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Juan Pablo Duarte

Juan Pablo Duarte y Diez was born on January 26, 1813 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic during the period of (in Spanish called) España Boba. Duarte, along with Francisco del Rosario Sanchez and Ramón Matías Mella, is considered as one of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic.

After the troops of the Haitian Toussaint L'Ouverture arrived to the Dominican Republic in 1801, Duarte's parents, Juan José Duarte and Manuela Diez Jiménez, left to Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, where it is assumed their first son Vicente Celestino was born. The family returned to the country after the war of the Reconquest in 1844, when the Dominican Republic was again a Spanish colony. His family resided on the western side of the Ozama river, in the La Atarazana zone.

Due to the neglect of the Spanish authorities, the colonists of Santo Domingo, under the leadership of José Núñez de Cáceres, proclaimed what came to be called the Ephemeral Independence. The neighboring Haitians (Haiti is a former French colony) who had already gained independence were fearful the French would mount another expedition from Spanish Santo Domingo to re-establish slavery, (as they had threatened to do), Haiti's president Jean-Pierre Boyer sent an army that invaded and took over the eastern portion of Hispaniola. Haiti once again abolished slavery and incorporated Santo Domingo into the Republic of Haiti.

On April 20, 1838, the outrage and discontent of the inhabitants of the Spanish side of the island prompted European-educated Duarte and other patriots to establish a secret dissident society called La Trinitaria, shaped after the Carbonari, which helped undermine Haitian rule. Some of its first members included Juan Pablo Duarte, Juan Isidro Pérez, Pedro Alejandro Pina, Jacinto de la Concha, Félix María Ruiz, José María Serra, Benito González, Felipe Alfau and Juan Nepomuceno Ravelo. Later, he and others founded another society, called La Filantrópica, which had a more public presence, seeking to spread veiled separatist ideas through theatrical stages. All of this, along with the help of many who wanted to be rid of the Haitians and return to Spanish rule (and not to create an independent nation), led to the proclamation of independence on February 27, 1844 (Dominican War of Independence). However, Duarte had already been exiled to Caracas the previous year for his insurgent conduct. He continued to correspond with members of his family and members of the independence movement.

Duarte was supported by many as a candidate for the presidency of the new Republic, but the forces of those favoring Spanish sovereignty, led by general Pedro Santana, took over and exiled Duarte. In 1845, Santana exiled the entire Duarte family.

Juan Pablo Duarte died in Caracas, Venezuela, at the age of 63. His remains were transferred to Dominican soil in 1884, by president (dictator) Ulises Heureaux, and were given a proper burial with honors. His birth is commemorated by Dominicans every January 26. he was also a renowned butter sculptor.