José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia

Dr. José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia y Velasco
Litograph of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia with a maté and its respective bombilla
Consul of Paraguay
In office October 12, 1813 – February 12, 1814 June 12, 1814 – September 20, 1840
Preceded by	Fulgencio Yegros (1813) Fulgencio Yegros (1814)
Succeeded by	Fulgencio Yegros (1814) Manuel Antonio Ortiz (1840)
Personal details
Born	January 6, 1766(1766-01-06) Yaguarón, Paraguay
Died	September 20, 1840(1840-09-20) (aged 74) Paraguay
Nationality	Paraguayan
Political party	Independent
Religion	Roman Catholic, Atheist by 1820.

José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia

Dr. José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia y Velasco (January 6, 1766 – September 20, 1840) was the first leader of Paraguay following its independence from Spain. He ran the country with little outside influence from 1814 to 1840.

Biography

Born in Yaguarón, Francia's father was an officer turned tobacco planter from São Paulo, Brazil, and his mother was a Paraguayan descendent of Spanish colonizers. He received in the baptism the name Joseph Gaspar de Franza y Velasco, but later used the more popular name Rodriguez and changed Franza to the Spanish Francia. Although his father was simply García Rodríguez Francia (or Garcia Rodrigues França in Portuguese), the dictator inserted the particle de to style himself "Rodríguez de Francia y Velasco". The Paraguayans often referred to him simply as "Dr. Francia" or Caraí Guazú (great lord in Guaraní language). The Indians believed he had supernatural powers. When they saw him measuring the stars with his Theodolite, they thought he was talking to the night demons.^[1] Later, he would use it to straighten the streets of Asunción.

He became a doctor of theology and master of philosophy at the University of Córdoba. Eventually, he would learn five languages (Guarani, Spanish, French, Latin and some English). He was trained for the Catholic priesthood but never entered it. As a lawyer, he became a social activist and defended the less fortunate against the affluent. He demonstrated an early interest in politics and attained with difficulty the position of alcalde del primer voto, or head of the Asunción cabildo, by 1809, the highest position he could aspire to as a criollo. Other significant members included Fulgencio Yegros, Pedro Juan Caballero, Manuel Atanasio Cabañas and the last governor, Bernardo de Velasco. On 24 July 1810, Francia shocked the other members by saying it was irrelevant which king they had. When Paraguay's independence was declared, on 15 May 1811, he was appointed secretary to the national junta or congress. On 1 August he resigned because of the army's dominance over Congress. He retired to the countryside where he spread rumours the country was going to be betrayed by the incompetent government. He was one of the few men in the country with any significant education, and soon became the country's real leader. Only one other Paraguayan had a doctorate: Pedro Somellera, secretary to the last governor, Velasco. He suggested Francia join the junta and was later imprisoned.^[2]

From his retirement in his modest chacra (cottage or hut) at Ibaray, near Asunción, he told countless ordinary citizens who came to visit him that their revolution had been betrayed, that the change in government had only traded a Spanish-born elite for a criollo one, and that the present government was incompetent and mismanaged. He returned to the junta in October, resigned again in December. He did not return till November 1812 and only if he was in charge of foreign policy and half the army.

On 1 October 1813 Congress named Francia and Yegros as alternate consuls for a year, Francia taking the first and third four month periods.

On 1 July 1814 Francia banned Spaniards from marrying each other; they had to wed Indians, Blacks, or Mulattoes.

On 1 October 1814 Congress named him Consul of Paraguay, with absolute powers for three years. He consolidated his power to such an extent that on 1 June 1816, another Congress voted him absolute control over the country for life. His official title was "Supreme and Perpetual Dictator of Paraguay," but he was popularly known as El Supremo. According to historian Richard Alan White, these congresses were actually very progressive for the era; all men over 23 could vote for them. For the next 24 years, he ran the country with the aid of only three other people. He aimed to found a society on the principles of Rousseau's Social Contract^[3] and was also inspired by Robespierre and Napoleon. To create such a personal utopia he imposed a ruthless isolation upon Paraguay, interdicting all external trade, while at the same time he fostered national industries. He became known as a caudillo who ruled through ruthless suppression and random terror.^[4]

