General Juan Pablo Duarte - Cartagena, Colombia - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

A life-size metal bust of founding father of the Dominican Republic, General Juan Pablo Duarte rests on a 6' high square limestone base. Duarte is depicted from the mid-chest in the ceremonial dress uniform of a general. He is wearing an jacket with a high collar and decorated with laurel branches and epaulets. He has a mustache and is looking straight ahead.

A plaque on the front of the base is inscribed in Spanish:

Juan Pablo Duarte is a hero of the Dominican Republic and its struggle to achieve independence from Haitian rule in 1844. He both inspired and financed the Dominican War of Independence.

The present day Dominican Republic was once the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo. In December 1821 the elite class of Santo Domingo declared its independence from Spain. In 1822, neighboring Haiti moved to unify the Island of Hispaniola under Haitian Rule. The Haitain occupation became unpopular and, in 1838, Juan Pablo Duarte, along with Matías Ramón Mella and Francisco del Rosario Sánchez started a resistance movement called La Trinitaria ("The Trinity"). On February 27, 1844 the rebel forces took control of the main fortress in the capital city of Santo Domingo and proclaimed independence from Haiti. On March 14, 1844, Juan Pablo Duarte was received by the new provisional government, called the Central Governmental Board, as a national hero and appointed general of the army.

In 1845 General Pedro Santana, who wanted to revert to Spanish rule, achieved power and exiled Duarte and his family to Venezuela. There his family prospered. The Dominican Republic made him Dominican Consul in Venezuela and provided with a pension to honor him for his service. He died in Caracas, Venezuela on July 15, 1876 at aged 63.