de Armas while shouting: "To arms, to arms; assassinate Santana." The entire population went to the Plaza de Armas; Some people said "the general is dead" and others shouted: "No, nothing has happened to him, General Santana is alive." Pérez was saved from a lynching by the Seyban troops, devotees of Santana, by the intervention of Colonel Felipe Benicio Alfau and was welcomed in the house of the French consul, Eustache Juchereau de Saint-Denys. On August 22, he was exiled along with Juan Pablo Duarte and other activists and declared a "traitor to the country" by the Santana government. In exile he showed signs of dementia, returning to the nation in 1848. Pejoratively called "The Illustrious Madman," he was imprisoned several times.

Death

He died on February 7, 1868, of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

, in the Military Hospital of Santo Domingo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pérez, Juan Isidro 1817 births 1868 deaths Dominican Republic independence activists Dominican Republic revolutionaries People of the Dominican War of Independence Dominican Republic people of Spanish descent Dominican Republic people of Portuguese descent 19th-century Dominican Republic poets 19th-century Dominican Republic politicians White Dominicans People from Santo Domingo

Early life

Activism

Death

See also

References