General Joaquin Crespo

General Joaquin Crespo was generally respected in Venezuela during his Presidency. The image above was taken during his time as President of Venezuela. While Crespo rose to power partially due to his military experience, the image above shows that he continued to express himself as a military man through his Presidency. Joaquin Crespo was a member of the Great Liberal Party of Venezuela and ruled through liberal ideology from 1884 to 1886 and then again from 1892-1898. In addition to ruling through liberal ideology, a concept relatively new to the country, Joaquin Crespo was also known for his role in attempting to retain Guayana Esequiba, a Venezuelan territory that the British claimed as British Guiana.

            After his second term as President ended in 1898, he decided against running for a third term so that he could return to military service. While he had mostly left the politics of Venezuela, he did support Ignacio Andrade as the next Venezuelan President. This endorsement helped Andrade glide to an easy victory that angered the opposition. Jose Manuel Hernandez, the opposition candidate, took up arms against Andrade’s victory under the claim that the election had been rigged. Crespo came to the aid of Andrade as a soldier and the Venezuelan Army quickly defeated Hernandez’s insurrection. On April 16, 1898 Joaquin Crespo was killed during the Combat of Mata Carmelera. Joaquin Castro brought peace through liberalism to a Venezuela that had previously struggled to find strong leadership.

Works Cited:

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. “General Joaquin Crespo, President of Venezuela.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections.