Doroteo Vasconcelos
Doroteo Vasconcelos | |
---|---|
President of El Salvador | |
In office 7 February 1848 – 26 January 1850 | |
Vice President | José Félix Quirós |
Preceded by | José Félix Quirós |
Succeeded by | Ramón Rodríguez |
In office 4 February 1850 – 1 March 1851 | |
Vice President | José Félix Quirós |
Preceded by | Ramón Rodríguez |
Succeeded by | Francisco Dueñas |
Personal details | |
Born | Sensuntepeque, El Salvador Province, Capitanía General de Guatemala, Spain | 6 February 1803
Died | 10 March 1883 San Vicente, El Salvador | (aged 80)
Political party | Liberal |
Occupation | Military |
Doroteo Vasconcelos Vides y Ladrón de Guevara (February 6, 1803–March 10, 1883) was President of El Salvador 7 February 1848 - 1 February 1850 and 4 February 1850 – 1 March 1851.[1] Vasconcelos was close friend of Honduran general Francisco Morazán. He tried to invade Guatemala and defeat general Rafael Carrera on 2 February 1851 but he was defeated. After defeat, he retired from public life.
Biography
Helping Los Altos
In 1848, the liberals were able to force
In the meantime, Carrera decided to return to Guatemala and did so entering by Huehuetenango, where he met with the native leaders and told them that they must unite to prevail; the leaders agreed and slowly the segregated native communities started developing a new Indian identity under Carrera's leadership.[6] In the meantime, on the oriental part of Guatemala, the Jalapa region became increasingly dangerous; former president Mariano Rivera Paz and rebel leader Vicente Cruz were both murdered there after trying to take over the Corregidor office in 1849.[6]
When Carrera arrived to Chiantla in Huehuetenango, he received two altenses emissaries who told him that their soldiers were not going to fight his forces because that would lead to a native revolt, much like the one that happened in 1840; their only request from Carrera was to keep the natives under control.[6] However, the altenses did not comply with their offer, and led by Guzmán and his forces, the started chasing Carrera; the caudillo's
On his absence, the liberal
Upon learning that officer José Víctor Zavala had been appointed as Corregidor in Suchitepéquez, Carrera and his hundred jacalteco bodyguards crossed a dangerous jungle infested with jaguars to meet his former friend. When they met, Zavala not only did not capture him, but agreed to serve under his orders, thus sending a strong message to both liberal and conservatives in Guatemala City, that realized that they were forced to negotiate with Carrera, otherwise they were going to have to battle on two fronts -Quetzaltenango and Jalapa.[7] Carrera went back to the Quetzaltenango area, while Zavala remained in Suchitepéquez as a tactical maneuver.[8] Carrera received a visit from a Cabinet member of Paredes and told him that he had control of the native population and that he assured Paredes that he will keep them appeased.[7] When the emissary returned to Guatemala City, he told the president everything Carrera said, and added that the native forces were formidable.[9]
Agustín Guzmán went to Antigua Guatemala to meet with another group of Paredes emissaries; they agreed that Los Altos would rejoin Guatemala, and that the latter would help Guzmán defeat his hated enemy and also build a port on the Pacific Ocean.[9] Guzmán was sure of victory this time, but his plan evaporated when, in his absence, Carrera and his native allies had occupied Quetzaltenango; Carrera appointed Ignacio Yrigoyen as Corregidor and convinced him that he should work with the k'iche', mam, q'anjobal and mam leaders to keep the region under control.[10] On his way out, Yrigoyen murmured to a friend: Now he is the King of the Indians, indeed![10]
Guzmán then left for Jalapa, where he stroke a deal with the rebels, while
Reelection
Vasconcelos finished his term in office and handed power to
Battle of La Arada
After Rafael Carrera returned from exile in 1849, Vasconcelos granted asylum to the Guatemalan liberals, who harassed the Guatemalan government in several different forms: José Francisco Barrundia did it through a liberal newspaper that had been established with that specific goal; Vasconcelos gave support during a whole year to a rebel faction "La Montaña", in eastern Guatemala, providing and distributing money and weapons. By late 1850, Vasconcelos was getting impatient due to the slowness of the progress of the war with Guatemala and decided to plan an open attack. Under that circumstance, the Salvadorean head of state started a campaign against the conservative Guatemalan regime, inviting Honduras and Nicaragua to participate in the alliance; only the Honduran government led by Juan Lindo accepted.[2]
Meanwhile, in Guatemala, where the invasion plans were perfectly well-known, President
On 4 January 1851, Vasconcelos and Lindo met in Ocotepeque, Honduras, where they signed an alliance against Guatemala. The Salvadorean army had 4,000 men, properly trained and armed and supported by artillery; the Honduran army numbered 2,000 men. The coalition army was stationed in Metapán, El Salvador, due to its proximity with both the Guatemalan and Honduran borders.[2][13]
On 28 January 1851, Vasconcelos sent a letter to the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Relations, in which he demanded that the Guatemalan president relinquish power, so that the alliance could designate a new head of state loyal to the liberals and that Rafael Carrera be exiled, escorted to any of the Guatemalan southern ports by a Salvadorean regiment.[14] The Guatemalan government did not accept the terms and the Allied army entered Guatemalan territory at three different places. On 29 January, a 500-man contingent entered through Piñuelas, Agua Blanca and Jutiapa, led by General Vicente Baquero, but the majority of the invading force marched from Metapán. The Allied army was composed of 4,500 men led by Vasconcelos, as Commander in Chief. Other commanders were general José Santos Guardiola, general Ramón Belloso, general José Trinidad Cabañas, and general Gerardo Barrios. Guatemala was able to recruit 2,000 men, led by Lieutenant General Rafael Carrera as Commander in Chief and several colonels.
Carrera's strategy was to feign a retreat, forcing the enemy forces to follow the "retreating" troops to a place he had previously chosen; on February 1, 1851, both armies were facing each other with only the San José river between them. Carrera had fortified the foothills of La Arada, its summit about 50 metres (160 ft) above the level of the river. A meadow 300 metres (980 ft) deep lay between the hill and the river, and boarding the meadow was a sugar cane plantation. Carrera divided his army in three sections: the left wing was led by Cerna and Solares; the right wing led by Bolaños. He personally led the central battalion, where he placed his artillery. Five hundred men stayed in Chiquimula to defend the city and to aid in a possible retreat, leaving only 1,500 Guatemalans against an enemy of 4,500.
The battle began at 8:30 AM, when Allied troops initiated an attack at three different points, with an intense fire opened by both armies. The first Allied attack was repelled by the defenders of the foothill; during the second attack, the Allied troops were able to take the first line of trenches. They were subsequently expelled. During the third attack, the Allied force advanced to a point where it was impossible to distinguish between Guatemalan and Allied troops. Then, the fight became a melee, while the Guatemalan artillery severely punished the invaders. At the height of the battle when the Guatemalans faced an uncertain fate, Carrera ordered that sugar cane plantation around the meadow to be set on fire. The invading army was now surrounded: to the front, they faced the furious Guatemalan fire, to the flanks, a huge fire and to the rear, the river, all of which made retreat very difficult. The central division of the Allied force panicked and started a disorderly retreat. Soon, all of the Allied troops started retreating.
The 500 men of the rearguard pursued what was left of the Allied army, which desperately fled for the borders of their respective countries. The final count of the Allied losses were 528 dead, 200 prisoners, 1,000 rifles, 13,000 rounds of ammunition, many pack animals and baggage, 11 drums and seven artillery pieces. Vasconcelos sought refuge in El Salvador, while two Generals mounted on the same horse were seen crossing the Honduran border. Carrera regrouped his army and crossed the Salvadorean border, occupying Santa Ana, before he received orders from the Guatemalan President, Mariano Paredes, to return to Guatemala, since the Allies were requesting a cease-fire and a peace treaty.[15]
After this terrible defeat, Vasconcelos retired from both the presidency and public life.
References
- ^ "Presidencia de El Salvador". Archived from the original on 6 October 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2007.
- ^ a b c d Hernández de León 1930.
- ^ a b González Davison 2008, p. 270.
- ^ a b González Davison 2008, p. 270-271.
- ^ a b González Davison 2008, p. 271.
- ^ a b c d e González Davison 2008, p. 275.
- ^ a b González Davison 2008, p. 278.
- ^ González Davison 2008.
- ^ a b González Davison 2008, p. 279.
- ^ a b González Davison 2008, p. 280.
- ^ Woodward 1993, p. 222.
- ^ Woodward 1993, p. 223.
- ^ González Davison 2008, p. 316-317.
- ^ González Davison 2008, p. 315.
- ^ González Davison 2008, p. 311-328.
Bibliography
- Aycinena, Pedro de (1854). Concordato entre la Santa Sede y el presidente de la República de Guatemala(in Latin and Spanish). Guatemala: Imprenta La Paz.
- González Davison, Fernando (2008). La montaña infinita; Carrera, caudillo de Guatemala (in Spanish). Guatemala: Artemis y Edinter. ISBN 978-84-89452-81-7.
- Hernández de León, Federico (1930). El libro de las efemérides Tomo III (in Spanish). Guatemala: Tipografía Sánchez y de Guise.
- Mi Chiquimula (n.d.). "Chiquimultecos conmemoran la batalla de La Arada". Mi Chiquimula (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- Rafael, Gerardo (1 February 2013). "Ejército conmemorará la Batalla de la Arada". Diario de Centro América (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- Sierra González, Aida Lucila (2001). "La batalla de la Arada" (PDF). Servicio de Historia Militar, Sección de Investigaciones Históricas. Guatemala: Museo Militar. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2014.
- Woodward, Ralph Lee Jr. (1993). Rafael Carrera and the Emergence of the Republic of Guatemala, 1821-1871 (Online edition). Athens, Georgia EE.UU.: University of Georgia Press. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
Notes
- ^ Woodward 1993, p. [page needed]: In the Conservative regime of Guatemala, the Catholic Church was entangled with the Government and the leaders of both were relatives, mostly of the Aycinena family.