The council of ministers took charge of the government and held an
election at which Ulises F. Espaillat was designated president. He
entered upon office on April 29, 1876, and as he was an excellent man
would have given a good account of himself under different conditions;
but General Gonzalez started a revolution on the Haitian frontier, and
on October 5, 1876, Espaillat was ousted. A superior council of
government was formed, which appointed General Gonzalez president in
the beginning of November, 1876. Gonzalez had been in power for just
one month when he was overthrown, in December, 1876, by a revolution
that originated in the Cibao, and General Buenaventura Baez became
president for the fifth time. The Republic thus had four presidents in
1876: Gonzalez twice, Espaillat and Baez. Baez called a constitutional
convention and the constitution of May 14, 1877, was promulgated.
Under the influence of the younger element he was less autocratic than
in his previous administrations, but perhaps for that very reason his
whole term was one prolonged struggle with insurrections, until he was
obliged to surrender on February 24, 1878.
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