José Hilario López
Encyclopedia
José Hilario López Valdés (born 18 February 1798, Popayán
Popayán
Popayán is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in southwestern Colombia between Colombia's Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range...

, Cauca
Cauca Department
Cauca is a Department of Colombia. Located in the south-western part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department to the northeast, Huila Department to the east and the Nariño Department to the south, covering a total area of...

 — died 27 November 1869, Campoalegre, Huila
Huila Department
Huila is one of the departments of Colombia. It is located in the southwest of the country, and its capital is Neiva.-Geography:The south of the department is located in the Colombian Massif...

) was a Colombian
Colombian people
Colombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...

 politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and military officer. He was President of Colombia
President of Colombia
The President of Colombia is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Colombia. The office of president was established upon the ratification of the Constitution of 1819, by the Congress of Angostura, convened in December 1819, when Colombia was part of "la Gran Colombia"...

 between 1849 and 1853.

Biographic data

The son of José Casimiro López and Rafaela Valdés y Fernández, he completed his primary education in the seminary of Popayán
Popayán
Popayán is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in southwestern Colombia between Colombia's Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range...

 under the supervision of the scholar José Félix de Restrepo. At age 14, he quits his education to join the revolutionary army.

Military career

López joined the revolutionary army, as a cadet
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...

, at the age of 14. He participated in military combat in the battle of Alto Palacé (30 December 1813), the battle of Calibío (January 1814), battle of Tacines (9 May 1814) and the battle of Pasto
Pasto
Pasto, officially San Juan de Pasto, is the capital of the department of Nariño, located in southwest Colombia. The city is located in the "Atriz Valley", on the Andes cordillera, at the foot of the Galeras volcano, at an altitude of 8,290 feet above sea level...

 (May 10, 1813). During the battle of La Cuchilla del Tambo López was taken prisoner by the Spanish Army
Spanish Army
The Spanish Army is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies - dating back to the 15th century.-Introduction:...

.

López was sent to Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

, tried by court martial, found guilty of treason against the Crown, and sentenced to death. His death sentence was commuted in exchange for his service to the royal army. As prisoner of war he was assigned to the cobblestone duty of the Plaza Mayor of Bogotá and, the shooting squadron to execute insurgent leaders. On 28 June 1819, López was promised his freedom, after his aunt Eusebia Caicedo intervened on his behalf. But it was not until 24 July 24 that he was pardoned and freed.

Wars of Independence from Spain

In 1820, López met General Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...

 who appointed him lieutenant of the then newly created "Boyacá Battalion". While in the town of La Mesa, López saw his former prison mate Vicente Azuero within the prisoners of war, and interceded for his release. López was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Mayor and subsequently, Captain. In that capacity, López participated in the "Northern Campaign" offensive on what is now Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

n territory.

Once the campaign ended in February 1823 López returned to Bogotá and General Francisco de Paula Santander
Francisco de Paula Santander
Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña , was a Colombian military and political leader during the 1810–1819 independence war of the United Provinces of New Granada...

 appointed him as Military Chief of the province of Cauca
Cauca Department
Cauca is a Department of Colombia. Located in the south-western part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department to the northeast, Huila Department to the east and the Nariño Department to the south, covering a total area of...

. On 6 April 1823, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.

Military career



After the Conspiración Septembrína (September Conspiracy) of 1828, and while being Military Chief of the Azuay province, López rebelled against General Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...

 and joined the army of Colonel José María Obando
José María Obando
José María Ramón Obando del Campo was a Neogranadine General and politician who twice served as President of Colombia...

.

Shortly after, the Gran Colombia-Peru War
Gran Colombia-Peru War
The Gran Colombia-Peru War of 1828 and 1829 was the first international conflict fought by the Republic of Peru, which had gained its independence from Spain in 1821, and Gran Colombia, a confederation of the modern-day countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela that existed between 1819...

 broke out and Bolívar headed south to confront the Peruvians and join forces with Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...

 Antonio José de Sucre
Antonio José de Sucre
Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá , known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" , was a Venezuelan independence leader. Sucre was one of Simón Bolívar's closest friends, generals and statesmen.-Ancestry:...

, who was waiting for him. By the end of January 1829, Bolívar came to an agreement with the rebelled commanders and pardoned them after the Pact of Juanambú was signed on 2 March 1829. Bolívar also explained his decision to ignore the Constitution of Cúcuta
Constitution of Cúcuta
The Constitution of Cúcuta, also known as Constitution of the Gran Colombia and Constitution of 1821 was the founding document and constitution of the country of Gran Colombia, unifying the territories of the Viceroyalty of New Granada as part of a federation...

 after General José Antonio Páez
José Antonio Páez
José Antonio Páez Herrera was General in Chief of the army fighting Spain during the Venezuelan Wars of Independence, in addition to becoming the President of Venezuela once it was independent of the Gran Colombia...

