Background
Francisco Morazán was born presumably in or near Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on October 3, 1792.
(Excerpt from Rasgos Biográficos de Francisco Morazán: Apu...)
Excerpt from Rasgos Biográficos de Francisco Morazán: Apuntes para la Historia de Centro-América Satisfechas quedarán nuestras aspiraciones con que estas lineas arrojen alguna luz en la historia patria y sirvan para demostrar que no estamos tan corrompidos los guatemaltecos que aceptemos sin protesta la celebración oñcial de los verdugos de los pueblos. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Biblioteca Ayacucho. Claves Políticas de América. Francis...)
Biblioteca Ayacucho. Claves Políticas de América. Francisco Morazán. Vida, obra y pensamiento
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(Excerpt from Rasgos Biográficos de Francisco Morazán: Apu...)
Excerpt from Rasgos Biográficos de Francisco Morazán: Apuntes para la Historia de Centro-América Satisfechas quedarán nuestras aspiraciones con que estas lineas arrojen alguna luz en la historia patria y sirvan para demostrar que no estamos tan corrompidos los guatemaltecos que aceptemos sin protesta la celebración oñcial de los verdugos de los pueblos. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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defender General president statesman
Francisco Morazán was born presumably in or near Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on October 3, 1792.
The environment afforded scant opportunity for education or employment; hence, Morazán was largely self-taught and his early experience limited.
A succession of local victories in Honduras brought him to San Salvador, capital of neighboring El Salvador, in support of Liberal exiles organized to repossess the governments of the federal republic and the state of Guatemala.
At the head of the Liberal forces, in April 1829 Morazán took Guatemala City, capital of the state and of the federation.
In 1830 he was elected president of the federation and was reelected 4 years later. Conditions, in part of his own making, limited Morazán's opportunity for constructive statesmanship. Expecting to stimulate development in the federated states, he introduced reforms alien to Central American experience, the anticlerical elements of the reforms awakening Conservative opposition. This disaffection led to many of the military threats which almost constantly menaced his regime.
In addition, he had to contend with pressures from foreign governments, domestic personal rivalries, regional jealousies, a political system that many contemporaries believed was unworkable in Central America, and a perennially empty treasury that forced frequent resort to the hazardous expedient of exacting forced loans.
Moreover, the appearance that office holding was reserved to a narrow circle of Morazán's relatives and intimate friends, and the questionable ethics said to characterize certain of his business transactions and personal relations, gave critics basis to question his disinterestedness and attack his probity. Increasingly, especially during his second term, Morazán had to confront dissidents who gained control of state governments or generated popular uprisings. A particularly formidable insurrection headed by Rafael Carrera arose in Guatemala in 1837.
Neither state nor federal forces could control the insurgents, who overthrew the Liberal government of Guatemala in 1838. Their success encouraged imitators elsewhere. By the end of Morazán's term imminent disintegration threatened the federation; no presidential election was held; and the incumbent's waning moral authority virtually disappeared. In a final effort to defeat Carrera and avert dissolution of the union, Morazán seized Guatemala City in March 1840.
After momentary success his army was routed, and shortly thereafter he and his closest associates went into exile. Morazán returned to Central America in 1842 to attempt to restore the federation. He landed in Costa Rica, overthrew the government of Braulio Carrillo, and was consolidating his position before moving to force the other states into a union, but he was betrayed and captured.
He was executed in San José, Costa Rica, on September 15, ironically the anniversary of Central American independence.
After Central America won independence, Morazán aligned himself with Liberals and became their most successful military commander in armed conflicts with Conservatives. In the political arena, Francisco Morazán was recognized as a visionary and great thinker, as he attempted to transform Central America into one large and progressive nation. He enacted liberal reforms in the new Federal Republic of Central America, including freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Morazán also limited church power by making marriage secular and abolishing government-aided tithing.
These reforms made him some powerful enemies, and his period of rule was marked by bitter infighting between liberals and conservatives. But through his military skills, Morazán was able to keep a firm grip on power until 1837, when the Federal Republic became irrevocably fractured. This was exploited by the conservative leaders, who rallied around the leadership of Rafael Carrera and in order to protect their own interests, ended up dividing Central America into five nations.
(Excerpt from Rasgos Biográficos de Francisco Morazán: Apu...)
(Excerpt from Rasgos Biográficos de Francisco Morazán: Apu...)
(Biblioteca Ayacucho. Claves Políticas de América. Francis...)
He exiled Conservative functionaries and their principal collaborators, installed Liberals in both governments, and backed the program of reforms they initiated.
Quotations: On April 9, 1842, Morazán issued a proclamation to the people of Costa Rica in which he stated that he was never indifferent to the "misfortunes" of the Costa Rican people. "Your cries", he said, "have for a long time hurt my ears, and I finally found the means to save you, even at the expense of my own life".
More than a man of ideas, Morazán was a man of action wrote biographer Rafael Eliodoro Valle.
Francisco Morazán married María Josefa Lastiri in the Cathedral of Comayagua on December 30, 1825. They had one daughter, Adela Morazán Lastiri, born in San Salvador in 1838. Lastiri belonged to one of the wealthiest families in province of Honduras. Her father was the Spanish trader Juan Miguel Lastiri, who played an important part in the commercial development of Tegucigalpa. Her mother was Margarita Lozano, member of a powerful Creole family in the city.
Outside his marriage, Francisco Morazán fathered a son, Francisco Morazán Moncada, who was born on October 4, 1827, to Francisca Moncada, daughter of a well-known Nicaraguan politician named Liberato Moncada.
