Dominican revolutionary, politician, and former president of the Dominican Republic
1817 CE
to 1861 CE
Francisco del Rosario Sánchez (March 9, 1817 – July 4, 1861) was a Dominican revolutionary, politician, and former president of the Dominican Republic. He is considered by Dominicans as the second prominent leader of the Dominican War of Independence, after Juan Pablo Duarte and before Matías Ramón Mella. Widely acknowledged as one of the Founding Fathers of the Dominican Republic, and the only martyr of the three, he is honored as a national hero. In addition, the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella is named partially in his honor.
Following Duarte's exile, Sánchez took leadership of the independence movement, while continuing to correspond with Duarte through his relatives. Under Sánchez, the Dominicans would successfully overthrow Haitian rule and declare Dominican independence on February 27, 1844. With the success of the separation from Haiti, Sánchez took office as the Dominican Republic's first interim president before ceding his position.
But his ideas of an independent state were fiercely challenged by many within the sector who felt that the new nation's independence was only a temporary success. Because of his patriotic ideals, Sánchez, like many of his peers, would be on the receiving end of these political struggles. His main political rival was none other than the military general, Pedro Santana. His status as a patriot came with many unfortunate consequences, including incarceration, deprived of his assets, exiled throughout the Caribbean, and worst of all, the death of his companions.
By 1861, his worst fears of the end of the republic came to reality upon learning that the pro-annexation group led by Santana agreed to reintegrate Dominican Republic back to colonial status. With no time to waste, Sánchez rushed back to his homeland to challenge this decision, but was lured into a trap by the very same people who allied with him, leading to his unfortunate death on July 4, 1861. His death triggered a national outrage throughout the island, and marking a new era of struggle for independence, which was eventually achieved in 1865.
