Pedro Santana

Pedro Santana y Familias, 1st Marquess of Las Carreras (29 June 180114 June 1864) was a military commander and royalist politician who served as the president of the junta that had established the First Dominican Republic, a precursor to the position of the President of the Dominican Republic, and as the first President of the republic in the modern line of succession. A traditional royalist who was fond of the Monarchy of Spain and the Spanish Empire, he ruled as a governor-general, but effectively as an authoritarian dictator. During his life he enjoyed the title of "Libertador de la Patria." Aside from Juan Sánchez Ramírez, he was the only other Dominican head of state to serve as a governor to Santo Domingo.

He was one for the signatories of the Manifesto of January 16, 1844 and proclaim Dominican independence on February 27, 1844. He would assume the leadership of the expeditionary army of the southern border and quickly gain military prominence for his victory in the Battle of Azua. He led a coup d'état against the Central Governing Board and was named its president on a provisional basis. During his government, the first constitution of the State would be promulgated, and he would be designated as the first constitutional president of the Dominican Republic. Finally, in 1848, Santana presented his resignation, despite the opposition of Congress. Internal political intrigues and popular discontent played an important role in his decision.

Following the death of Haitian President Jean-Baptiste Riché in 1847, General Faustin Soulouque became President of Haiti and led an expedition into the Dominican Republic in March 1849. The inaction of Dominican President Manuel Jimenes in the face of the Haitian threat created chaos and fear in the capital. Faced with the inability of the Dominican government, Congress called on Santana to repel the successful invasion. Santana led a successful defense against Haitian forces at the Battle of Las Carreras in April 1849. He would then depose President Jimenes and serve as head of state under the title of Supreme Chief on a provisional basis until a new president was elected. Congress would grant him the title of General in Chief of the armies of the Dominican Republic and the title of Liberator of the Fatherland for his victory at Las Carreras.

In 1853, he would resume the presidency, promulgate a new constitution in 1854, obtain recognition of the independence of the Dominican State by many countries and in 1856 he would resign again. Half a year after resigning from office he was banished from the country by President Buenaventura Báez but he would return months later after the start of the civil war, joining the rebel side and days after the war ended he would once again take over the magistracy of the State when he managed to depose President José Desiderio Valverde in 1858.

Despite his fervor as a military leader, his political ideology alienated him from his contemporaries. Unlike many of his political opponents who wanted to ultimately establish an independent Dominican state, Santana sought to reintegrate Dominican Republic into the Spanish Empire. He oversaw the reestablishment of the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo as well as exile and imprisonment of a number of noted separatist and nationalist dissidents who had previously been his comrades during the Dominican War of independence. In 1862, Queen Isabel II of Spain granted him the title of Marquess of Las Carreras for the reincorporation of Santo Domingo to the Spanish nation. He died during the Dominican Restoration War, after which the country regained its independence in 1865. Provided by Wikipedia