Monagas, José Tadeo

Monagas, José Tadeo (hōsā` täthā`ō mōnä`gäs), 1784–1868, Venezuelan political leader. He fought under Bolívar in the revolt against Spain. Chosen by José Antonio Páez as president in 1847, he set up a compromise administration. Páez subsequently revolted, but Monagas crushed the insurrection. In 1851, José Gregorio Monagas, a brother, was inaugurated, and in 1855 José Tadeo again took office. Reforms, including the emancipation of slaves, were introduced, but adoption of a new constitution led to a successful revolution (1858) against him. Ten years later he headed a counterrevolution with forces called the Azules [blues], but he died just after returning to power. His son, José Ruperto Monagas, continuing the dynasty, was overthrown by a new revolution that brought Guzmán Blanco to power.

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Monagas, José Tadeo 

Born Oct. 28, 1784, in Maturín; died Sept. 18, 1868, in Caracas. State and military figure of Venezuela. A descendent of a bourgeois landholding family.

Monagas participated in the war against Spanish rule in Venezuela and Peru from 1813 to 1821. He was president of Venezuela from 1846 to 1851 and from 1855 to 1858; he virtually ruled the country even when his brother J. G. Monagas was president (1851–55). The policy of Monagas, which corresponded to the interests of the Liberal Party, promoted the country’s capitalist development, but the dictatorial nature of his rule led to an exacerbation of the political struggle. After an armed uprising of the Conservatives and some of the Liberals in 1858, Monagas resigned and was exiled. In 1868 he tried to seize power by armed force.