Bartolomé Calvo

Infobox President
name = Bartolomé Calvo Díaz de Lamadrid


order =2nd
office = President of the Granadine Confederation
term_start = April 1, 1861
term_end = July 18, 1861
successor = Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
predecessor = Mariano Ospina Rodríguez
office2 = Governor of Panama
lieutenant2 =Francisco Fábregas
term_start2 = October 1, 1856
term_end2 = June 1, 1858
predecessor2 = Francisco Fábregas
successor2 = Ramón Gamboa
ambassador_from3 = Colombia
country3 = Ecuador
term_start3 = April 18, 1886
term_end3 = January 20, 1889
president3 = Rafael Núñez
successor3 =Francisco de Paula Urrutia
birth_date = August 24, 1815
birth_place = flagicon|ColombiaCartagena de Indias, Bolívar, Colombia
death_date = Death date and age|1889|01|2|1815|08|24
death_place = flagicon|EcuadorQuito, Pichincha, Ecuador
nationality = Colombian
party = Conservative
spouse = Isidora Martí
alma_mater = University of the Magdalena
occupation = Lawyer, Diplomat, Journalist (Typographer, Editor)
religion = Roman Catholic

Bartolomé Calvo Díaz de Lamadrid (August 24, 1815-January 2, 1889) was a Colombian lawyer, journalist, and statesman, who became President of the Granadine Confederation, in what is now Colombia, in 1861 in his role as Attorney General, because no elections were held on that year to the decide the presidency. He also served as Governor of Panama and Ambassador to Ecuador, and worked in a number of newspapers.

Personal life

Bartolomé Calvo was born on August 24, 1815 in Cartagena de Indias, in what was then the United Provinces of the New Granada, Orphaned at an early age, he spend his youth working in the print shop his father had left him and his brothers. He attended the University of the Magdalena where he graduated in Jurisprudence.

He was married to Isidora Martí [cite web|url = http://lablaa.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/agosto1996/agosto3.htm|title = Colombia, Primeras Damas|author =Revista Credencial Historia|edition = 80| accessdate= 2007-10-28|origyear=1996 |origmonth=August|location=Bogotá|publisher = Luís Ángel Arango Library|language = Spanish] .

Journalism career

Calvo inherited the passion for journalism from his father, one of the oldest typographers of Cartagena. After finishing his studies, he worked for the newspapers "La Civilización" and "La República", and then he moved to Panama where he became the publisher and editor of "El Correo del Istmo" [cite web|title=Bartolomé Calvo|url=http://www.lablaa.org/blaavirtual/biografias/calvbart.htm|author=Velásquez Toro, Magdala|publisher=Biblioteca Virtual del Banco de la República|origdate=2004-12-1|accessdate|2007-10-30|language=Spanish] [cite book|title=220 años del período colonial en Panamá|author=Carles, Rubén Darío|publisher=Departamento de Bellas Artes y Publicaciones del Ministerio de Educación|origyear=1959|oclc=2636049|language=Spanish|location=Panamá|pages=p. 201] .

After that he became editor-in-chief of La Estrella de Panamá, the Spanish language section of the trilingual newspaper "The Daily Star & Herald". Calvo’s strong political views, however, did not meet the commercial interests of the newspaper owners, and Calvo refused to compromise his views, which lead to the closing of La Estrella and his firing [cite web|url=http://www.estrelladepanama.com/|title=Información General|publisher=Estrella de Panama|accessdate=2007-10-28|language=Spanish] .

Politics in Panama

When the Vice-Governor Francisco Fábregas took over the State as Governor in replacement of Justo Arosemena, he named Bartolomé Calvo as his Secretary of Statecite book|title= Compendio de historia de Panamá|url=|author=Sosa, Juan Bautista|origyear=1911|coauthor= Arce, Enrique José |publisher=Morales & Rodriquez|language=Spanish|location=Panamá|accessdate=2007-10-28|chapter=V|oclc=150613899] . By now, racial tensions generated by the United States and the Americans living in Panama were getting very violent, Panamanians were angry that the Americans were taking all the jobs and the Americans discriminated the population. On the morning of April 15, 1856 a riot known as the Watermelon War took place. The results of this were very hard for the administration who was blamed by the United States and had to pay substantial damages.

