José Cortés de Madariaga: The priest of the Revolution of 1810 (+Christmas)
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Published at: 08/07/2025 08:05 AM
On July 8, 1780, the priest, writer, politician and canon of the Cathedral of Caracas José Cortés de Madariaga was born in Chile, who went down in history as one of the protagonists of the Revolution of 1810.
April 19 was the date on which Father Madariaga took advantage of the situation, when the president governor and captain general, Vicente Emparan, was invited to an open council, and improvised a plebiscite to consult the people about his removal from the position he held as the highest authority of the Captaincy of Venezuela, and before the proposal, Emparan looked out onto the balcony of the town hall to consult those present in the square for their opinion on their stay in the Government.
It is known that at first people, fearful and intimidated by the authority of Emparan, did not demonstrate openly, so in the face of the fearful and discreet attitude of the people who filled the Plaza Mayor, today Plaza Bolívar, Madariaga, behind Emparan, made signals with his arm urging the people to demonstrate against the Captain General who was still standing on the balcony... Suddenly! the angry audience began to shout “We don't want control! And Emparan's answer was “Then I don't want to command either!”
After losing the First Republic, he was arrested and sent to Spain along with Juan Germán Roscio, Juan Paz del Castillo and Juan Pablo Ayala.
After being released after three years in prison, he returned to Venezuela and participated as a deputy in the Cariaco Congress, which ignored Bolívar's authority. Although the Liberator pardoned him, he was forced into exile. He lived his last years in New Granada where he died in the town of Rio Hacha, in 1826.
Mazo News Team/ VTV