Anastasio Aquino
Encyclopedia
Anastasio Mártir Aquino was a Salvadoran indigenous leader who led the Insurrection of the Nonualcos, a campesino uprising in El Salvador during the time it belonged to the Federal Republic of Central America
.
Aquino was born into a family belonging to the Taytes (chiefs) of the Nonualco, an Indigenous tribe of the Pipil nation that occupied the territory of the current Department of La Paz
.
(1821-23). In 1823, with the fall of Emperor Iturbide, it declared independence from Mexico together with the states of Guatemala
, Honduras
, Nicaragua
and Costa Rica
. The five states formed a short-lived federal republic that lasted until 1840, but it was a difficult existence. The confrontations between Liberals and Conservatives, the local caudillo
s, the government's lack of resources and its precarious organization, among other things, made the federation unstable.
The need to raise money for the support of the federation lead to a series of economic measures that were unpopular with the majority of the population. Among these were tributes and expropriations of uncultivated land. The latter especially was a blow to the Indigenous, who during colonial times had retained the right to practice slash-and-burn agriculture in lands not occupied by haciendas. Now the haciendas expanded and the land available for subsistence agriculture by the Indigenous shrank. Forced labor in mines and fields also continued. Thus this group, already at a disadvantage socially since the arrival of the Spaniards, became more disadvantaged with the arrival of independence.
The government of El Salvador had to implement unpopular measures in 1832, including a direct tax on real estate and on rents. This led to discontent and to popular uprisings. A major revolt occurred at San Miguel
, but others occurred at Chalatenango
, Izalco
and Sonsonate. These were suppressed.
plantation there, and he rebelled following the arrest of his brother by the hacienda owner. Aquino called for disobedience to the government. He and his followers attacked army posts, recruiting the Indigenous conscripts there, and burned haciendas. Legend relates that the spoils were distributed to the poor.
By the end of January 1833 Aquino managed to assemble an army large enough to do battle. His force was estimated at 2,000 to 5,000 men, armed mostly with lances, but apparently with some firearms. The revolt started in the hacienda Jalponguita, in Santiago Nonualco, and spread along the Comalapa and Lempa
Rivers.
The commandant of the neighboring city of San Vicente, J.J. Guzmán, received orders to suppress the rebellion. The first attempt ended in an ambush. Another attack on February 5 was also unsuccessful. When he received news of this last defeat, Commandant Guzmán fled.
Meanwhile in the capital, San Salvador
, political chief Mariano Prado
, realizing he was incapable of controlling the situation, turned over power to vice-chief Joaquín de San Martín
. Before this transfer of power there was discontent in the ranks of the military, and for this reason they abandoned the capital. The city descended into chaos, and San Martín had to take shelter to save his life.
Aquino did not know of the disorder in San Salvador. If he had, its occupation would not have been difficult. Having taken Zacatecoluca, he decided to attack San Vicente on February 14. The people of San Vicente made haste to protect all objects of value. With two detachments — one under the command of Aquino's brother and the other of a friend — the rebels arrived early in the morning of the 15th. They were received without hostility; the inhabitants preferred to avoid a fight.
Aquino intended to burn the city, since it had been the source of the first attacks on his army and it was where the exploitive landlords lived. However he was dissuaded by the intervention of an old householder for whom he had worked. Aquino was named the political chief of San Vicente by his supporters, but he was unable to prevent a general sacking of the city. According to popular tradition, Aquino went to the church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar and taking the crown from an image of St. Joseph, proclaimed himself King of the Nonualcos.
In Tepetitán
he was proclaimed General Commandant of the Liberation Army and he proclaimed the famous Declaration of Tepetitán on February 16. In it he ordered drastic punishments for murder (death), wounding someone (loss of a hand), joining the government forces (as specified by law), robbery (loss of a hand) and vagrancy, among other crimes. The declaration also contained a section on the protection of married women. Aquino also ended payment of taxes to the government, especially on indigo (the main product of the region), banned aguardiente
, and proclaimed the end of forced labor. He prohibited collection of debts contracted before the rebellion, with a punishment of ten years in prison.
