Carlos Antonio López

For other people also named Antonio Lopez, see Antonio Lopez (disambiguation).

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is López and the second or maternal family name is Ynsfrán.

Carlos Antonio López Ynsfrán (November 4, 1792 – September 10, 1862) was leader of Paraguay from 1841 to 1862.

Carlos Antonio López
1st President of Paraguay
In office March 13, 1844 – September 10, 1862
Vice President	Mariano González (1845–1846) Francisco Solano López (1862)
Preceded by	himself as Consul
Succeeded by	Francisco Solano López
Consul of Paraguay
In office March 12, 1841 – March 13, 1844
Preceded by	Mariano Roque Alonso
Succeeded by	himself as President
Personal details
Born	November 4, 1792 Asunción, Paraguay, Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, Spanish Empire
Died	September 10, 1862(1862-09-10) (aged 69) Asunción, Paraguay
Political party	None
Spouse	Juana Pabla Carrillo
Children	Francisco Venancio Benigno Rafaela Inocencia

Early life

López was born at Manorá (Asunción) on November 4, 1792, as one of eight children.^[1] He graduated from Real Colegio y Seminario de San Carlos and then began a law practice, a profession which allowed him to develop influential connections.^[2] He attracted the hostility of the dictator José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, his reputed uncle,^[3] which caused him to go into hiding for several years.^[4]

Political career

Carlos Antonio López and his wife, Juana Pabla Carrillo

López was briefly secretary of the military junta led by Colonel Mariano Roque Alonso that ruled the country from 1840 to 1841, after the death of Francia. On March 12, 1841, Congress chose López and Roque to be joint consuls for three years.^[2] In 1844, he exiled Roque and assumed dictatorial powers. A few months later, Congress adopted a new constitution, which changed the head of state's title from consul to president and elected López to the new post for a 10-year term.^[1] The constitution vested López with powers almost as sweeping as those Francia had held for most of his 26-year rule, effectively codifying the dictatorial powers he had seized just months earlier. The document included no guarantees of civil rights; indeed, the word "liberty" was not even in the text.

He was re-elected for a three-year term in 1854 and again in 1857 for ten more years, with the power to nominate his own successor.^[4][2]

His government was directed towards developing Paraguay's primary resource extraction and strengthening Paraguay's armed forces. He contracted numerous foreign technicians, most of whom were British, and built up the formidable Fortress of Humaitá.^[5]

Before the constitution adopted in 1844 that legitimized López’s presidency, Paraguay had no official document of sovereignty; López’s influence led to the recognition of Paraguay as an independent nation.^[1] However, his approach to foreign affairs several times involved him in diplomatic disputes with the Empire of Brazil, the United States, and the British Empire, which nearly resulted in war.^[4]

Main article: Paraguay expedition

His government was somewhat more tolerant of opposition than Francia's had been. He released all political prisoners soon after he took full power and also took measures to abolish slavery.^[6]

During his presidency, Paraguay’s economy saw unprecedented growth. He signed commercial treaties with Brazil in 1850, with Great Britain, France and the United States in 1853, and with and Argentina in 1856. His government worked to improve infrastructure and transportation within the country through the establishment of a new railroad line and steamship river routes. López also encouraged public education through the expansion of primary schools and the reopening of the seminary he attended as a young man, which increased literacy throughout the country.^[1][2]

His eldest son, Francisco Solano López (1827–1870), succeeded him as president after his death.^[2] A barrio of Asuncion is named after him.

Honours

• Kingdom of Sardinia : Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.^[7]

See also

• History of Paraguay
• List of presidents of Paraguay

References

1. "Carlos Antonio López". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Vol. 9 (2nd ed.). Gale. 2004. pp. 506–507.
2. Reber, Vera Blinn (2008). "López, Carlos Antonio (1792–1862)". In Kinsbruner, Jay; Langer, Erick D. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Vol. 4 (2nd ed.). Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 254–255.
3. Bannon, John Francis; Dunne, Peter Masten (1950). Latin America, an Historical Survey. Science and culture texts (2 ed.). Bruce Publishing Company. p. 587. Retrieved 2016-02-25 – via Google Books. [...] a wealthy creole landowner and reputed nephew of Francia, [...] Carlos Antonio Lopez.
4. Chisholm 1911.
5. Plá.
   - Williams.
6. Cooney, Jerry W. (1997). "Paraguay". In Rodriguez, Junius P. (ed.). The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery. Vol. 2. ABC-CLIO. p. 492. ISBN 9780874368857. Retrieved 2016-02-25 – via Google Books. The rise to power of López after Francia's death in 1840 brought a cautious, gradualist approach to the abolition of Paraguayan slavery. The government decreed a Law of Free Womb in 1842, which freed children born to slaves.
7. Ramos, Ramon (1972). Juan Andrés Gelly. Lucania.

Sources

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lopez, Carlos Antonio". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 990.
• Plá, Josefina (1976). The British in Paraguay 1850–1870. The Richmond Publishing Co in association with St Antony's College, Oxford.
• Williams, John Hoyt (1977). "Foreign Tecnicos and the Modernization of Paraguay". Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs. Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Miam: 233–257. doi:10.2307/174705. JSTOR 174705. (subscription required)
• Bealer, Lewis (1937). "Carlos Antonio Lopez, Organizer and Dictator of the Paraguayan Republic". In Wilgus, Alva (ed.). South American Dictators During the First Century of Independence. George Washington University Press. pp. 136–153. ISBN 9780846203391.
• Burton, Richard (1870). Letters from the Battlefields of Paraguay. Tinsley Brothers.
• Gelly, Andres (1926). El Paraguay. de Indias.

Political offices
Preceded by Mariano Roque Alonso	Consul of Paraguay 1841–1844	Succeeded by himself as President
Preceded by himself as Consul	President of Paraguay 1844–1862	Succeeded by Francisco Solano López