José María Cañas
 |
|
| Born |
September 23, 1809 Suchitoto, El Salvador |
|---|---|
| Died | October 2, 1860 (aged 51) Puntarenas, Costa Rica |
| Allegiance |
 El Salvador  Costa Rica
|
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars | Filibuster War |
José María Cañas Escamilla (September 23, 1809—October 2, 1860) was a Costa Rican military figure. He was born in Suchitoto, El Salvador.
He moved to Costa Rica in 1842 along with General Francisco Morazán, where he married Guadalupe Mora Porras, sister of President Juan Rafael Mora Porras.
He was Costa Rica's Customs Administrator in 1844 and also became State General in 1847. He was named Secretary of War during Juan Rafael Mora Porras's presidency in 1849 and eventually became Governor and Commander of Puntarenas in 1850. Named as a general in 1856, he commandeered the Costa Rican Army during the third and most important part of the campaign against filibuster William Walker. He was known as an affable and kind person amongst his troops.
Cañas was also responsible for the development of Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean port, Puntarenas, where he served as commander for several years. In 1855, Cañas imported 32 Chinese laborers to Puntarenas near the Nicoya Peninsula, employing many of them as laborers on his estates. A benevolent patron to these workers, Cañas's memory is, to this day, held in high remark by many of their descendants. Years after Cañas's death, his children were still well received in Puntarenas by members of the thriving Chinese-Costa Rican community.
In representation of Costa Rica he signed the Cañas-Jerez Treaty, the Cañas-Martínez Treaty and the Cañas-Jerez Treaty that dealt with the demarcation of the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua and U. S. President Grover Cleveland also validated the treaty.
In 1859, when his brother-in-law was deposed, he emigrated back to El Salvador with him. The following year they returned to Costa Rica seeking the restoration of Mora Porras in the presidency. The expedition failed and they both died in Puntarenas after being captured by troops now controlled by President José María Montealegre, and those troops who were once Cañas's, threatened to shoot and kill him. Juan Rafael Mora Porras was executed by firing squad on September 30; Cañas was killed using the same method on October 2, 1860.
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