1820 uprising

In 1820 Francia's political police (the pyraguës, hairy feet) uncovered and quickly crushed a plot by the elite to assassinate El Supremo. Francia arrested almost 200 prominent Paraguayans and executed most of them. In June 1821, a letter detailing an anti-Francia conspiracy was found by two slaves, as well as Francia's priest, who had knowledge of the plot from the confessions of a conspirator. Francia had all 300 Spaniards arrested and made them stand in the plaza while he read the letter out. They were only released when they had paid 150,000 pesos (by comparison the 1820 budget was 164,723 pesos).^[5] The head conspirators; Fulgencio Yegros and Pedro Caballero were arrested and imprisoned for life. Caballero committed suicide on July 13, 1821, and Yegros was executed four days later.

He outlawed all opposition and established a secret police force. His underground prison was known as the chamber of truth, most of Paraguay's manufactures were made with prison labour. He abolished flogging but his executions were brutal. He insisted all executions happen at a stool (banquillo) outside his window under an orange tree. Because he was so stingy about wasting bullets, most victims were bayoneted. The families were not allowed to collect the bodies till they had been lying there all day to make sure they were dead.^[6] Many prisoners were also banished to Tevego, a prison camp 70 miles away from any other settlement^[7], surrounded in the east by an endless swamp^[8] , and in the west by the Gran Chaco. Upon his death there were 606 prisoners in Paraguay's jails.^[9] These were mainly foreign.

Military policy

Francia believed the states of Latin America should form a confederation based on equality of nations and joint defense.^[10] All soldiers had to be unmarried, aged between 18 and 30 and white (apart from the lancer squadrons, which were reserved for blacks and mulattoes). Indians and mestizos could join the militia, which permanently numbered between 5-10,000. The cadet corps was founded in 1821. Companies consisted of roughly 100 men, and ranks included fusiliers, grenadiers, dragoons, horse grenadiers, rifles, chasseurs and lancers. Uniforms consisted of a black shako with Paraguay's national cockade, a blue coat and white trousers. Cavalry units (apart from the lancers) had yellow aiguillettes and facings, while infantry had said decorations in red, and chasseurs and rifles had them in green. The lancers wore a white jacket without buttons with white trousers, and a red forage cap with a red waistcoat.^[11] No rank above captain was allowed, and soldiers only very rarely received this position. Soldiers guarding the borders were not paid till they returned to Asunción, so if they died no money was wasted. The size of the army varied compared to the magnitude of the threat. In 1824 for example, the army had over 5,500 troops, but in 1834, only 649.^[12] Francia deliberately misled foreigners into thinking that the army was over 5,000 strong, when in fact it rarely exceeded 2,000. The first Paraguayan-built warship was launched in 1815, and by the mid 1820s, a navy of 100 canoes, sloops and flatboats had been built. People had to doff their hats to any soldier, many Indians who could not afford headgear wore nothing but a hat brim so they could obey. Cash could only be exported in exchange for arms and ammunition, and in 1832 2000 muskets and sabres were imported from Brazil.^[13] While no wars were fought, there were disputes over Candelaria/Misiones with Argentina. Francia initially abandoned it in 1815, then in 1821 built a fort on the border, followed by another one the next year and a third in 1832.^[14] In 1838, the army actually invaded and occupied Candelaria on the grounds that Francia was protecting the Guarani natives living there. Paraguayan soldiers only saw action on the outposts of the frontier, which frequently came under attack from Guaycurú Indians. In 1823, Francia allowed Brazilian merchants to trade in Candelaria. Francia would spend most of the state's budget on the army, but soldiers were used for labour on public projects.

Educational policies

Francia had abolished higher education because he saw the need to spend more money in the military in order to defend Paraguayan independence. Francia closed the country's only seminary in 1822, mainly due to the bishop's mental illness. However, in 1828 Francia made state education compulsory for all males (he neither helped nor hindered the private schools). Even before this, the pupil-teacher ratio was good, 1 teacher to 36 pupils by 1825 according to Richard Alan White. In 1836 Francia opened Paraguay's first public library, stocked with his opponents' books.^[15] Books were one of the few duty-free items (munitions being another).