The government tried to reach an agreement with the rebels under which they would put down their arms, through mediation by two priests. Only one of them, Juan Bautista Navarro, was able to contact Aquino, and he obtained no results.
Finally the authorities were able to raise an army to confront Aquino. To the army were added many residents of San Vicente, who wanted to take revenge for the sacking of the city. One of the army commanders, Major C. Cuellar, wanted to confront Aquino alone, but he was defeated. According to legend, Aquino rushed at him with the cry Treinta arriba, treinta abajo, y adentro Santiagueños ("Thirty above, thirty below, and inside Santiagueños"). This probably referred to the place occupied by his troops at the moment of the attack.
In order to capture the leader, the government offered to spare the lives of anyone who revealed his whereabouts. One traitor took advantage of the offer, and Aquino was captured on April 23.
He was moved to Zacatecoluca, where he was tried and condemned to death. He was executed by firing squad in San Vicente. His head was cut off and displayed in an iron cage with the label "Example for rebels". It was later taken to the capital.
Up to the present day, Aquino has been taken as a symbol of rebellion and liberty by sectors on the political left.
Also he has appeared in literature. For example, the poets Pedro Geoffroy Rivas
and Roque Dalton
have dedicated some of their work to him. The writer Matilde Elena López
wrote a theater piece with the name of The Ballad of Anastasio Aquino.
Federal Republic of Central America
The Federal Republic of Central America, known as the United Provinces of Central America in its first year of creation, was a sovereign state in Central America, which consisted of the territories of the former Captaincy General of Guatemala of New Spain...
.
Aquino was born into a family belonging to the Taytes (chiefs) of the Nonualco, an Indigenous tribe of the Pipil nation that occupied the territory of the current Department of La Paz
La Paz Department (El Salvador)
La Paz is a department of El Salvador in the south central area of the country. The capital is Zacatecoluca. La Paz has an area of 1,224 km² and a population of more than 300,000. The department was created in 1852. There are various caves containing rock writing. The department has a church...
.
Background
After the independence of Central America from Spain, it was briefly united with the Mexican Empire of Agustín de IturbideAgustín de Iturbide
Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu , also known as Augustine I of Mexico, was a Mexican army general who built a successful political and military coalition that was able to march into Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively ending the Mexican War of Independence...
(1821-23). In 1823, with the fall of Emperor Iturbide, it declared independence from Mexico together with the states of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. The five states formed a short-lived federal republic that lasted until 1840, but it was a difficult existence. The confrontations between Liberals and Conservatives, the local caudillo
Caudillo
Caudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...
s, the government's lack of resources and its precarious organization, among other things, made the federation unstable.
The need to raise money for the support of the federation lead to a series of economic measures that were unpopular with the majority of the population. Among these were tributes and expropriations of uncultivated land. The latter especially was a blow to the Indigenous, who during colonial times had retained the right to practice slash-and-burn agriculture in lands not occupied by haciendas. Now the haciendas expanded and the land available for subsistence agriculture by the Indigenous shrank. Forced labor in mines and fields also continued. Thus this group, already at a disadvantage socially since the arrival of the Spaniards, became more disadvantaged with the arrival of independence.
The government of El Salvador had to implement unpopular measures in 1832, including a direct tax on real estate and on rents. This led to discontent and to popular uprisings. A major revolt occurred at San Miguel
San Miguel, El Salvador
San Miguel is the fourth most populous city in El Salvador after Santa Ana and Soyapango and the second most important after San Salvador. It is located 138 km east of the capital, San Salvador. It is also the capital of the department of San Miguel and a municipality...
, but others occurred at Chalatenango
Chalatenango, Chalatenango
Chalatenango is a town and municipality in the Chalatenango department of El Salvador. It is the capital of the department.The coat of arms is actually the same as the department's, as is the flag....
