Santiago Pérez de Manosalbas

Infobox Officeholder
name = Santiago Pérez de Manosalbas


order = 12th
office = President of the United States of Colombia
term_start = April 1, 1874
term_end = April 1, 1876
predecessor =Manuel Murillo Toro
successor =Aquileo Parra
office2 = Secretary of the Interior and Foreign Affairs
term_start2 = April 1, 1868
term_end2 = April 1, 1870
president2 = Santos Gutiérrez
office3 = Director of Public Instruction
president3 = Manuel Murillo Toro
ambassador_from4 = Colombia
country4 = United States
president4 = Aquileo Parra
birth_date = May 23, 1830
birth_place = flagicon|Colombia Zipaquirá, Cundinamarca, Colombia
death_date = Death date and age|1900|08|05|1830|03|23
death_place = flagicon|France Paris, Île-de-France, France
nationality =Colombian
party =Liberal
spouse = Tadea Triana Silva
alma_mater = Colegio del Espíritu Santo
Our Lady of the Rosary University
occupation =Educator, Writer, Journalist
religion =Roman Catholic

Santiago Pérez de Manosalbas [ Santiago Pérez de Manosalbas is the correct name, his second last name has some variants, other forms include: Manosalva, Manosalvas, and the omission of the “de”.] (May 23, 1830 – August 5, 1900) was a Colombian educator, lawyer, diplomat, writer, journalist and statesman who was President of the United States of Colombia between 1874 and 1876. He also served as Secretary of the Interior and Foreign Affairs between 1868 and 1870, and was ambassador to the United States.

Early life and education

Santiago Pérez de Manosalbas was born on May 23, 1830 in Zipaquirá, Cundinamarca in what was then the Republic of New Granada. Born to a family of farmers, his parents were Felipe Pérez and Rosa Manosalbas.

The Pérez de Manosalbas’ were not a family of means, Santiago and his brother Felipe Pérez went to the local school in Zipaquirá, but they excelled beyond their teachers’ expectations, and when the minister of education, Lorenzo María Lleras went to Zipaquirá to review exams, he was impressed by Santiago and Felipe’s talent and potential. Lleras decided to help them and took them to Our Lady of the Rosary University, where he was the rector, he later took them to the Colegio del Espíritu Santo, a higher education school he had founded. In 1850 he received his title in Law, although he never professed this occupation, as he was a man of letters and politics.

Career as an educator

Santiago Pérez started his true calling as an educator working as a teacher in Spanish and Spanish literature while studying law in the Colegio del Espíritu Santo. In 1857 together with his brother Felipe, they established the Colegio Pérez Hermanos, a learning institution that taught such people as the linguist Rufino José Cuervo.

During the second administration of president Manuel Murillo Toro he was appointed Director of Public Instruction while also working as rector of the National University of Colombia. In his prominent role as Director of Public Instruction he fomented education, and the construction of new schools

Comisión Corográfica

In 1852 Pérez joined the Comisión Corográfica, a state funded expedition in charge of Agustin Codazzi whose goal was to map out the entire country and collect information on its inhabitants. Pérez worked as secretary of the expedition, replacing Manuel Ancízar, who had fallen ill along the trip, his mission was to record events, places, descriptions, statistics, and other valuable information of the places they went to. During his time in the commission, he traveled to Neiva, Mariquita, Chocó, Casanare, Bogotá, and the territory of the Caquetá. He published his studies in the newspaper "El Neo-Granadino", and wrote a memoir on the expedition entitled "Apuntes de un viajero por Antioquia y el sur de la Nueva Granada"

Early political life

Presidency of 1874-1876

Policy

Being an educator before a politician, is no wonder that education was its highest priority. He strengthened training facilities for teachers, ordered the construction of various primary schools, and consolidated the Universidad Nacional. As president he, and members of his staff assisted the graduation ceremonies of young professionals to show support from the government.

Railways were expanded during his administration including the construction of the Ferrocarril del Norte and the acquisition of the Ferrocarril Bolívar

Post presidency

Diplomat

Journalism

elf imposed exile

Return to the country

Forced exile

Death and legacy

He died while in exile in Paris on August 5, 1900 at the age of 70.He was buried in the Batignolles Cemetery in Paris and there he rested until 1952, when his remains were repatriated and buried in the Central Cemetery of Bogotá.

Santiago Pérez was married to Tadea Triana Silva; together they had four children, Santiago, Paulina, Eduardo and Amelia. Amelia married Clímaco Calderón Reyes, future President of Colombia. Eduardo became a diplomat. Santiago followed in his fathers footsteps very closely, becoming a writer, politician, diplomat, and journalist.