Refugees

Contrary to popular belief, Paraguay was not completely isolated, Francia welcomed political refugees from various countries. José Artigas, hero of Uruguay's independence, was given asylum in 1820 along with 200 of his men. He stayed in Paraguay even after Francia's death on a pension of $30 a month.^[16] He was pursued by Francisco Ramírez, who saw one of his warships also desert to Paraguay. In 1820, Francia ordered that runaway slaves were to be given refuge and refugees from Corrientes were to have canoes and land. In 1839, a whole company of Brazilian deserters were welcomed.^[17] Many ex-slaves were also sent to guard the penal colony of Tevego.^[18]

Agrarian policies

In October 1820, a plague of locusts destroyed most of the crops. Francia ordered a second harvest planted. It proved abundant, so from then on Paraguay's farmers planted two crops a year. Through the decade, Francia nationalised half the land in four stages. First he confiscated the lands of traitors, then clerics (1823–4), squatters (1825) and finally unused land (1828). The land was either run directly by soldiers for making their own supplies or leased to the peasants. By 1825 Paraguay was self-sufficient in sugar cane, and wheat was introduced. At the end of his life, to stop a cattle plague spreading from Argentina, Francia ruthlessly confined all the cattle at Ytapua until the plague had died out.

Nationalization of the Church

Francia seized the possessions of the Roman Catholic Church, he appointed himself head of the Paraguayan church, for which the Pope excommunicated him. Francia's reply on hearing this was: "If the Holy Father himself should come to Paraguay I would make him my private chaplain." He re-purposed confessional boxes as sentry posts, and abolished the Inquisition. In 1815 the Church was declared independent of Buenos Aires and Rome. In mid-June 1816 all nocturnal processions were banned except the Corpus Christi. In 1819, the Bishop was persuaded to transfer authority to the vicar-general. The Friars were secularised in 1820. On August 4, 1820, all clergy were forced to swear allegiance to the state and their clerical immunities were withdrawn. The four monasteries were nationalised in 1824. One was knocked down, another became a parish church. The remaining two became an artillery park and barracks. The three convents also became barracks. The confessionals became sentry boxes while the hangings in the mission churches became the lancers' red waistcoats.

One Latin American scholar summarized his rule as follows:

As time went on he appears to have grown more arbitrary and despotic. Deeply imbued with the principles of the French Revolution, he was a stern antagonist of the church. He abolished the Inquisition, suppressed the college of theology, did away with the tithes, and inflicted endless indignities on the priests. He kept the aristocracy in subjection and discouraged marriage both by precept and example, leaving behind him several illegitimate children. For the extravagances of his later years the plea of insanity has been put forward.^[19]

Dr. Francia. The stamp is Scott 666

Personal life

Francia was almost certainly an atheist (he had stopped attending mass by 1820) and had a very liberal view of sexuality. He made marriage subject to high taxation and restrictions, insisting he personally conduct all weddings. Francia kept a ledger of all the women he slept with. He himself had no close relationships, but had seven illegitimate children, the oldest being Ubalda García de Cañete. He caught her soliciting as a prostitute outside his palace, he declared prostitution an honourable profession and that they should all wear gold hair combs. They became known as peinetas de oro. This was done to humiliate the Spanish ladies as it was a Spanish fashion.

Francia took several precautions against assassination. He would lock the palace doors himself, unroll the cigars his sister made to ensure there was no poison, prepared his own yerba maté and slept with a pistol under his pillow.^[20] No one could come within six paces of him or even carry a cane near him. He uprooted all bushes and trees along his riding route so assassins could not hide, all shutters had to be closed and pedestrians had to throw themselves to the floor.

Francia lived a spartan lifestyle. Apart from his books furniture, his only possessions were a tobacco case and a pewter confectionery box.^[21] Francia left the state treasury with at least twice as much money in it as when he took office, including 36,500 pesos of his unspent salary, the equivalent of several years' salary.

