Mariano Ospina Rodríguez
Encyclopedia
Mariano Ospina Rodríguez was a Colombian
politician, journalist and lawyer, founder of the Colombian Conservative Party
and later President of Colombia
between 1857 and 1861 during the Granadine Confederation
.
, Viceroyalty of New Granada
, on October 18, 1805. He died in Medellín
, Antioquia, on January 11, 1885. His parents were Santiago Ospina and Urbina Rodríguez.
Ospina's ideas and activities in the 1820s and 1830s indicated that he already conceived of technical education as an important instrument for economic development and general social improvement.
, and grand father of president Mariano Ospina Pérez
.
in proclaiming himself as Dictator of Colombia. Consequently, this group of intellectuals, students and military officers planned a coup d’état against Bolívar. On the night of September 25, 1828, an elite group of militants and military officers assaulted the "Palacio de San Carlos" (government palace). Ospina was among the militia that assaulted the palace. The coup d’état failed, and Ospina escaped alive. The events of this failed coup d’état against Bolívar are known in Colombian History as the Noche Septembrina (the night of September).
Most of the conspirators of the Noche Septembrina, including General Francisco de Paula Santander
were captured, tried and sentenced to death. Ospina, fearing for his life, escaped from Bogotá and found refuge in Antioquia, the land of his teacher and mentor José Félix de Restrepo, the illustrious professor of Envigado
.
In 1829, Ospina joins the army of General José María Córdova
in the war against General Bolívar. General Cordova is killed in action and Ospina hides in the mountains of Santa Rosa de Osos
, Antioquia, until 1830. Antioquia proclaims its session from Colombia as an independent State and, Ospina is appointed as Secretary of State.
in 1841, first, as Secretary of the Interior, and later as Secretary of State (1841–1845). As Minister of the Interior he implemented a comprehensive educational plan in 1842. In so doing, he had attained one of the objectives that had escaped the Burbon reformers, which was to increase the resources and expand the programs of the nation's Universities.
. In 1848, in association with José Eusebio Caro, and after months of deliberation, they wrote the ideological platform and fundamental program of the conservative party. They both created the newspaper called La Civilización to promote their political ideas.
. His opponents were two liberals, Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
and Manuel Murillo Toro
. He won the election and was elected President for the 1857-1861 presidential term.
During his administration, he appointed Manuel Antonio Sanclemente
, first, as his Minister of Government, and later, as his Minister of War.
, where he pursued coffee growing with passion and a scientific interest. As a result of Ospina's careful investigations and studies, Colombia began producing some of the best coffees in the world, the Coffea arabica species.
After his presidency, in 1862, he and his brother Pastor escaped from prison (imprisoned by the dictator Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
) into exile. They were granted asylum in Guatemala and there they planted coffee and operated a "Scientific and Industrial College". By 1865, he had expanded his coffee enterprise to Guatemala and, in so doing, became one of the first coffee growing pioneers in Central America.
With his vast experience and knowledge about the cultivation of coffee, he devoted himself to promoting and teaching the growing of coffee to the farmers and peasants of Colombia. In 1880 he established the first public University in Colombia (Escuela Nacional de Minas de Medellín) and published his first textbooks about "efficient and effective coffee growing techniques". The nation profited richly from Don Mariano's efforts, research and teachings. His passion, knowledge, vision, tenacity and hard labor facilitated the development of coffee growing into Colombia's main export crop, transforming forever the nation's economy.
After Ospina and his brother Pastor escaped from prison into exile, in 1862, they planted coffee and operated a "Scientific and Industrial College" in Guatemala.
In 1880, the National Press (of Colombia) published the first instruction manual for coffee growing, written by Ospina, titled "Cultivo del Café: Nociones Elementales al alcance de todos los labradores" (Coffee Growing: Basic notions available to all farmers), based on his extensive research and experience. Ospina Rodríguez dedicated much of his efforts to teaching and to the promotion of useful knowledge. In 1931, a second instruction manual for coffee growers was published under the direction of Mariano Ospina Pérez
as General Manager of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia.
In 1882, Ospina and his two sons, Mariano and Tulio, established their first, of several, large scale coffee plantations and organized their mayor coffee processing plants and facilities ("despulpadoras" or "edificios del café") in "El Cerro Bravo", of Fredonia, Antioquia
. The first mechanized pulpers and mills were introduced and operated in these plantations.