’ actions in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

.

Political career

Under the military government of Rafael Urdaneta
Rafael Urdaneta
Rafael José Urdaneta y Faría was a Venezuelan General and hero of the Spanish American wars of independence in several countries in northern South America.- Biographic data :...

 on September, 1830, López and Obando rebelled once again and started a campaign to destabilize the government. Their forces took over most of the south and control over the town of Popayán
Popayán
Popayán is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in southwestern Colombia between Colombia's Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range...

. López advanced to Tocaima
Tocaima
Tocaima refers to both a city and a municipality in Cundinamarca, Colombia.-City:The city of Tocaima was founded on March 20, 1544 by the Spanish explorer Hernan Vanegas Carrillo...

 where he confronted General Rafael Urdaneta
Rafael Urdaneta
Rafael José Urdaneta y Faría was a Venezuelan General and hero of the Spanish American wars of independence in several countries in northern South America.- Biographic data :...

, but both reached a cease fire that followed the "Apulo
Apulo
Apulo is a Colombian town and municipality in the Cundinamarca Department....

 Agreement", signed on 28 April 1831.

The following year, during the government of Francisco de Paula Santander
Francisco de Paula Santander
Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña , was a Colombian military and political leader during the 1810–1819 independence war of the United Provinces of New Granada...

, López was appointed Military Chief of Bogotá and two years later, in 1834 was appointed Governor of Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...

. After these posts López also assumed other offices such as the Secretary of War and Navy, ambassador of Colombia to the Vatican City State, Secretary of Foreign Relations, State adviser and senator.

President of Colombia

On 7 March 1849, López was elected President of Colombia
President of Colombia
The President of Colombia is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Colombia. The office of president was established upon the ratification of the Constitution of 1819, by the Congress of Angostura, convened in December 1819, when Colombia was part of "la Gran Colombia"...

 with the support of the artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...

s and their democratic society clubs and also took advantages of the divisions among the conservatives. His government abolished slavery, created the agrarian law, supported the separation between church and state, freedom of the press and the federal
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...

ization of the state.

Resistance against abolition provoked a conservative uprising in the Cauca
Cauca Department
Cauca is a Department of Colombia. Located in the south-western part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department to the northeast, Huila Department to the east and the Nariño Department to the south, covering a total area of...

 region, led by Julio Arboleda. The revolt was soon crashed by the government forces of López. In Cali
Calì
Calì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...

 confrontations between landowners and the commoners became harshly violent. The defeat suffered by the land owners sparked upraising of former slaves and peasants who sabotaged and vandalized farms, and to the point of taking physical vengeance over their former masters by whipping them with the same whip used on them.

López administration also authorized the dissolution of the Resguardos for Amerindians and prohibited any businesses regarding this practice, amid going against their main supporter's will, the Democratic Societies, and allowing the elites from benefiting from the newly liberated labor that searched for work in their tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

 plantations. These also meant that the produce done by the no longer cheap labor skyrocketed inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...

.

Civil wars

A year after finishing his term as president of Colombia, in 1854, López joined the conservative and liberal armies against the “Artisans Revolution” and deposed General José María Melo
José María Melo
José María Dionisio Melo y Ortiz was a Colombian general and politician of Pijao ancestry, who fought in the South American wars of independence, and who in 1854 rose to power and held the presidency of Colombia. In August, 1850, artisans demanded protection and the creation of a national workshop...

 from the presidency. During the civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....

 of 1859, López enrolled in the army of the “radical liberals”, who defended the Federation and autonomy of the states. López was elected as President of Tolima and assumed office in the city of Neiva
Neiva
Neiva is the Capital of the Department of Huila. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River in south central Colombia with a population of about 378,857 inhabitants...

 in July 1863.

In 1865 was postulated as candidate to lead the Colombian Union, but was defeated by President Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera y Arboleda was a Colombian general and political figure. He was president of Colombia four times. The first time was as president of Republic of New Granada from 1845 to 1849. During the Colombian Civil War of 1860-1862 he led liberal forces in a civil war against...

. In 1867, President Mosquera closed down the National Congress and, because of this, was deposed in reprisal. López was then named Army Chief by the new interim government of Santos Acosta
Santos Acosta
Manuel María de los Santos Acosta Castillo was a Colombian General and political figure. He served as the president of Colombia from 1867 until 1868.- Biographic data :Acosta was born in Miraflores, Boyacá, on November 1, 1828...

. After these he retired from politics and returned to his farms until the day of his death.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK