Francisco Castellón
Encyclopedia
Francisco Castellón Sanabria (1815 8 September 1855) was president of "Democratic" 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...

 from 1854-1855 during the Granada-León civil war.

Castellón was a lawyer from León
León, Nicaragua
León is a department in northwestern Nicaragua . It is also the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. It was founded by the Spaniards as Santiago de los Caballeros de León and rivals Granada, Nicaragua, in the number of historic Spanish colonial homes and churches...

. He was prime minister (ministro general) under Patricio Rivas
Patricio Rivas
Patricio Rivas, a wealthy lawyer, was Acting President of Nicaragua from 30 June 1839 to 27 July 1839 and from 21 September 1840 to 4 March 1841, respectively. Later he served as the 33rd President of one of the several competing governments of Nicaragua from 30 October 1855 to 24 June 1857...

, but was removed in 1841 by Pablo Buitrago, and reappointed in 1843 by Manuel Perez
Manuel Perez (politician)
V. Manuel Pérez is a Democratic Assemblymember from California's 80th State Assembly district from Coachella, California, United States.-Biography:...

. In 1844 he served as Nicaragua's minister to England and later as Nicaragua's minister to France. He was again a government minister under José Laureano Pineda 1851-1853.

In 1853, the Liberal Party candidate Francisco Castellón from León and the Conservative Party candidate Fruto Chamorro
Fruto Chamorro
Fruto Chamorro Pérez was the 30th and 31st President of Nicaragua between 1 April 1853 and 30 April 1854 and between 30 April 1854 and 12 March 1855 now with the actual title of President, the first thirty being called Supreme Directors.Born in Guatemala City in 1804 to Bayardo Paez, he was...

 of Granada
Granada, Nicaragua
Granada is a city in western Nicaragua and the capital of the Granada Department. With an estimated population of 110,326 , it is Nicaragua's fourth most populous city. Granada is historically one of Nicaragua's most important cities, economically and politically...

 both ran for the position of Supreme Director of Nicaragua. Chamorro won, and there were claims of election fraud. Chamorro immediately transferred the government headquarters from Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...

 to Granada, the Conservative stronghold. He then convened a Constitutional Assembly on 20 January 1854, to promulgate a new Constitution during the absence of the majority of the Liberal Party representatives. The rigged election and Chamorro's subsequent actions including the promulgation of the Constitution of 1854, considered to be badly flawed by the Liberals, provoked prominent Liberals - including Francisco Castellón, Máximo Jerez, and José María Valle - to establish a separate government which they did in León. Castellón was proclaimed president on 11 June 1854.

Although his forces were initially militarily successful against Chamorro, a long unsuccessful siege of Granada was followed by the loss of Managua, Masaya
Masaya
Masaya, culturally known as the City of Flowers, is the capital city of Masaya department. It is situated approximately 14 km west of Granada and 31 km southeast from Managua. The town of Masaya is situated just East of Masaya Volcano , an active volcano from which the city takes its name...

 and Rivas. This lead Castellón to hire William Walker and his mercenaries, who arrived in June 1855. Castellón died of cholera 8 September 1855 and was succeeded as "Democratic" president by Nazario Escoto.

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