Buenaventura Baez Mendes ( Spanish: Buenaventura Báez Méndez ; July 14, 1812 - March 14, 1884 ) - President of the Dominican Republic , who held this post five times in his life (not in a row). He is known for trying several times to organize the annexation of the Dominican Republic by other countries. In addition, he was notorious for his corrupt governments and the purchase in 1857 of a record crop of tobacco , which was the country's main export commodity, which led to a currency devaluation of 1000% and the ruin of tobacco producers.
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Biography
He was born in the city of under the Spanish colonial authority. His mother was the freed slave of his father, his father a wealthy merchant from Asua . Baez received a rich inheritance from his father and thanks to this he had the opportunity to go to study in Europe, where, in particular, he learned English and French.
During the occupation of the Dominican Republic by the troops of Haiti, Baez was the mayor of Asua in the service of the Haitian government. This position was received by him, among other things, because of his role in the revolution, during which Jean-Pierre Boyer was overthrown.
In 1844, Baez participated in organizing a successful uprising against Haiti, which led to the restoration of the independence of the Dominican Republic. He went to Europe in 1846 to convince France to establish a protectorate over the country, but the French refused.
Having been elected president for the first time and in office from 1849 to 1853, he tried to persuade the United States to incorporate the Dominican Republic into its territory.
He was re-elected president from 1856 to 1857, but was overthrown as a result of the coup associated with his tobacco scam.
The idea of this scam was to buy tobacco from manufacturers at inflated prices, then to sell it independently on the world market at an even higher price and thereby contribute to the personal enrichment and ruin of producers, many of whom were his political opponents. To carry out a scam, a large amount of unsecured money was printed, as a result of which the national currency depreciated, and the country plunged into an even greater crisis, after which the revolution began. For some time, he retained part of the country's territory and created an “alternative government”, besieging Santo Domingo, but in 1858 surrendered after US intervention.
Then Baez was inspired by the idea of restoring Spain’s power in the Dominican Republic. He went into exile in Spain and, having money, led a luxurious lifestyle there and promoted his idea. The Spaniards agreed to occupy the Dominican Republic in 1861, but in 1865 they left it as a result of the Dominican War of Independence.
Baez then returned to the Dominican Republic and again became its president, but was again overthrown in May 1866. Then he once again was elected to the presidency and held him from 1868 to 1874 (his longest reign); during this period he again tried to persuade the United States government to annex the Dominican Republic. This time he almost succeeded, as he convinced U.S. President Ulysses Grant to send warships to the Dominican Republic and even drew up the text of the annexation treaty that reached the United States Senate . The treaty, however, was not ratified by the Senate, and this story became a shame for Grant.
Baez again became president in 1876 and held power until 1878, when he was overthrown as a result of a coup and finally sent to exile in Puerto Rico , at that time the colony of Spain, where he lived his last days. Baez was buried in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo.
Bibliography
- Franco Pichardo, Franklyn. "XXI: Lucha entre Pedro Santana y Buenaventura Báez" (en español). Historia del Pueblo Dominicano. Ediciones Taller. pp. 245-246.
- ↑ 1 2 SNAC - 2010.
- ↑ 1 2 Find a Grave - 1995. - ed. size: 165000000