, the Ospinas and the Vásquez, settled in Guatemala
. Thanks to their ability to insert into Guatemala's political and economic activities, their entrepreneurial spirit, their access to international credit, and their solid family alliances, they were able to distinguish themselves when coffee plantations were spreading out. In particular, their experience as the owners of "Las Mercedes", one of the largest and most famous coffee plantations of Central America in those times.
In 1863, Ospina, former President of the Granadine Confederation (now Colombia), arrived in Guatemala with his wife Enriqueta Vásquez, his four younger children and his brother Pastor. They had been granted political asylum by the Guatemalan government. They settled in the Pacific piedmont region called "Costa Cuca", where they established their main coffee plantation "Las Mercedes". This coffee plantation became known throughout Central America as the most productive and best managed.
The history of the appearance of the Central American nations in the world economy is related to the development and exports of agricultural products, mainly of the coffee industry, during the second half of the 19th century. This period of economic development and expansion has been called "the second conquest of Latin America". During this period (1860–1930), the economic activity of trade and commerce between Western Europe, the United States and Latin America reached a new all time highs.
Given the fact that the coffee industry became the platform and engine of economic development in Guatemala, which in turn promoted and advanced other sectors such as the financial institutions and banking, public works, and the modernization of agriculture and manufacturing, the Ospina brothers were regarded as equals with the "Founding Fathers" of the Republic of Guatemala.
Ospina returned to Colombia with his wife Enriqueta and their children on October 1871. They relocated in the town of Fredonia
, Antioquia, where they continued with their coffee business, enterprise and plantations.
Colombian people
Colombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...
politician, journalist and lawyer, founder of the Colombian Conservative Party
Colombian Conservative Party
The Colombian Conservative Party , is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was unofficially founded by a group of Revolutionary Commoners during the Revolutionary War for Independence from the Spanish Monarchy and later formally established during the Greater Colombia...
and later President of Colombia
President of Colombia
The President of Colombia is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Colombia. The office of president was established upon the ratification of the Constitution of 1819, by the Congress of Angostura, convened in December 1819, when Colombia was part of "la Gran Colombia"...
between 1857 and 1861 during the Granadine Confederation
Granadine Confederation
The Granadine Confederation was a short-lived federal republic established in 1858 as a result of a constitutional change replacing the Republic of New Granada. It comprised the present day nations of Colombia and Panama...
.
Biographic data
Ospina was born in GuascaGuasca
Guasca is a Colombian town and municipality in the Cundinamarca Department located approximately 105 km from Bogotá. It has a touristic and an agricultural zone....
, Viceroyalty of New Granada
Viceroyalty of New Granada
The Viceroyalty of New Granada was the name given on 27 May 1717, to a Spanish colonial jurisdiction in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. The territory corresponding to Panama was incorporated later in 1739...
, on October 18, 1805. He died in Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
, Antioquia, on January 11, 1885. His parents were Santiago Ospina and Urbina Rodríguez.
Early life
He was home schooled by both of his parents, Santiago and Urbina, and later received private tutoring from Professor José Félix Restrepo. He attended the School of San Bartolomé in Bogotá, where he graduated in jurisprudence and obtained a Law degree in 1827.Ospina's ideas and activities in the 1820s and 1830s indicated that he already conceived of technical education as an important instrument for economic development and general social improvement.
Private life
Ospina was the father of president Pedro Nel OspinaPedro Nel Ospina
Pedro Nel Ospina Vázquez was a Colombian general and political figure. He served as president of Colombia between 1922 and 1926.- Biography:...
, and grand father of president Mariano Ospina Pérez
Mariano Ospina Pérez
Luis Mariano Ospina Pérez was a Colombian engineer and political figure, member of the Colombian Conservative Party. He served as President of Colombia between 1946 and 1950.- Biographic data :...
.
Military career
In 1828, soon after graduating with a law degree, Ospina associates himself with a group of intellectuals, ideologists and politicians that did not agree with the ideas of General Simón BolívarSimón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
in proclaiming himself as Dictator of Colombia. Consequently, this group of intellectuals, students and military officers planned a coup d’état against Bolívar. On the night of September 25, 1828, an elite group of militants and military officers assaulted the "Palacio de San Carlos" (government palace). Ospina was among the militia that assaulted the palace. The coup d’état failed, and Ospina escaped alive. The events of this failed coup d’état against Bolívar are known in Colombian History as the Noche Septembrina (the night of September).