On August 15, 1856 the elections for Governor of Panama were held. In this ballot, Bartolomé Calvo was a candidate. The elections proved to be complicated, the white factions claimed that Calvo had been elected by a 4000 votes lead, while the black factions claimed that Manuel M. Díaz had been chosencite book|title=History of Central America|author=Bancroft, Hubert HoweHowe|authorlink=Hubert Howe Bancroft|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=t00CAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA527&lpg=PA527&dq=bartolom%C3%A9+calvo&source=web&ots=2OL2yI_JOe&sig=AcUDlWBnHefVF8SczU9FR_UDruc|accessdate=2007-10-28|publisher=A. L. Bancroft|language=English|location=San Francisco|pages=pp.527-528|chapter=|oclc=1722798|origyear=1887 ] . By September 15, the Legislative Assembly of Panama had not yet declared a winner as required by law as the liberal radicals in the assembly wanted the Vice-Governor, who was on their side, to assume the Governorship, and they were deliberately absent in the legislature so to prevent a quorum to pass the resolution, in the hopes that come the date of inauguration and no candidate was elected, the vice governor would then become acting governor. But by now things were starting to get tense and protest were being held. On September 18, a quorum was finally met, and the Legislative Assembly declared that Calvo had been constitutionally elected for two years. Bartolomé Calvo took the office as Governor of the State of Panama on October 1, 1856cite web |url=http://rulers.org/rulc3.html#Colombia|title=Colombia: States 1855-86|author=Rulers.org|authorlink=Rulers.org|accessdate=2007-10-28|language=English] with Francisco Fábregas as his Vice-Governor. Calvo eventually won over many of the opposition with his good governance and honesty. His administration was a moderate but successful one encouraging public education, and improving the finances.

In 1858, Calvo was elected Attorney General of Colombia, and he left Panama on May 5 to go to Bogotá, ceding power to the first designate Ramon Gamboa.

Presidency 1861

In 1861 the country was enduring a Civil War, the country was now the Granadine Confederation, name given by the Constitution of 1858. The president Mariano Ospina Rodríguez was barely able to control the government. That year, Congress was shut down, and Presidential elections were not held. The Presidential term of Ospina was coming to an end, and according to the Constitution of 1858, in the absence of the Designates, which were not elected either, the Attorney General would take over the presidency [cite web|url=http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/01477398877125528632268/p0000001.htm#I_10_|title=Constitución para la Confederación Granadina de 1858|language=Spanish|location=Bogotá|author=Congreso de Colombia|authorlink=Congress of Colombia|accessdate=2007-10-29|origdate=1958-03-22|publisher=Fundacion Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes|chapter=Article 42, Section V, Chapter IV] . And on April 1, 1861, Bartolomé Calvo Díaz de Lamadrid became President of the Granadine Confederation as Attorney General in charge of the Executive Power [cite web|title= Colombia: Elections and Events 1850-1899|url= http://sshl.ucsd.edu/collections/las/colombia/1850.html|publisher=Social Sciences & Humanities Library|accessdate=2007-10-29|language=English] [cite web | url =http://www.fac.mil.co/index.php?idcategoria=13648&PHPSESSID=...67bc89b67fbff609069aee1db| title =Bartolomé Calvo Díaz| author =Colombian Air Force|authorlink=Colombian Air Force| accessdate= 2007-10-29|language=Spanish] .

