
Francisco Espejo (16 April 1758-15 July 1814) was President of the First Republic of Venezuela from 21 March to 3 April 1812, succeeding Cristobal Mendoza and preceding Francisco de Miranda.
Biography[]
Francisco Silvestre Espejo Camano was born in Siquire, Viceroyalty of New Granada, Spanish Empire in 1758, and he became a lawyer in 1781 and cofounded the Caracas Bar Association. Espejo served as a military prosecutor and acted against Francisco de Miranda following his invasion of Coro in 1806; he was also an initial opponent of Venezuelan autonomy amid thte Peninsular War. However, he became a furious defender of the revolutionary cause in 1810, dealing with counter-revolutionaries as a judge. He briefly served as President of Venezuela in 1812, and he was arrested in La Victoria in August 1812 before his case was dismissed in July 1813. He went on to serve as Simon Bolivar's Governor of Valencia during the War to the Death, and he was later captured by Jose Boves' llaneros and was executed in Valencia's town square in July 1814.