Francisco Martínez Portusach (1864–1919) was a Spanish

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

and

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

who was briefly the

Governor of Guam The governor of Guam ( ch, I Maga'låhen / ) is the head of government of Guam and the commander-in-chief of the Guam National Guard, whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Island (formerly the State of the Territor ...

, before he was deposed. In the American media of the time, he was often referred to as Francisco Portusach or Frank Portusach.

Biography

Portusach was born in Barcelona, Spain. His father was a wealthy merchant and Portusach spent his childhood on

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

merchant ships in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and other Spanish territories. After the death of his father, he fell out of favor with his elder brother and moved to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1885 and became a

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in 1888. Soon after, he moved to

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

and then to

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

where he met and married his American wife. Together, they moved to

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, then a Spanish colonial territory. On June 20, 1898, during 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 ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

captured Guam. The existing Spanish garrison, including Governor Juan Marina, were taken as

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. The existing Spanish citizens of the island were also disarmed.

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Henry Glass, the commander of the battle appointed Portusach as the acting-

, to serve until a formal military garrison could be sent. Portusach's only qualification for the position was that he was the only American citizen living on the island. With Glass and the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

departed, Portusach was unable to solidify his position as governor and he was quickly overthrown by

José Sisto José Sisto, also called José Sisto Rodrigo and José Sixto, was twice Governor of Guam, first after overthrowing Francisco Martínez Portusach, and again after being legitimately placed in the position by the United States government. He serv ...

, a Filipino Spaniard and the island

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

under Spanish rule. Sisto, too, would shortly be overthrown by the native

Chamorro Chamorro may refer to: * Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific * Chamorro language, an Austronesian language indigenous to The Marianas * Chamorro Time Zone, the time zone of Guam and the Northern Mar ...

population. In January 1899, the USS ''Brutus'' arrived and reinstated Sisto – not Portusach – as governor. In 1917, he wrote ''History of the Capture of Guam by the United States Man-of-War 'Charleston' and Its Transports''.

References

"Spaniards Rise In Guam"
''New York Times''. New York, N.Y.: Dec 31, 1898. pg. 1, 1 pgs *"Portusach Was Deposed." ''The Washington Post''. Washington, D.C.: Dec 31, 1898. pg. 1, 1 pgs *"The Capture of the Island of Guam." ''Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine''. San Francisco: Mar 1900. Vol.VOL. XXXV, Iss. No. 207; pg. 225, 9 pgs

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portusach Martinez, Francisco 1864 births 1919 deaths Governors of Guam Spanish emigrants to the United States Guamanian people of Spanish descent Spanish merchants 19th-century Spanish businesspeople

Biography

See also

References