Writing

Santiago Pérez de Manosalbas started out early on in his life to write

[cite book|title=La producción intelectual de los rosaristas, 1800-1899: : 1800-1899: catálogo bibliográfico |author=OrtegaRicaurte, Carmen|publisher=Centro Editorial Universidad del Rosario|origyear=2004|location=Bogotá|language=Spanish|oclc=61366520|isbn=9588225124|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6vchWVsE4jAC&pg=PA175&lpg=PA175&dq=%22compendio+de+gram%C3%A1tica+castellana+por+un+granadino%22&source=web&ots=_7zgd7DMD4&sig=Om9GkW0tU0CZacH5sTa5PhD2lZs#PPA174,M1|accessdate=2007-11-3|pages=pp. 173-177]

elected works

* "Vivo o muerto", novel in verse.
* "Leonor", legend.
* "El manual del ciudadano", an instruction pamphlet on how to be a good citizen [cite book|title= El manual del ciudadano|author=Pérez, Santiago|publisher=Banco de la República de Colombia|language=Spanish|location=Bogotá|oclc=2288941] .

* "Jacobo Molai", a drama in five acts based on the life of Jacques de Molay [cite book|title=Jacobo Molai, drama original en cinco actos|author=Pérez, Santiago|Publisher=El Neo-Granadino|language=Spanish|location=Bogotá|oclc=33151544|origyear=1851] .

* "El castillo de Berkley", a historic drama in five acts composed in verse, based around the Berkley Castle [cite book|title= El castillo de Berkley. Drama histórico en cinco actos en verso|author=Pérez, Santiago|publisher=|origyear=1856|language=Spanish|location=Bogotá|oclc=55427532] .
* Economía política y estadística, a recompilation of Pérez’ works as a teacher of economy, published in 2002 by the Universidad Externado de Colombia [ http://www.uexternado.edu.co/facecono/publicaciones/otras/santiago_perez_manosalva.html Publicaciones de la Universidad Externado de Colombia] .

Philology and linguistics

As a literate, he wrote the Compendio de gramática castellana por un granadino, which became a required book for the instruction of the Spanish language in Colombia [cite web|title=ORDENANZA 14 DE 1863|url=http://www.alcaldiabogota.gov.co/sisjur/normas/Norma1.jsp?i=8509|accessdate=2007-11-3|publisher=Alcaldia de Bogotá|author=Bogotá]

For all his knowledge of the grammar and essence of the Castilian language , Santiago Pérez was elected member of the Academia Colombiana de la Lengua (Colombian Academy of the Language) as one of its original founders, along as other prominent members as Miguel Antonio Caro, and his former student Rufino José Cuervo among others.

* "Gramática filosófica del Idioma Español"
* "Compendio de gramática castellana por un granadino" [cite book|title=Compendio de gramática castellana por un granadino|author=Pérez, Santiago|publisher=El Neo-Granadino|location=Bogotá|origyear=1858|language=Spanish]
* "Gramática abreviada de don Andres Bello", written in 1881 in commemoration of the centenary of the great Venezuelan philologist Andrés Bello.

Memoirs

* "Apuntes de un viaje por el sur de la Nueva Granada", memoir form his expedition in the Comisión Corográfica [cite book|title=Apuntes de un viaje por el sur de la Nueva Granada|author=Pérez, Santiago|url=http://www.lablaa.org/blaavirtual/literatura/cosii/cosii11.htm|language=Spanish|accessdate=2007-11-3|origyear=1853]
* "Memoria del secretario de lo Interior y Relaciones Exteriores al Congreso nacional de 1869" [Biblioteca Nacional de la República de Colombia, Bogotá, 1869, Sala 1, Nº 13.929, pieza 2.]

Theatre

* "Jacobo Molai", an adaptation of his book of the same name. It debuted on November 15, 1851 in the "Colegio Espíritu Santo" and directed by his mentor Lorenzo María Lleras.
* "El castillo de Berkley", inspired by his book, debuted on October 13, 1853 in the Maldonado Theater in Bogotá.
* "Nemequene", drama inspired by the Muisca Nemequene, 3rd Zipa of Bacatá.

Translations

* "Casarse o no casarse", “To Marry of not to Marry”, English comedy by Elizabeth Inchbald.

Journalism

Santiago Pérez served as collaborator for the newspapers, "El Neo-Granadino" (1851), "El Tiempo" (1856), "El Mensajero" (1866), "El Relator" (1893), "La Defensa" and "La América" (1880). He published various articles on different topics including politics, literature and economy.