Ramón Matías Mella
Encyclopedia
Matías Ramón Mella, born 25 February 1816, is regarded as a national hero
in the Dominican Republic
. The Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella
is partially named in his honor.
He contributed significantly during the 1844 Dominican War of Independence
against Haiti, and was involved in the storming of St. Giles Fort by Dominican forces.
He was a member of the First Republic's provisional governing board, convened 28 February 1844. Leader of the Dominican independence. In 1838, sixteen years after the entire island of La Hispaniola unified under the domination of Haiti, Mella participated with other Dominican patriots (most notably Juan Pablo Duarte
and Francisco del Rosario Sanchez
) in founding "The Trinity,"
a secret society with the aim of overthrowing the regime of Haitian dictator Jean Pierre Boyer
.
Subsequently Mella came into contact with the Haitian opposition leader Charles Hérard, who in turn led the reform movement. Together they managed to topple Boyer in 1843, but immediately Hérard imprisoned Mella in Port-au-Prince
(Haiti). However, in this very city a rebellion erupted against Hérard, who was only able to dominate with the help of Mella and the incarcerated veterans whom he freed. Mella and his followers marched up to Santo Domingo, captured the eastern part of the island,and formally declared its independence from Haiti and the proclamation of the Dominican Republic in February 1844.
It is said that one night of February 27, 1844, when he was reunited with other conspirators at Puerta de La Misericordia (Mercy Gate), Ramon Matias Mella fired a shot to end the hesitation that threatened to bring failure. He fired his blunderbuss
and the Patriots marched toward the stronghold of San Gennaro (today Conde Gate), where another patrician, Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, proclaimed to the world the birth of the Dominican Republic.
At the time of the Capotillo Outcry (Grito de Capotillo) (16 August 1863), already very ill, Mella served as vice president of the Republic of the government of the Restoration. He held this office until his death on June 4, 1864. He is entombed in a beautiful mausoleum, Altar de la Patria, at the Count's Gate (La Puerta del Conde) alongside Duarte
and Sanchez
.
Folk hero
A folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. The Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella
Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella
The Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella is the principal order of the Dominican Republic. It was established on 24 February 1931 as the Juan Pablo Duarte Order of Merit and renamed on 9 September 1954...
is partially named in his honor.
He contributed significantly during the 1844 Dominican War of Independence
Dominican War of Independence
The Dominican Independence War gave the Dominican Republic independence from Haiti in 1844. Before the war, the whole island of Hispaniola had been under Haitian rule for 22 years when Haiti occupied the newly independent state of Haití Español in 1822....
against Haiti, and was involved in the storming of St. Giles Fort by Dominican forces.
He was a member of the First Republic's provisional governing board, convened 28 February 1844. Leader of the Dominican independence. In 1838, sixteen years after the entire island of La Hispaniola unified under the domination of Haiti, Mella participated with other Dominican patriots (most notably Juan Pablo Duarte
Juan Pablo Duarte
Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez is one of the Founding Fathers of the Dominican Republic. He was a visionary and liberal thinker who along with Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Matías Ramón Mella is widely considered the architect of the Dominican Republic and its independence from Haitian rule in 1844...
and Francisco del Rosario Sanchez
Francisco del Rosario Sánchez
Francisco Del Rosario Sánchez was a politician and founding father of the Dominican Republic. He is considered by Dominicans as the second leader of the 1844 Dominican War of Independence, after Juan Pablo Duarte and before Ramón Matías Mella. The Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella is...
) in founding "The Trinity,"
La Trinitaria
La Trinitaria is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 59,686. It covers an area of 1840.7 km²....
a secret society with the aim of overthrowing the regime of Haitian dictator Jean Pierre Boyer
Jean Pierre Boyer
Jean-Pierre Boyer , a native of Saint-Domingue, was a soldier, one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, and President of Haiti from 1818 to 1843. He reunited the north and south of Haiti in 1820 and also invaded and took control of Santo Domingo, which brought all of Hispaniola under one...
.
Subsequently Mella came into contact with the Haitian opposition leader Charles Hérard, who in turn led the reform movement. Together they managed to topple Boyer in 1843, but immediately Hérard imprisoned Mella in Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
(Haiti). However, in this very city a rebellion erupted against Hérard, who was only able to dominate with the help of Mella and the incarcerated veterans whom he freed. Mella and his followers marched up to Santo Domingo, captured the eastern part of the island,and formally declared its independence from Haiti and the proclamation of the Dominican Republic in February 1844.
It is said that one night of February 27, 1844, when he was reunited with other conspirators at Puerta de La Misericordia (Mercy Gate), Ramon Matias Mella fired a shot to end the hesitation that threatened to bring failure. He fired his blunderbuss
Blunderbuss
The blunderbuss is a muzzle-loading firearm with a short, large caliber barrel, which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity and/or caliber. The blunderbuss could be considered to be an early form of shotgun,...
and the Patriots marched toward the stronghold of San Gennaro (today Conde Gate), where another patrician, Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, proclaimed to the world the birth of the Dominican Republic.
At the time of the Capotillo Outcry (Grito de Capotillo) (16 August 1863), already very ill, Mella served as vice president of the Republic of the government of the Restoration. He held this office until his death on June 4, 1864. He is entombed in a beautiful mausoleum, Altar de la Patria, at the Count's Gate (La Puerta del Conde) alongside Duarte
Juan Pablo Duarte
Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez is one of the Founding Fathers of the Dominican Republic. He was a visionary and liberal thinker who along with Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Matías Ramón Mella is widely considered the architect of the Dominican Republic and its independence from Haitian rule in 1844...
and Sanchez
Francisco del Rosario Sánchez
Francisco Del Rosario Sánchez was a politician and founding father of the Dominican Republic. He is considered by Dominicans as the second leader of the 1844 Dominican War of Independence, after Juan Pablo Duarte and before Ramón Matías Mella. The Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella is...
.