The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Morazan, Francisco

MORAZAN, Francisco, the last president of the republic of Central America, born in Honduras in 1799, shot in Costa Rica, Sept. 15, 1842. He was secretary general of Honduras in 1824, was soon after elected chief or governor of the state, and distinguished himself both as a statesman and as a military commander. In several contests he led the liberal forces of his own and the adjacent states, with unvarying success, against the reactionary party, and finally in 1829 drove them from the city of Guatemala, for which the national congress decreed him the title of saviour of the republic. He declined the post of president, but remained commander-in-chief of the forces, and in virtue of special powers delegated to him by the congress, he expelled the archbishop of Guatemala and the monks, suppressed the convents, abolished tithes, and devoted the other property and revenues of the church to education and charity. He inaugurated various schemes of public improvement, in which he was arrested in 1832 by the invasion of the republic from Mexico by a large force under Arce, the expelled president, who was seconded by various local outbreaks of his partisans. These disturbances were promptly suppressed by Morazan, who soon after accepted the presidency. In 1836 the cholera made its appearance with extraordinary fatality. The ignorant population, more particularly the Indians, became much excited, and the clerical party proclaimed that the pestilence was due to the poisoning of the waters by the whites, liberals, and foreigners. The consequence was a general outbreak of the lower orders of the people and the Indians, under the lead of Rafael Carrera. In 1840 Morazan sought refuge in Chili, whence in 1842 he went with some followers to Costa Rica, where he was made governor of the state by acclamation. He at once began to organize an army with a view to the reëstablishment of the old federation; but the plan was not popular in Costa Rica, and a revulsion ensued. Morazan and his handful of adherents were surprised, and, after a brilliant struggle, compelled to surrender. Morazan was tried by a drum-head court martial and shot.