Manuel Esteban Ancízar Basterra (25 December 1812 — 21 May 1882) was a Colombian lawyer, writer, and journalist. He founded a publishing house and a newspaper before joining the Chorographic Commission in 1850. He also served as the 4th Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Granadine Confederation, and as the first dean of the National University of Colombia.

Personal life

Manuel Esteban was born on 25 December 1812 in Fontibon, Bogotá to José Francisco Ancízar y Zabaleta, Spaniard native of Navarre, and Juana Bernarda Basterra y Abaurrea, Spaniard native of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

. In 1819 his father, who had served as '' Corregidor'' of

Zipaquirá Zipaquirá () is a municipality and city of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. Its neighboring municipalities are Cogua and Nemocón to the north; Tocancipá to the east; Tabio, Cajicá and Sopó to the south; and Subachoque and ...

under the Viceroy of New Granada,

Juan José de Sámano y Uribarri ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

; during the time of the

Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...

, was forced to flee the capital when the Spanish forces fell at the Battle of Boyacá and the victorious forces of General Simón Bolívar entered the capital. The family arrived in Cartagena de Indias, three of Manuel's siblings died in the arduous journey; in 1821 they had to flee again when this Spanish bastion fell to the forces of Admiral José Prudencio Padilla López. The Ancízar Basterra family landed this time in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, a safe Spanish colony, where they remained under much impoverished circumstances as refugees; his mother and his only remaining sibling died few years after. In 1832 he graduated from the University of Saint Jerome in Civil Law, and two years later received his degree in

Canon Law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

. On 4 July 1857 he married Agripina Samper Agudelo, sister of

José María José María (abbreviated José Mª) is a Spanish language male given name, usually considered a single given name rather than two names, and is a combination of the Spanish names of Joseph and Mary, the parents of Jesus Christ.Rafael Falcón, Chr ...

and Miguel Samper Agudelo, both writers and prominent politicians in Colombia; together they had five children: Roberto, Pablo, Inés, Jorge, and Manuel.

Selected works

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Personal life

Selected works

References

Further reading