Juan Pablo Duarte y Diez

Juan Pablo Duarte y Diez

How you feel about The Founding Fathers of your country? Could you imagine how your life would be if their actions had not existed? Normally, people do not care about events that happened long time ago because they just think in the present day, but can you imagine how those heroes felt in their times? Most historical heroes pass through a hard time. They fought in wars for liberty, patriotism, nationalism and even for human rights. My hero is one of those. Juan Pablo Duarte y Diez fought for freedom when another country took control over us and treated us as slaves. I’m really proud of him because thanks to him, the Dominican Republic is the country that it is today. It may not be perfect, but it is free.

“Juan Pablo Duarte was born in the city of Santo Domingo on January 26, 1813. His parents were Juan Jose Duarte and Manuela Diez Jimenez, who was half Dominican and half Spanish.” (bancentral.gov.do). Little is known about his childhood, but when he was young he liked to read. He possessed vast knowledge. “At the age of 15 he was sent to England to complete his studies, after, he went to France, and then to Spain.” (biografiasyvidas.com). There he got interested in politics. He was a youth with many interests in learning. This is one of the things that inspired me to be more successful at school, and although I did not like school, it is important to me. School gave me the knowledge to go through hardships in life. Juan Pablo Duarte was like a teacher for me and other youths; he showed me the importance of being well prepared. Although he is dead now, he gave me and others youth good examples for life.

By the time Duarte went to Europe, it was influenced by Romanticism, Liberalism, Nationalism, and Socialism. Utopian environments inspired revolutions at the time. Juan Pablo Duarte saw the regimes of freedom and rights that Europeans had. (biografiasyvidas.com) He got inspired by these factors and thought that the Dominican Republic should be a free country with all those rights. He went back to the Dominican Republic and started a secret movement by founding an organization called “La Trinitaria,” which was against the regime of the Haitian president, Boyer, who was ruling the country by that time. Duarte showed many people the importance of liberalism, and the right to have their own government. Using dramatic methods about what was happening in the country, he found people who helped him in his rebellion. This showed his bravery because he was risking his life; at any time he could be killed.

In 1843, Duarte fought alongside the Haitian revolutionaries to overthrow Boyer, but the goal of Duarte was the independence of the Spanish part of the island, which continued its struggle after the fall of Boyer. On August 2, 1843 Duarte went into exile in Caracas, Venezuela, pursued by the new Haitian government. Nevertheless Duarte's ideas of independence continued gaining followers. On February 27, 1844, his followers declared independence. (biografiasyvidas.com). He never gave up of his purpose. He was persistent even when he wasn’t in his country. That is what he showed to people; never give up and be persistent because one day you might get what you wanted or what you had fought for.

Duarte possessed many traits that made him a hero. He was brave, intelligent, and persistent. He is my hero for having all this qualities. He changed my world, while he was trying to save his. Although he is dead, his memory will always have life in my heart. He taught things that people should never forget; things that always should be in our hearts. He taught us that people should be proud of themselves and their country, no matter where they came from. Duarte is a role model for those who think that they have a valuable life.