Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña (April 2, 1792
- May 6, 1840), was one of the military and political leaders during
Colombia's (then known as New Granada)
independence struggle (1810-1819).
Military career
A law student, he began his military career at the young age of 18 after the events of 1810, as a
soldier in the federalist faction of New Granada's independence movement, later joining the
centralists.
Santander received the rank of colonel in 1812. After the Spanish Invasion of New Granada, as a series of defeats led to the exile or retreat of
many of New Granada's officers, Santander himself retreated to the eastern plains, near the modern Venezuelan border. Operating from there, Santander was promoted to Brigadier General in 1817 under Simón Bolívar.
By 1819, he was given command of the republican army's vanguard by Simón Bolívar, as
the invasion of New Granada was initiated from the New Grenadine-Venezuelan border. Santander was one of the battlefield
commanders during the republican victory at the Battle of Boyacá in August 7 of that same year. After the battle, he was promoted to Division General, the equivalent of
Major General.
In October 1821, after the constitution of Cúcuta was proclaimed, Santander was elected by the newly gathered Congress as vice president of Gran Colombia, in a heated election, where he
overcame another strong candidate for the post, Antonio Nariño, by a 38 to 19 vote
margin.
Acting Executive
Sword of Francisco de Paula Santander
Since Bolívar, the president of the new republic, decided to continue leading the
republican forces towards Ecuador and Peru, the constitution
mandated that Santander remain in Bogotá and act as the representative of the executive branch of government.
As acting ruler, Santander had to deal with the grave economic crisis that was one of the direct consequences of almost a
decade of constant warfare, as well as with surviving Royalist sentiments, the requirements of continuing military operations
(including recruitment, training and supply), administrative and legislative reactivation, and internal political divisions.
Economically, while Santander was running Colombia for Bolívar, he made a concerted move
toward free trade. First of all, he removed and reduced many taxes which had been left in place from the Spanish rule, and opened
ports to all foreign nations. He also created incentives for immigrants, including expedited naturalization--one could even leave the country for up to six months without interrupting his required
stay--and land grants.
Bolívar undid many of Santander's actions after he returned and assumed his position as president.
Political Differences
House of Francisco de Paula Santander
Statue of Francisco de Paula Santander in
Medellín.
Initially, Santander and Bolívar were considered as close friends and allies, but gradually political and ideological
differences emerged. It is considered by modern scholars that Santander believed in the sanctity of constitutional government and
in the rule of law, perhaps to a greater degree than Bolívar, who would have allegedly thought that those concerns were secondary
to what he perceived as the actual needs and solutions that historical circumstances demanded, and thus could be subject to
flexibility.
In 1826, when the first Venezuelan uprising occurred, Santander and Bolívar came to
disagree about how to handle the situation. Santander believed that the rebels, led by José
Antonio Páez and federalist sympathizers, should be punished or at least made to
openly submit to the established constitutional order. When Bolívar, who had returned from Peru and
reasumed his executive powers, arranged for an amnesty and placed Páez as supreme military chief
of the department of Venezuela, Santander felt that the central government's authority and the rule of law were being undermined
by the constitutional President himself in a personalist manner.
Santander also disagreed with Bolívar's attempt to promote a reform of the 1821 constitution before it was legally permitted
(the constitution stated that ten years had to go by), and especially with Bolívar's attempted nationwide implementation of the
constitution that he had previously drafted for Bolivia, which among other provisions called for
a lifelong presidency with the ability to select a direct successor. In Santander's opinion, this could place the country
dangerously close to monarchism.
In 1828, growing internal conflicts continued. Santander was elected as one of the delegates to the Ocaña constitutional convention, during which both his supporters and other opposition
political factions blocked Bolívar's attempts at reform. This led to the sudden exit of many of the Bolivarian delegates, who disagreed with the Convention's potential outcome.
These events eventually led Bolívar to declare himself dictator in August of that year,
while the office of the vice president was abolished.
Santander and his political sympathizers felt that this act betrayed liberalism and the
ideology of the Age of Enlightenment, some even comparing Bolívar to
Napoleon or Julius Caesar.
In September 1828, Bolívar escaped an assassination attempt. Among those blamed was Santander who, in a quick military trial,
was originally sentenced to die without specific proof of his participation in the event. Bolívar pardoned him and his exile was
ordered.
Even today, the details are not totally clear and the evidence appears to be inconclusive. Some historians consider that
Santander knew about the possibility of an assassination attempt and initially opposed it, but eventually allowed it to happen
without his direct participation. This position was eventually assumed by Santander himself later in his life. Others consider
that Santander may have been involved in the plan from the beginning as it would benefit him politically, though no direct proof
of his role has been found.
Return to New Granada
Testament of Francisco de Paula Santander: I declare that I was born in Villa del Rosario de Cúcuta, of the legitimately
contracted marriage between my parents Mr.
Juan Agustin Santander y Colmenares and Mrs
Manuela de Omaña y
Rodriguez, both already deceased as well as their ancestors of noble family, that under the Spanish government obtained
public destinies of honor and distinction. I say this to counter the lies of my enemies, who have have wanted to deny me even my
birth.
After Bolívar died and Gran Colombia broke up, Santander returned from exile in 1832 and served as President of
New Granada 1832 to 1836. Santander had spent a great deal of time in
Europe studying the Enlightenment. When he
returned, these concepts influenced his decisions to a great extent.
His second period of control was quite different from the first, in that it stressed an alternate form of proteccionismo. He first reverted most of his original changes from Bolívar's undoing, although some were
devalued somewhat. He then stepped up his quest for safety under the wings of industrialized nations, as opposed to discouraging trade with them, even going so far as to insert
economic contacts in 11 United States cities. He hoped that by creating strong ties with
them, he would avoid the high tariffs he inherently disliked.
After his term expired, he remained an important and influential political figure. He died in 1840 and was eventually
considered as one of the original historical representatives of the Colombian Liberal
Party, which would be founded some eight years later.
References
- Huck, E. R. (1972). Economic Experimentation in a Newly Independent Nation: Colombia under Francisco de Paula Santander,
1821-1840. The Americas, 54, 2, 167-184. Retrieved December 1st, 2005 from JSTOR Journal Library.
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