Monagas, José Tadeo (1784–1868)

Venezuelan president 1847–51 and 1855–58, a hero of the independence movement. Monagas wanted to create a separate state in eastern Venezuela called Oriente, leading an uprising against President José Antonio Páez 1831. He called it off in return for a pardon for his rebels. The Liberal Monagas clan gained power after the fall in 1847 of Páez's Conservative oligarchy. Monagas's brother José Gregorio was president 1851–55, and their ‘Liberal oligarchy’ was marked by a series of revolts led by Páez's supporters and by the disillusionment of their Liberal backers. José Tadeo was forced to resign in 1858.