Most of the conspirators of the Noche Septembrina, including General Francisco de Paula Santander
Francisco de Paula Santander
Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña , was a Colombian military and political leader during the 1810–1819 independence war of the United Provinces of New Granada...
were captured, tried and sentenced to death. Ospina, fearing for his life, escaped from Bogotá and found refuge in Antioquia, the land of his teacher and mentor José Félix de Restrepo, the illustrious professor of Envigado
Envigado
Envigado is a city of Colombia in the department of Antioquia, located at the south of the Aburrá Valley and belonging to the Metropolitan Area of Medellín. It has limits at its north with El Poblado, Medellín; at its south with Sabaneta; at its east with El Retiro and Caldas and at west with Itagüí...
.
In 1829, Ospina joins the army of General José María Córdova
José María Córdova
José María Córdoba also known as the "Hero of Ayacucho", was a General of the Colombian army during the Latin American War of independence from Spain.- Biographic data :Córdova was born in Concepción, Antioquia on September 8, 1799...
in the war against General Bolívar. General Cordova is killed in action and Ospina hides in the mountains of Santa Rosa de Osos
Santa Rosa de Osos
Santa Rosa de Osos is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Part of the subregion of Northern Antioquia. Colombian poet Porfirio Barba-Jacob was born in this town.-External links:* http://dsro.org...
, Antioquia, until 1830. Antioquia proclaims its session from Colombia as an independent State and, Ospina is appointed as Secretary of State.
Political career
Ospina entered the cabinet of President Pedro Alcántara HerránPedro Alcántara Herrán
Pedro Alcántara Herrán Martínez de Zaldúa was a Colombian general and statesman who served as President of the Republic of the New Granada between 1841 and 1845. As a general he served in the wars of independence of the New Granada and of Peru....
in 1841, first, as Secretary of the Interior, and later as Secretary of State (1841–1845). As Minister of the Interior he implemented a comprehensive educational plan in 1842. In so doing, he had attained one of the objectives that had escaped the Burbon reformers, which was to increase the resources and expand the programs of the nation's Universities.
Founder of the Colombian Conservative Party
Also an educator, journalist, lawyer, political leader and a statesman, Ospina was one of the founders of the Colombian Conservative PartyColombian Conservative Party
The Colombian Conservative Party , is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was unofficially founded by a group of Revolutionary Commoners during the Revolutionary War for Independence from the Spanish Monarchy and later formally established during the Greater Colombia...
. In 1848, in association with José Eusebio Caro, and after months of deliberation, they wrote the ideological platform and fundamental program of the conservative party. They both created the newspaper called La Civilización to promote their political ideas.
Member of Parliament
Ospina was elected to Congress in 1849 and later, in 1854, he was elected Governor of the State of Antioquia A few years later, in 1857 he was elected as the 14th President of Colombia.Governorship
Ospina was elected as Governor of the State of Antioquia on June 1, 1845, and again for a second term on January 1, 1854.The Presidency
Ospina ran for President of Colombia in the general election of 1857, representing the Colombian Conservative PartyColombian Conservative Party
The Colombian Conservative Party , is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was unofficially founded by a group of Revolutionary Commoners during the Revolutionary War for Independence from the Spanish Monarchy and later formally established during the Greater Colombia...
. His opponents were two liberals, Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera y Arboleda was a Colombian general and political figure. He was president of Colombia four times. The first time was as president of Republic of New Granada from 1845 to 1849. During the Colombian Civil War of 1860-1862 he led liberal forces in a civil war against...
and Manuel Murillo Toro
Manuel Murillo Toro
Manuel Murillo Toro was a Colombian politician and statesman, who served as President of the United States of Colombia on two occasions, first from 1864 to 1866, and again between 1872 and 1874.- Biographic data :...
. He won the election and was elected President for the 1857-1861 presidential term.
During his administration, he appointed Manuel Antonio Sanclemente
Manuel Antonio Sanclemente
Manuel Antonio Sanclemente Sanclemente was President of Colombia between 1898 and 1900.- Early life :Sanclemente was born in Buga, Valle del Cauca Department on September 19, 1814. He died in Villeta, Cundinamarca on March 19, 1902, during his house arrest. He studied Law at the University of...
, first, as his Minister of Government, and later, as his Minister of War.
The pioneer of coffee in Colombia
Ospina was one of Colombia's earliest and most profoundly influential coffee pioneers, with an entrepreneurial spirit and tenacity. He began his quest in 1835, seeking the best lands and terroir for growing coffee within the lush mountains of the province of Antioquia. He established his first experimental plantation in 1835, in the municipality of Fredonia, AntioquiaFredonia, Antioquia
Fredonia is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Part of the subregion of Southwestern Antioquia....