, Izalco
Izalco
Izalco is a municipality in the Sonsonate department of El Salvador.Volcan Izalco is an icon of the country of El Salvador, a very young parasitic cone on the flank of Santa Ana volcano...
and Sonsonate. These were suppressed.
The Rebellion
It was at Santiago Nonualco where the principal uprising occurred, in late 1832 and early 1833. Aquino was a worker on an indigoIndigo dye
Indigo dye is an organic compound with a distinctive blue color . Historically, indigo was a natural dye extracted from plants, and this process was important economically because blue dyes were once rare. Nearly all indigo dye produced today — several thousand tons each year — is synthetic...
plantation there, and he rebelled following the arrest of his brother by the hacienda owner. Aquino called for disobedience to the government. He and his followers attacked army posts, recruiting the Indigenous conscripts there, and burned haciendas. Legend relates that the spoils were distributed to the poor.
By the end of January 1833 Aquino managed to assemble an army large enough to do battle. His force was estimated at 2,000 to 5,000 men, armed mostly with lances, but apparently with some firearms. The revolt started in the hacienda Jalponguita, in Santiago Nonualco, and spread along the Comalapa and Lempa
Lempa River
The Lempa River is a 422 km long river in Central America. Its sources are located in between the Sierra Madre and the Sierra del Merendón in southern Guatemala, near the town of Olopa. In Guatemala the river is called Río Olopa and flows southwards for 30.4 km before entering Honduras and...
Rivers.
The commandant of the neighboring city of San Vicente, J.J. Guzmán, received orders to suppress the rebellion. The first attempt ended in an ambush. Another attack on February 5 was also unsuccessful. When he received news of this last defeat, Commandant Guzmán fled.
Meanwhile in the capital, San Salvador
San Salvador
The city of San Salvador the capital and largest city of El Salvador, which has been designated a Gamma World City. Its complete name is La Ciudad de Gran San Salvador...
, political chief Mariano Prado
Mariano Prado
Mariano Prado Baca was a Central American lawyer and a four-time, liberal chief of state of El Salvador, while it was a state in the Federal Republic of Central America ....
, realizing he was incapable of controlling the situation, turned over power to vice-chief Joaquín de San Martín
Joaquín de San Martín
Colonel Joaquín de San Martín y Ulloa was a Salvadoran military officer and politician who was twice chief of state of the State of El Salvador, within the Federal Republic of Central America .Joaquín de San Martín was a lieutenant of dragoons in Yoro...
. Before this transfer of power there was discontent in the ranks of the military, and for this reason they abandoned the capital. The city descended into chaos, and San Martín had to take shelter to save his life.
Aquino did not know of the disorder in San Salvador. If he had, its occupation would not have been difficult. Having taken Zacatecoluca, he decided to attack San Vicente on February 14. The people of San Vicente made haste to protect all objects of value. With two detachments — one under the command of Aquino's brother and the other of a friend — the rebels arrived early in the morning of the 15th. They were received without hostility; the inhabitants preferred to avoid a fight.
Aquino intended to burn the city, since it had been the source of the first attacks on his army and it was where the exploitive landlords lived. However he was dissuaded by the intervention of an old householder for whom he had worked. Aquino was named the political chief of San Vicente by his supporters, but he was unable to prevent a general sacking of the city. According to popular tradition, Aquino went to the church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar and taking the crown from an image of St. Joseph, proclaimed himself King of the Nonualcos.
In Tepetitán
Tepetitán
Tepetitán is a municipality in the San Vicente department of El Salvador....
he was proclaimed General Commandant of the Liberation Army and he proclaimed the famous Declaration of Tepetitán on February 16. In it he ordered drastic punishments for murder (death), wounding someone (loss of a hand), joining the government forces (as specified by law), robbery (loss of a hand) and vagrancy, among other crimes. The declaration also contained a section on the protection of married women. Aquino also ended payment of taxes to the government, especially on indigo (the main product of the region), banned aguardiente
Aguardiente
Aguardiente , aiguardent , aguardente , and augardente are generic terms for alcoholic beverages that contain between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume...
