José Joaquín Puello de Castro (1805 – 23 December 1847) was a Dominican revolutionary and government minister who stood out as a key leader in the Dominican War of Independence.
His participation in the proclamation of Independence on 27 February 1844, marks him as the officer who managed the black battalion that was camped on the left bank of the Ozama River on the eve of the assault on the Puerta del Conde, deciding its adhesion to the movement. Detached on the southern border, he stopped the advance of the Haitian troops in the Battle of Estrelleta, on 17 September 1845. Since then he served Pedro Santana as Minister of the Interior and Police for two years, and later as Minister of Finance.
Politicians who accused Juan Pablo Duarte of being a traitor to the country and exiled him, hatched the plot against Puello, instigated by the French consul, Eustache Juchereau de Saint Denys, inventing a conspiracy headed by him. Santana, upon learning of the accusation, decided to punish him, making him a prisoner in Santana's home. By article 210 of the Constitution of 1844, he was brought to trial in December 1847, in which he was sentenced to death along with other relatives. Puello was executed on 23 December 1847.
Background
He was born in the capital city of Santo Domingo, during the French regime in eastern Hispaniola. He was the eldest of six children to Martin Joaquín Puello de Castro (1782–1864) and Maria Merced de Castro, both free blacks from Santo Domingo. The family origins of José Joaquín Puello and his brothers Gabino and Eusebio, who also reached the rank of general, have not been completely clarified, despite the efforts of Víctor Garrido Puello, a descendant of Eusebio. From the information obtained by historian Roberto Cassá, it is deduced that they came from the modest means typical of the late colonial period. The social structure of Santo Domingo provided these sectors with a space for development, although subject to respect for the superiority of the group of landowners and officials. It is not clear whether the Puello ancestors achieved a marked social rise, but it is possible that this was the case, since the prominence of the three brothers is significant, despite their identification with the town. There is not much information about the social status of Martín Puello's father, but the fact that he lived inside the walled city is an indicator that he was in the middle class. It is known that Gabino, after leaving the army, worked as a musician.
There are different dates for Joaquín Puello's birth, but it is likely that it occurred in 1805. The second of the brothers, Gabino, was almost certainly born in Puerto Rico, which suggests that, like thousands of Dominicans, his parents went abroad. Like so many others, they returned as soon as conditions permitted, which is seen in the fact that Eusebio was born in Santo Domingo in 1811.(Other historians claimed that he may have been born in 1808).
It has already been seen that Joaquín held leadership positions in the Haitian troops, which put him in a position to perform functions in the military establishment of the Dominican State. Gabino also enjoyed influence, and participated in the preparations for the coup of 27 February 1844, although he did not achieve the authority plans of his older brother. Eusebio, perhaps because he was the youngest, was initially quite overshadowed, but after the period of disgrace that followed the execution of his brothers, he associated himself with other sectors, accepted the conservative precepts and reached the rank of field marshal of Spain after the Dominican Restoration War. For a long time, Joaquín associated the presence of Haitian rule with the fate of black and mixed race people, which is why he maintained his support until mid-1843. When Charles Rivière-Herard overthrew the dictator Jean Pierre Boyer, he expelled the Puello brothers from the troop because he considered them supporters of Boyer. This accident helped Joaquín to lean towards the advance of positions favorable to the break from Haiti, a trend stimulated by the crisis that shook the leading circles of that country.
Independence leader
After the fall of Boyer, in March 1843, among Dominicans the criterion began to gain ground that the conditions for independence or another form of rupture with Haitian rule had been created. The conservatives, many of whom had collaborated with the Haitians in public administration, began to orient themselves towards the search for a protectorate of France, the power that then had the greatest interests in Haiti. In the Constituent Assembly of Port-au-Prince, led by Buenaventura Báez, they reached a secret agreement with the consul general of France, André Nicolás de Levasseur. According to that agreement, the Dominican State would be placed under the protectorate of France for 10 extendable years, would cede the Samaná Peninsula in perpetuity and would collaborate with the return of Haiti to French rule. Although the negotiations were carried out discreetly, it was clear to the urban media that the conservatives, who disbelieved in the viability of an independent order, placed expectations on the protection of France, for which they commonly received the label "French-minded." These opposed by all means the objective of the Trinitarios to establish an autonomous order, considering that it was the product of the naivety of inexperienced young people. Over time, both parties came to the conclusion that it was impossible for either of them to expel the Haitians on their own, so a current of understanding emerged among the Triniatrios with the conservatives.
