José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia
José Rodríguez de Francia | |
|---|---|
| Perpetual Dictator of Paraguay | |
| In office 12 June 1814 – 20 September 1840 | |
| Preceded by | Fulgencio Yegros (as Consul) |
| Succeeded by | Manuel Antonio Ortiz |
| Consul of Paraguay | |
| In office 12 October 1813 – 12 February 1814 | |
| Preceded by | Fulgencio Yegros |
| Succeeded by | Fulgencio Yegros |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 January 1766 Yaguarón, Paraguay |
| Died | 20 September 1840 (aged 74) Asunción, Paraguay |
| Alma mater | National University of Córdoba |
José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia y Velasco (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse ɣasˈpaɾ roˈðɾiɣes ðe ˈfɾansia]) (6 January 1766 – 20 September 1840), also known as Doctor Francia or to Paraguayans of his time as Karai Guasu (in Guaraní, means "Great Lord"), was a Paraguayan lawyer, politician, statesman and the first dictator (1814–1840) of Paraguay following its 1811 independence from the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. His official title was "Supreme and Perpetual Dictator of Paraguay", but he was popularly known as El Supremo.
He is considered to be the chief ideologue and political leader of the faction that advocated for the full independence of Paraguay from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and from the Empire of Brazil. Under his dictatorship, he isolated Paraguay from the external world.