, and proclaimed the end of forced labor. He prohibited collection of debts contracted before the rebellion, with a punishment of ten years in prison.
The government tried to reach an agreement with the rebels under which they would put down their arms, through mediation by two priests. Only one of them, Juan Bautista Navarro, was able to contact Aquino, and he obtained no results.
Finally the authorities were able to raise an army to confront Aquino. To the army were added many residents of San Vicente, who wanted to take revenge for the sacking of the city. One of the army commanders, Major C. Cuellar, wanted to confront Aquino alone, but he was defeated. According to legend, Aquino rushed at him with the cry Treinta arriba, treinta abajo, y adentro Santiagueños ("Thirty above, thirty below, and inside Santiagueños"). This probably referred to the place occupied by his troops at the moment of the attack.
End of the Rebellion
On the morning of February 28 the decisive battle occurred in Santiago Nonualco. Apparently the rebels were also being decimated by a disease. Taking advantage of this, Colonel Juan José López, in command of 5,000 men, launched a general attack and dispersed the rebels. Aquino was not captured.In order to capture the leader, the government offered to spare the lives of anyone who revealed his whereabouts. One traitor took advantage of the offer, and Aquino was captured on April 23.
He was moved to Zacatecoluca, where he was tried and condemned to death. He was executed by firing squad in San Vicente. His head was cut off and displayed in an iron cage with the label "Example for rebels". It was later taken to the capital.
Anastasio Aquino in popular culture
After the rebellion a song circulated, beginning with the following lines:- El indio Anastasio Aquino
- Le mandó decir a Prado,
- que no peleara jamás
- Contra el pueblo de Santiago.
- Aquino lo dijo así,
- Tan feo el indio pero vení
- También le mandó decir
- Que los indios mandarían
- Porque este país era de ellos
- Como el mismo lo sabía
- Aquino lo dijo así,
- Tan feo el indio pero vení
Up to the present day, Aquino has been taken as a symbol of rebellion and liberty by sectors on the political left.
Also he has appeared in literature. For example, the poets Pedro Geoffroy Rivas
Pedro Geoffroy Rivas
Pedro Geoffroy Rivas was an anthropologist, poet, and linguist. His poetic work marked a landmark in Salvadoran poetic development...
and Roque Dalton
Roque Dalton
Roque Dalton García was a Salvadoran poet and journalist. He is considered one of Latin America's most compelling poets...
have dedicated some of their work to him. The writer Matilde Elena López
Matilde Elena López
Matilde Elena López was a Salvadoran poet, essayist, playwright and literary critic. Her most important works include “Masferrer, alto pensador de Centro América”, “Cartas a Grosa” and “La balada de Anastasio Aquino”....
wrote a theater piece with the name of The Ballad of Anastasio Aquino.
Historical works
Ministerio de Educación, Historia de El Salvador, vol. I. Mexico City: Comisión Nacional de los Libros de Texto Gratuitos, 1994. Domínguez Sosa, Julio Alberto, Ensayo histórico sobre las tribus nonualcas y su caudillo Anastasio Aquino. San Salvador: Dirección General de Publicaciones, 1962. Vidal, Manuel, Nociones de historia de Centro América. San Salvador: Editorial Universitaria, 1961.Literary works
Dalton, Roque, La ventana en el rostro. San Salvador: Editorial universitaria, 1980. Dalton, Roque, Las historias prohibias del pulgarcito. Mexico City, Siglo XXI Editores, S.A., 1980. López, Matilde Elena, La balada de Anastasio Aquino. San Salvador: Dirección de Publicaciones, 1978. Vidal, Manuel, El libro de las Anécdotas. San Salvador: Dirección de Publicaciones, 1974.- Olano Oscar, "Anastasio Aquino" Song recorded in Switzerland, ex libris label, (Picason, Son de los Alpes CD 4121) copyrights: SUISA