Francisco Javier de Burgos y del Olmo (22 October 1778—22 January 1848) was a Spanish
jurist, politician, journalist, and translator.
Early life and career
Born in
Motril, into a noble but poor family, he was destined for a career in the
Roman Catholic Church, but soon abandoned his studies in Granada and left for Madrid - where he took law courses. When the
French invaded under
Napoleon I, at the start of the
Peninsular War (1808-1814), Burgos, as one of the ''
afrancesado
''Afrancesado'' (, ; "Francophile" or "turned- French", lit. "Frenchified" or "French-alike") refers to the Spanish and Portuguese partisan of Enlightenment ideas, Liberalism or the French Revolution.
In principle, ''afrancesados'' were upper-a ...
s'' (supporters of
King Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to:
* Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283
*Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711)
* Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696)
*Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777 ...
), took up administrative duties in
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...
. His willingness to collaborate had made him an enemy of the
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...
, and made him leave for
Paris in 1812.
In France, Burgos completed his academic training by studying the works of the
Classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classi ...
, and started translating the works of
Horace into
Castilian (a version notably analysed by
Andrés Bello
Andrés de Jesús María y José Bello López (; November 29, 1781 – October 15, 1865) was a Venezuelan- Chilean humanist, diplomat, poet, legislator, philosopher, educator and philologist, whose political and literary works constitute an ...
, who deemed Burgos "a poor translator, but an excellent commentator"). Much later (1844), Burgos published a revised version, which, although still flawed, has remained a reference - for instance, it is appreciated for its use of the
sapphic stanza with
free verse.
Prominence
He returned to Madrid in 1819, and was appointed editor of ''
El Imparcial'' in 1822 (the paper was a rallying point for moderate
liberalism and the ''afrancesados''). During the same period, Burgos showed himself to be a prolific author, writing a publishing a multiple volume work entitled ''Biografía universal''. He was also integrated in the Bourbon administration of
Ferdinand VII, being appointed undersecretary of State in
Francisco Cea Bermúdez
Francisco de Paula de Cea Bermúdez y Buzo (28 October 1779, in Málaga – 6 July 1850, in Paris) was a Spanish politician and diplomat who served twice as Prime Minister of Spain.
Biography
A successful businessman, he was sent in 1810 by t ...
's Ministry. Under the
regency
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...
of
Maria Christina, as the driving force behind the
1833 territorial division of Spain
The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided the country into provinces, in turn classified into "historic regions" ( es, link=no, regiones históricas).[provincial
Provincial may refer to:
Government & Administration
* Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country
* Provincial city (disambiguation)
* Provincial minister (disambiguation)
* Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...]
one, advocating for the need of a
centralized government
A centralized government (also united government) is one in which both executive and legislative power is concentrated centrally at the higher level as opposed to it being more distributed at various lower level governments. In a national contex ...
. However, his design overtly conflicted with the
self-government status held by the
Basque districts, especially with Navarre, heavily conditioned but still
a free-standing Kingdom. The move was approved in November–December 1833, the same year he became
Home Minister.
He was a
senator of the ''Moderado'' liberals regime established during the
reign of
Isabella II
Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868.
Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...
, as well as a royal counsellor and Interior Minister for the first
government of
Ramón María Narváez y Campos, Duke of Valencia Ramón or Ramon may refer to:
People Given name
* Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer
* Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer
*Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest ...
. His office as Minister was taken over by Narváez's successor,
Francisco Javier Istúriz. He died in
Madrid.
He also wrote poems marking events such as the death of
María Isabel de Braganza and the wedding of Ferdinand VII and Maria Christina, as well as the notable ''Oda a la Razón''.
Bibliography
* ''Biografía universal'' (3 parts, 1823)
* ''Los tres iguales'' (1827)
* ''El baile de máscaras'' (1832)
* ''Oda á la razón''
* ''El porvenir''
* ''La primavera''
* ''Historia del reinado de Isabel II'' (6 parts, 1850–51)
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgos, Javier De
1778 births
1849 deaths
People from Motril
19th-century Spanish historians
Spanish journalists
Spanish untitled nobility
Spanish poets
Afrancesados
Spanish translators
Members of the Royal Spanish Academy
19th-century Spanish writers
Economy and finance ministers of Spain
Government ministers of Spain
Spanish male poets
19th-century male writers
19th-century translators