, where he pursued coffee growing with passion and a scientific interest. As a result of Ospina's careful investigations and studies, Colombia began producing some of the best coffees in the world, the Coffea arabica species.
After his presidency, in 1862, he and his brother Pastor escaped from prison (imprisoned by the dictator Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera y Arboleda was a Colombian general and political figure. He was president of Colombia four times. The first time was as president of Republic of New Granada from 1845 to 1849. During the Colombian Civil War of 1860-1862 he led liberal forces in a civil war against...
) into exile. They were granted asylum in Guatemala and there they planted coffee and operated a "Scientific and Industrial College". By 1865, he had expanded his coffee enterprise to Guatemala and, in so doing, became one of the first coffee growing pioneers in Central America.
With his vast experience and knowledge about the cultivation of coffee, he devoted himself to promoting and teaching the growing of coffee to the farmers and peasants of Colombia. In 1880 he established the first public University in Colombia (Escuela Nacional de Minas de Medellín) and published his first textbooks about "efficient and effective coffee growing techniques". The nation profited richly from Don Mariano's efforts, research and teachings. His passion, knowledge, vision, tenacity and hard labor facilitated the development of coffee growing into Colombia's main export crop, transforming forever the nation's economy.
After Ospina and his brother Pastor escaped from prison into exile, in 1862, they planted coffee and operated a "Scientific and Industrial College" in Guatemala.
In 1880, the National Press (of Colombia) published the first instruction manual for coffee growing, written by Ospina, titled "Cultivo del Café: Nociones Elementales al alcance de todos los labradores" (Coffee Growing: Basic notions available to all farmers), based on his extensive research and experience. Ospina Rodríguez dedicated much of his efforts to teaching and to the promotion of useful knowledge. In 1931, a second instruction manual for coffee growers was published under the direction of Mariano Ospina Pérez
Mariano Ospina Pérez
Luis Mariano Ospina Pérez was a Colombian engineer and political figure, member of the Colombian Conservative Party. He served as President of Colombia between 1946 and 1950.- Biographic data :...
as General Manager of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia.
In 1882, Ospina and his two sons, Mariano and Tulio, established their first, of several, large scale coffee plantations and organized their mayor coffee processing plants and facilities ("despulpadoras" or "edificios del café") in "El Cerro Bravo", of Fredonia, Antioquia
Fredonia, Antioquia
Fredonia is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Part of the subregion of Southwestern Antioquia....
. The first mechanized pulpers and mills were introduced and operated in these plantations.
The pioneer of coffee in Guatemala
In the 1860s, two prominent families from Antioquia, ColombiaColombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, the Ospinas and the Vásquez, settled in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. Thanks to their ability to insert into Guatemala's political and economic activities, their entrepreneurial spirit, their access to international credit, and their solid family alliances, they were able to distinguish themselves when coffee plantations were spreading out. In particular, their experience as the owners of "Las Mercedes", one of the largest and most famous coffee plantations of Central America in those times.
In 1863, Ospina, former President of the Granadine Confederation (now Colombia), arrived in Guatemala with his wife Enriqueta Vásquez, his four younger children and his brother Pastor. They had been granted political asylum by the Guatemalan government. They settled in the Pacific piedmont region called "Costa Cuca", where they established their main coffee plantation "Las Mercedes". This coffee plantation became known throughout Central America as the most productive and best managed.
The history of the appearance of the Central American nations in the world economy is related to the development and exports of agricultural products, mainly of the coffee industry, during the second half of the 19th century. This period of economic development and expansion has been called "the second conquest of Latin America". During this period (1860–1930), the economic activity of trade and commerce between Western Europe, the United States and Latin America reached a new all time highs.
Given the fact that the coffee industry became the platform and engine of economic development in Guatemala, which in turn promoted and advanced other sectors such as the financial institutions and banking, public works, and the modernization of agriculture and manufacturing, the Ospina brothers were regarded as equals with the "Founding Fathers" of the Republic of Guatemala.
Ospina returned to Colombia with his wife Enriqueta and their children on October 1871. They relocated in the town of Fredonia
Fredonia
- Places :In the United States* Fredonia, Alabama* Fredonia, Arizona* Fredonia , Arkansas* Fredonia, California* Fredonia, Iowa* Fredonia, Kansas* Fredonia, Kentucky* Fredonia, New York* Fredonia, North Dakota* Fredonia, Pennsylvania...
, Antioquia, where they continued with their coffee business, enterprise and plantations.