Juan de Sámano
Juan de Sámano (* 1753 or 1754 in Santander , Spain , † July 1821 in Portobelo , today Panama ) was a Spanish officer and colonial administrator who served as viceroy of New Granada.
Origin and military career
Sámano came from a high-ranking family in his hometown of Santander. In 1771 he entered the service of the Royal Spanish Army as a cadet, and in 1779 he was promoted to lieutenant. He taught mathematics at the Barcelona Military Academy .
In 1780 he was transferred to America. There he served in Puerto Rico , Cuba and Cartagena . In 1785 he returned to Spain. In 1789 he reached the rank of captain; in the First Coalition War he commanded a unit in the struggle against revolutionary France. In one of the fights, he was injured in both legs.
Used as an officer in New Granada
In 1794 he was transferred back to New Granada at his own request. In Riohacha he was governor and defended the city against the British in 1806. In 1809 he offered himself to the viceroy Antonio Amar y Borbón as a volunteer to fight against the insurgents of the independence movement.
War of Independence
In 1810 he commanded an infantry regiment in Bogotá with the rank of colonel . He was notorious for his toughness and cruelty in the fight against the insurgents. When a junta in Bogotá deposed Viceroy Amar on July 20, 1810, Sámano was also relieved of his command and sent back to Spain with a permit.
There he received the order to push back the rebels in Quito and Guayaquil for the motherland . He traveled back to South America via Panama. From Quito he directed his troops north.
In 1813 the governor Toribio Montes appointed him commander in chief of the Spanish expeditionary army in the fight against the separatists. In July 1813 he wrested the city of Popayán from the Republicans and proclaimed the Constitution of Cádiz , which had been enacted in Spain in 1812. At the end of 1813 at Alto Palacé and at the beginning of 1814 at Calibío , Sámano had to admit defeat to the Americans under Antonio Nariño . With a small group of royalist soldiers he retired to Pasto . Toribio replaced him as commander by Field Marshal Melchor Aymerich .
He returned briefly to Europe and, in the course of the Spanish reconquest in 1816, again took over a command in New Granada. In June 1816 he defeated the rebels under Liborio Mejía near El Tambo (Cauca) . In July 1816, the Spaniards under Sámano again took Popayán; José Hilario López , who unexpectedly escaped execution , was among the young soldiers of the Independence Army who sentenced Sámano to death . Later (1849-1853) he was to become President of New Granada.
He was promoted to Marshal and General Pablo Morillo entrusted him with the defense of Bogotá against the insurgents. Sámano established a reign of terror in the capital that Viceroy Francisco Montalvo y Ambulodi knew nothing about. He had three tribunals set up: the "Permanent Council of War" (Spanish: Consejo Permanente de Guerra ), which pronounced death sentences against the Republicans, and the "Purification Council" (Spanish: Consejo de Purificación ), which tried those insurgents who did not deserve the death penalty and the "Cabinet of Confiscations" (Spanish: Junta de Secuestros ), whose job was to preserve the property of the convicted.
Numerous insurgents fell victim to the terror, including Antonio Baraya , Francisco José de Caldas , Joaquín Camacho , Frutos Joaquín Gutiérrez , Liborio Mejía , Policarpa Salavarriet , Antonio Santos , Jorge Tadeo Lozano , Camilo Torres and Antonio Villavicencio . The brutal approach contradicted the government's political request in Madrid to re- tie the colonies firmly and faithfully to the motherland under the regained sovereignty under King Ferdinand VII .
Tenure as viceroy
Nevertheless, Sámano was raised in February 1818 as Viceroy of New Granada to succeed Francisco Montalvo. With the appointment also took place in the order of the holy Hermenegild . On August 9, 1819, he learned of the devastating defeat of the royalist army in the Battle of Boyacá . Sámano feared that Bogotá would now fall into the hands of the insurgents and that he would be held responsible for his brutal policies towards the separatists. So he immediately set off for Cartagena via Honda (Colombia) .
Last years in Panama
He found no support in Cartagena. His authority was denied him personally and the Spanish colonial rule in general. He first drove to Jamaica , then reached Portobelo , where he received recognition from the local cabildo (council assembly), but remained in fact without any means of power or government. On January 21, 1821, he formally ended his reign over the Viceroyalty, without this having received any further attention. He awaited the approval of the Spanish government to return to Europe and died in Panama in July 1821.
Web links
- Biography (spanish)
- Short biography (Spanish)
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Francisco Montalvo y Ambulodi |
Viceroy of New Granada 1818–1819 |
Juan de la Cruz Mourgeon y Achet |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sámano, Juan de |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Viceroy of New Granada |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1753 or 1754 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Santander , Spain |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 1821 |
| Place of death | Portobelo , now Panama |