Puello, now disillusioned with the Haitian regime, joined the struggles for independence when he learned of the democratic position of the Trinitarios. Conveniently, It so happened that Gabino Puello was a neighbor of Juan Pablo Duarte, who hid in his house when he was subjected to persecution by Hérard. The Puellos' involvement in the movement occurred through José Diez, Duarte's uncle, who approached Gabino, who in turn introduced him to José. These recruitments contributed to the Trinitarios expanding their influence over portions of the mass of the people in the capital city. Puello was guaranteed that the Trinitarios would not repeat the example left by the "Colombians," as Haitian officials propagated. This was an allusion to the Independent State of Spanish Haiti proclaimed by José Núñez de Cáceres on 1 December 1821, conceived to be part of Gran Colombia, discredited for not having abolished slavery.
From the beginning since their recruitment, Puello and his brothers distinguished themselves as irreplaceable pieces. It can be asserted that Joaquín was responsible for obtaining the commitment of many members of the 31st and 32nd regiments, composed of Dominicans from the city of Santo Domingo, without whom the overthrow of Haitian rule would not have been possible. Within these conspiratorial activities, the ability shown to incorporate people from popular sectors who until then had been disconnected from the preachings of the Triniatrios stood out. While they began to finalize the preparations, Puello operated alongside Francisco del Rosario Sánchez as a military specialist and in charge of the operational details necessary to carry out the coup against Haitian rule. In the weeks prior to the proclamation of independence, a revolutionary center led by Sánchez was established, with the presence of Puello, Manuel Jiménes, Vicente Celestino Duarte and Matías Ramón Mella. The revolutionary center of the Trinitarios obtained concessions from the conservative lawyer Tomás Bobadilla on political aspects that they considered non-negotiable. This is seen in the terms of the Manifesto of January 16, 1844, which called for the establishment of a sovereign State that would not question the conquests achieved during the Haitian occupation, such as the abolition of slavery. It seems that during the course of the negotiations, differences arose, which explains why Vicente Celestino Duarte decided not to sign the document. But, fundamentally, the Trinitarios considered that their national and liberal positions were recognized within the political and ideological parameters of the projected State.
It was on that basis that Puello, as a conspicuous figure representing humble and colored people, accepted the alliance with the conservatives. In the days preceding the proclamation of the Dominican Republic, Puello had the mission of guaranteeing the practical feasibility of the movement. Sánchez was hidden, so he could only draw up guidelines that others had to execute. The only one who stands out with a prominence similar to that of Puello was Jiménes, who also enjoyed a certain influence over the troops and over people whose cooperation turned out to be fundamental. Puello's activism extended to the rest of his family, who had personal ties to Sánchez. Gabino excelled in these tasks, who received the mission of taking the copy of the 16 January Manifesto to the southern region, in order to obtain cooperation so that the coup could be supported. That area was of vital importance, since the Haitian army would have to enter it in any reaction aimed at crushing the nascent Dominican State. The main problem that Gabino had to solve was to neutralize the influence of Buenaventura Báez in Azua, the most important town in the region. Báez tried by all means to prevent the Trinitarios from being successful, even denouncing Gabino's activities, which caused which caused him to be persecuted by the Haitians.
Among the final agreements made by the plotters, it was decided that Sánchez would preside over the Central Government Board, the provisional government of the projected Dominican Republic, and remain head of the Department of Santo Domingo. In the same order, it was agreed that Puello would be appointed head of the city garrison, with the rank of colonel, the most important military position within the outline of the organization of the independent authority.
Post-Independence Member of the Central Government Board During the night of 27 February 1844, Puello showed a firmness of character consistent with the responsibility he had under his charge. He deployed the device to occupy the strategic points of the city, especially the port and the bastions of the walls. This guaranteed communication with the opposite bank of the river, crucial to allow the arrival of reinforcements from Los Llanos and El Seibo, on which expectations were placed to ensure the capitulation of the reduced Haitian garrison. A problem that Puello had to solve was the resistance of the African Battalion, made up of former slaves from Monte Grande, led by Commander Esteban Pou, whose troops feared that the independent State would reestablish slavery. That battalion prevented movement between Santo Domingo and the east, so Puello ordered that Pou be informed that "if he does not enter at the moment with his battalion, I will make him enter with two pieces of artillery." The order was led by his brother Eusebio, who managed to get the former slaves to abandon their rebellion and place themselves under the orders of the Republic. When the battalion leaders, Commander Pou and Captain Santiago Basora, made their presentation in the city with many of their men, Puello explained to them that the Dominican Republic guaranteed their freedom, as a pledge of which he put his personal origin.