Coup and exile

The forces of General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera invaded Bogotá on July 18, 1861 taking control of government and arresting many prominent figures, including Bartolomé Calvo, Mariano Ospina Rodríguez and his brother Pastor, who were taken prisoners and taken to the Bocachica Castle in Cartagena. From there, Calvo manages to escape to the Antilles on his way to Puerto Rico where he stayed in exile.In 1867 he moved to Guayaquil, Ecuador where his brother Juan Antonio lived, and with him they establish the first newspaper of the city, "Los Andes" [cite book|title=América española|author=Porras Troconis, Gabriel|publisher=America Española|origyear=1935|oclc=5686521|language=Spanish|location=Cartagena de Indias] [cite book|title=El Ecuador en cien años de independencia, 1830-1930|author=Orellana, J. Gonzalo|origyear=1930|publisher=Escuela tipográfica salesiana|language=Spanish|location=Quito|oclc=2351988] , a politically neutral newspaper that became of great importance at the time.

Elections of 1876

In 1876 Bartolomé Calvo was nominated as a candidate to the Presidency of Colombia, and returned to his country for the subsequent elections. He ran on the Conservative ballot against Aquileo Parra from the Radical Liberal Movement, and Rafael Núñez from the National Liberal Party. In the voting held by the Senate, no candidate held the absolute majority, and the elections went to a second round, this time in the Chamber where the winner was declared to be Aquileo Parra.cite book|url = http://www.diccionariobiograficoecuador.com/tomos/tomo8/c2.htm|title = Diccionario biográfico del Ecuador|accessdate = 2007-10-28|last = Pérez Pimentel|first = Rodolfo|year = 1987-2001|publisher = Litografía e Imp. de la Universidad de Guayaquil|location = Guayaquil|language = Spanish|oclc =17368731|chapter =Tomo XIII]

electiontable"'Summary of the 1876 Colombian presidential election results [ [http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Elecdata/Col/pres1826_1990.html Political Data Base of the Americas] ]
-!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Candidate - Party!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=center|Votes in Senate!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=center|Votes in Congress
-
align=left valign=top|Aquileo Parra - Radical Liberal
valign="center"|5
valign="center"|48
-
align=left valign=top|Bartolomé Calvo - Conservative
valign="center"|2
valign="center"|18
-
align=left valign=top|Rafael Núñez - Liberal
valign="center"|2
valign="center"|18
-
align=left valign=top|None of the above – ("Voto en Blanco")
valign="center"|1
valign="center"|0

Ecuador

In 1884, Calvo was named Plenipotentiary Minister to Ecuador, but could not assume his post, because of the Colombian Civil War of 1885 which halted politics. On April 18, 1886 he arrived in Quito officially taking his post.

In 1888 he was elected Senator in the Colombian Congress, but he refused the offer choosing to stay in Ecuador [cite web|title= Bartolomé Calvo |url=http://partidoconservador.org/index.php?section=23|publisher=Website of the Colombian Conservative Party|language=Spanish|accessdate=2007-10-30] .

Death and legacy

Bartolomé Calvo Díaz de Lamadrid died in Quito, on January 2, 1889 at the age of 73 leaving behind his wife and no children. On October 10 of that same year, the Congress of Colombia passed a law lamenting the death of the ex-president and setting funds for the repatriation of his remains to be interred in a National Monument in the Central Cemetery of Bogota, and also for the painting of two oil paintings, one which would hang in Congress, the other to be presented to his widow, also the creation of two busts in his likeness to be presented one to the Municipality of Cartagena, and the other to the Panamanian Assembly in honor and recognition of his service to the Nation [cite book|title=Leyes|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=85IwAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA13&dq=%22Bartolom%C3%A9+Calvo%22+quito+Ecuador&as_brr=0#PPA13,M1|author=Colombia|authorlink=Colombia|oclc=45242090|location=Bogotá|language=Spanish|accessdate=2007-10-30|chapter=Ley 10a del 10 de Octubre de 1889] .

The Library Bartolomé Calvo in Cartagena de Indias was also created in his honor.

ee also

* Colombian Civil War (1860–1862)
* Granadine Confederation
* Clímaco Calderón

References