Juan Pablo Duarte
Juan Pablo Duarte Díez (January 26, 1813 – July 15, 1876) is one of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic. He was a visionary and liberal thinker, who along with Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Matías Ramón Mella, is widely considered to be the architect of the Dominican Republic and its independence from Haitian rule in 1844. He would help create the political-military organization La Trinitaria to fight against the Haitian occupation, achieve independence, and create a self-sufficient nation established on the liberal ideals of a democratic government.Duarte helped supervise and finance the Dominican War of Independence, paying a heavy toll which would eventually ruin him financially. His then radical views would also make him a controversial figure among fellow Dominicans of the time, and he would be exiled at various occasions after the founding of the new nation. His liberal views went against the conservative elites who sought for heavy-handed control of the nation, and wanted to maintain the traditional regionalisms of the past. Duarte had strong disagreements with Pedro Santana in particular, who he saw as a tyrannical figure directly opposed to his ideals of liberty and independence. Ultimately, he would spend his last days away from the nation he helped shape and would die in exile, this made him a political martyr in the eyes of subsequent generations.The highest mountain in the Caribbean is named Pico Duarte in his honor, as are Juan Pablo Duarte Square in New York City, and many other noteworthy landmarks, suggesting his historical importance for Dominicans. His democratic ideals, although never fully fleshed-out, have served as a guiding principle for most Dominican governments of the present day.
Personal facts
| Birth date | January 26, 1813 |
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| Date of death | July 15, 1876 |
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