Hilarión Daza

**Hilarión Daza Groselle** (14 Januar 1840 – 27 Februar 1894) wis Preses o Bolivie frae 1876 tae 1879.

## Biografie

Daza wis born 1840 in a faimily o Italian emigrants frae Piemont. His faither surname wis Grossoli (later chyngit tae Groselle), but he preferred the surname o his mither, Daza. His faither wis vera poor, but wi haurd wirk an sacrifices wis able tae maintain the militar studies o Hilarion, who syne young showed great intelligence an ambitions an wis able tae successfully reach the tap o Bolivie society.

A career militar officer an native o Sucre, Daza came tae power on 4 Mey1876 in a coup against the constitutional preses Tomás Frías. He wis supportit bi hintle o the kintra's financial elite acause o his avoual tae maintain order an stability.

Tae a lairge extent, Daza entered the Palacio Quemado wi a desire tae creaut Bolivie control ower the remote, spairsely-populatit maritime province o Litoral. Bi the late 1870s, the latter wis awready settled maistly bi Chileans, who foond access tae the region hintle easier than did the heichland Bolivies. Predictably, a corollary o this growin pheesical an economic Chilean presence in the region wis its irrendentist claim bi Santiago, especially when rich deposits o guano wur discovered near the Bolivie port o Mejillones.

Tae mak matters worse, Daza wis facin an ongoin recession an the effects o the maist severe drocht in Bolivie history up tae that pynt. Daza howpit tae gather the support o naitionalist Bolivies tae strengthen his internal poseetion frae insurrections, a massive demonstration bi airtisans in Sucre, an widespread opposition. For thir raisons, he rescindit the treaty (quite favorable tae Chile) that haed been signed in 1874 bi Preses Frías freein frae Bolivie taxation aw Chilean ceetizens livin an wirkin in the nou disputit Litoral region. Chile threatened war, an Daza immediately invokit an existin sel-defence pact/alliance wi Peru. Daza Groselle thocht that for sic a minor raison the Chilean govrenment wis no goin tae stairt a war against the allied Bolivie an Peru, but in Februar an Mairch 1879 Chilean truips invadit an occupee'd the "Bolivie Litoral" aroond Antofagasta, spairkin the War o the Paceefic.

Follaein the Chilean occupation o the Peruvian port o Pisagua, the combined forces o Peru an Bolivie wur supposed tae surroond Chilean forces in an ambitious pincer manoeuvre.  Housomeivver, the Bolivie airmy niver teuk pairt in the subsequent battle o San Francisco acause the Bolivie diveesion "Camarones" -commandit bi Narciso Campero- retreatit afore the combat began.  At that pynt, Bolivie truips heidit aff for the hichts o the Andes, ostensibly tae defend the core o the kintra (the Altiplano) on terrain hintle better kent bi Bolivie fechtin men, an better suitit tae them. If this wis indeed the goal, it wis niver met, for the "Camarones" athdrawal anerlie led tae the ootricht annexation o the nou-uncontestit Litoral province bi Chile, an tae the abandonment o Peru tae fecht the rest o the war alane against an enemy that eventually came tae occupee its caipital o Lima. The "Camarones" debacle led tae the unseatin o Daza on 28 Dizember 1879, when a Cooncil o State wis convened. The latter wad name Narciso Campero Constitutional Preses on 19 Januar 1880. As for Daza, he remained briefly in Peru an then went intae exile for 14 years mainly in Fraunce (but even for some months in Italy) wi a portion o Bolivie's treasury.

## Murther

A controversial figur tae say the least, Daza wis blamit for the Bolivie Airmy's defeat (syne then Bolivie haes lost access tae the Paceefic Ocean).

In 1894, the ex-preses decidit tae return tae Bolivie an expleen himsel, confident that he wad be absolvit o ony wrongdoin, whether illegal act or incompetency. Historian José Mesa, Teresa Gisbert y Carlos Mesa Gisbert wrote that he wis killed in order that he coud no testify in La Paz Parliament.

Indeed he appeared tae hint that Bolivian siller minin elites tee'd tae Chilean caipitalist interests haed influencit his admeenistration tae produce the abandonment o Peru at Camarones (bi the diveesion o Narciso Campero) an thareefter. Maist o thir elites wur associatit wi the Conservative Pairty o Bolivie, which haed been in pouer syne suin efter Daza's ooster.

Daza Groselle wis murthert in the train station o Uyuni suin efter enterin Bolivie soil on 27 Februar 1894. The fowk o Bolivie placit responsibility for this creeme squarely on the govrenment o Mariano Baptista, then Preses o Bolivie, but nothin wis iver pruiven.

## See an aw
*Narciso Campero
*War o the Paceefic
*Mariano Baptista
*Carlos Mesa

## References