Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste (November 30, 1850 – November 19, 1930), was a Puerto Rican historian and writer. He was the patriarch of a prominent family of Puerto Rican educators, politicians and writers.

Early years

Coll y Toste was born in the city of

Arecibo, Puerto Rico Arecibo (; ) is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, the ca ...

where he received his primary and secondary education. In 1863, he entered the Jesuits' Seminary College in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

from where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

in 1868. In 1872, Coll y Toste went to

Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and enrolled in the "School of Medicine" of the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

. From here he graduated as a "Doctor in Medicine and Surgery" in 1872. During his stay in Spain, he was able to study historical documents relating to Puerto Rico which he later found to be useful to him.

Historian

In 1874, Coll y Toste returned to the island where he set up his own medical practice in Arecibo. In 1891, he was named director of the Catholic Hospital of Arecibo. In his free time, he developed both a love of and an interest in literature. Not only did he become interested in investigating the history of Puerto Rico, but, he also took an active interest in the island's politics and was the founder and director of a publication called "El Ramillete". He also collaborated with the "Revista Puertorriqueña" (Puerto Rican Review), "La Semana Politica" (Political Weekly) and "Plumas Amigas" (Pen Pals).

Political activity

In 1897, a year before the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, Coll y Toste was Sub-Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce and was named Regional Governor of Northern Puerto Rico by the Spanish Crown. After the war, Coll y Toste was named Civil Secretary and in 1900 Commissioner of the Interior by General Davis the military governor appointed by the United States. He held the position of Secretary of the Government and he also became a delegate to Puerto Rico's House of Representatives. In 1913 Coll y Toste was named Official Historian of Puerto Rico, preceded by

Salvador Brau Salvador Brau y Asencio (January 11, 1842 – November 5, 1912) was a Puerto Rican journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist, historian, and sociologist. He was designated the official historian of Puerto Rico by the first American-appointed governor ...

. Among Coll y Toste's other civil positions were the Presidency of the Puerto Rican Historical Academy and of the Ateneo Puertorriqueño.

Written works

Among his many written works are: * ''El Boletin Historico de Puerto Rico'' (''Historical Bulletin of Puerto Rico'') * ''Cronicas de Arecibo'' (Arecibo Annals) * ''Leyendas y Tradiciones Puertorriqueñas'' (''Puerto Rican Legends and Traditions'') His research into the history of Puerto Rico gave people an insight into the island from the time of the Taínos up until 1927. One of his works, ''The Indo-Antillean Vocabulary'', is valuable in understanding the way of life of the Taínos. His works are required reading in Puerto Rican high schools and universities.

Later years

Coll y Toste was married to Adela, daughter of José Cuchí y Arnau former mayor of Arecibo. Together they had six children, among them

José Coll y Cuchí José Coll y Cuchí (January 12, 1877 – July 2, 1960) was a lawyer, writer and the founder of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. He was a member of a Puerto Rican family of politicians, educators and writers.See: "Notable family members" sect ...

, who founded the

Puerto Rican Nationalist Party The Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico ( es, Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico, PNPR) is a Puerto Rican political party founded on September 17, 1922, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its primary goal is to work for Puerto Rico's independence. The P ...

and

Cayetano Coll y Cuchí Cayetano Coll y Cuchí (June 21, 1881 – 1961) was a politician, writer and an advocate of Puerto Rican Independence. In 1917, he became the first President of Puerto Rico House of Representatives after the island was ceded to the United States ...

, who was a President of

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral state legislature (United States), territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. ...

.Biografías - Cayetano Coll y Toste
at www.zonai.com Nuevo Dia] Spain bestowed upon Coll y Toste the title of "Comendador de la Real Orden Americana de Isabel la Catolica" (Knight of the American Royal Order of Isabel the Catholic) and the Government of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

honored Coll y Toste with the title of "Caballero de la Orden de Bolivar" (Knight of the Order of Bolivar). Cayetano Coll y Toste died on November 19, 1930 in the City of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. His granddaughter,

Isabel Cuchí Coll Isabel Cuchí Coll (March 28, 1904 – December 22, 1993) was a journalist, writer and the Director of the (Society of Puerto Rican Authors). She came from a family of Puerto Rican historians and politicians. Early life and education Cuchí C ...

, who was an author and the director of the "Sociedad de Autores Puertorriqueños" (Society of Puerto Rican Authors), published his work "Historia de la esclavitud en Puerto Rico (información y documentos)" (History of Slavery in Puerto Rico (documents and information)) in 1972.

Family

Coll y Toste was also the patriarch of a Puerto Rican family of educators, politicians and writers. Besides his granddaughter, Isabel Cuchí Coll, both Coll y Toste's sons were politicians.

was the founder of the

and

, was a President of

.''El Nuevo Dia''
Another grand daughter,

Edna Coll Edna Coll Pujals (July 24, 1906 – November 19, 2002) was a Puerto Rican educator and author. She was president of the Society of Puerto Rican Authors in San Juan. Coll was also the founder of the Academy of Fine Arts in Puerto Rico."Figuras H ...

, was an educator and author. She was one of the founders of the Academy of Fine Arts in Puerto Rico, and his grandson, Cayetano Coll y Pujol was a prominent attorney and judge in Puerto Rico."Tras las Huellas de Nuestro Paso"; by: Ildelfonso López; Publisher: AEELA, 1998 His great-grandson, (Edna's son), Jose "Fufi" Santori Coll was a former BSN basketball player, coach and television sportscaster. Another great-grandson, Eduardo Morales Coll was also President of the Ateneo, President of the Institute of Puerto Rican Literature, Academic of the Puerto Rican Academy of the Spanish Language and also an Academic of the Puerto Rican Academy of Arts and Sciences and a University professor of Law, History of Puerto Rico and of Cultural Anthropology."NACIONALIDAD Y CIUDADANÍA"; El Nuevo Dia

Legacy

Puerto Rico has honored his memory by naming many public buildings and an avenue after him. The government named the public Arecibo regional hospital ''Hospital Regional Cayetano Coll y Toste''.

Note

References

External links

Biografías - Cayetano Coll y Toste
at www.zonai.com
''Selección de Leyendas puertorriqueñas''
by Cayetano Coll y Toste, online in the

Digital Library of the Caribbean The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) is an international digital library operated collaboratively by the contributing partners. Partners Current partners continue to grow on a regular basis and are listed on thdLOC Partner Page Partners in ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coll y Toste, Cayetano 1850 births 1930 deaths People from Arecibo, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican people of Catalan descent Puerto Rican people of Irish descent 20th-century Puerto Rican politicians 20th-century Puerto Rican historians Historians of Puerto Rico University of Barcelona alumni 19th-century Puerto Rican historians