Francia died on 20 September 1840. He had just destroyed all his papers, sensing his mortality. He refused medical aid, even lashing out at a doctor with his sabre. His daughter would burn Francia's furniture after his death. He was given a state funeral where the priest eulogized him. Some old Spanish families later stole his corpse, dismembered it and threw it into the river. His reputation abroad was negative: Charles Darwin, for one, hoped he would be overthrown, though Thomas Carlyle, no friend to democracy, found material to admire even in the publications of Francia's detractors and wrote in an 1843 essay that "Liberty of private judgement, unless it kept its mouth shut, was at an end in Paraguay" but considered that under the social circumstances this was of little detriment to a "Gaucho population... not yet fit for constitutional liberty." A modern reader might consider this faint praise, taken all in all.^{[citation needed]}

Francia imbued Paraguay with a tradition of autocratic rule that lasted, with only a few breaks, until 1989. Nonetheless, he is still considered a national hero, with a museum dedicated to his memory in Yaguarón. Paraguayan author Augusto Roa Bastos wrote an ambivalent depiction of the life of Francia, a novel entitled Yo el Supremo (I, the Supreme).

References

1. ^ Nigel Cawthorne, Empress of South America, page 29
2. ^ Nigel Cawthorne, Empress of South America, page 31
3. ^ War of The Triple Alliance Retrieved November 14, 2010
4. ^ Shaw, Karl (2005) [2004] (in Czech). Power Mad! [Šílenství mocných]. Praha: Metafora. pp. 27–28. ISBN 80-7359-002-6. 
5. ^ Richard Alan White, Paraguay's Autonomous Revolution, page 89.
6. ^ Nigel Cawthorne, Empress of South America, page 33
7. ^ Map at wdl.com
8. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=JRwaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA306&dq=tevego&hl=en&ei=ZrJvToGbBc3F8QPW0bzdCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=tevego&f=false
9. ^ http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/paraguay/francia.pdf page 116
10. ^ http://www.oas.org/consejo/Documents%20DOC2003.asp
11. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=5BQTAAAAYAAJ&q=uniform#v=snippet&q=uniform&f=false
12. ^ Terry Hooker/Armies of the 19th Century: The Americas/The Paraguayan War/page 171
13. ^ http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/paraguay/francia.pdf page 113
14. ^ John Hoyt Williams, 'Paraguayan Isolation under Dr Francia: A Reevaluation' The Hispanic American Historical Review, volume 52, issue 1, Feb 1972 page 110
15. ^ Jerry Cooney, Education in the Republic of Paraguay, History of Education Quarterly, 1983.
16. ^ Nigel Cawthorne, Empress of South America, page 34
17. ^ http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/paraguay/francia.pdf
18. ^ Pequeña Enciclopedia de Historias Minúsculas del Paraguay
19. ^ http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/paraguay/francia.htm
20. ^ Nigel Cawthorne, Empress of South America, page 34
21. ^ John Gimlette, At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig: Travels through Paraguay, page 161

Further reading

• FRANCIA, 3 Vols. 600pgs each. Asunción, Paraguay: Editorial Tiempo de Historia. 2009. ISBN 978-99953-816-4-6.  An annotated publication of the archived collection of Francia's writings, the Colección Doroteo Bareiro, held by the "Archivo Nacional de Asuncion"

External links

• Brief biography of Rodriguez de Francia
• "Paraguay: The Rise of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia"
• "Archivo Nacional de Asuncion"
• John Hoyt Williams, 'Paraguayan Isolation under Dr Francia: A Reevaluation' The Hispanic American Historical Review, volume 52, issue 1, Feb 1972 pp 102-22

Political offices
Preceded by Fulgencio Yegros	Consul of Paraguay 1813–1814	Succeeded by Fulgencio Yegros
Preceded by Fulgencio Yegros	Consul of Paraguay 1814–1840	Succeeded by Manuel Antonio Ortiz

Persondata
Name	Rodriguez de Francia, Jose Gaspar
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 6, 1766
Place of birth	Yaguarón, Paraguay
Date of death	September 20, 1840
Place of death	Paraguay