Manuel Becerra Bermúdez (20 October 1820 – 19 December 1896) was a Spanish politician, mathematician and revolutionary. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

who would later embrace

monarchism Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

, he went on to assume the ministerial portfolios of Overseas and

Development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

during the ''

Sexenio Democrático The Sexenio Democrático or Sexenio Revolucionario (English: The six democratic or revolutionary years) is a period of 6 years between 1868 and 1874 in the history of Spain. The ''Sexenio Democrático'' starts on 30 September 1868 with the over ...

'', returning for two additional spells as Overseas minister during the regency of Maria Christina of Austria.

Biography

Early life and revolutionary activity

Born in Santa María del Otero, Castro de Rey,

province of Lugo Lugo is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, Pontevedra, and A Coruña, the principality of Asturias, the State of León, and in th ...

, on 20 October 1820. Son to a math teacher, he did not complete studies in Engineering. He received however substantial teaching in Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy from and founded a reputed Academy of Mathematics in Madrid. A defender of

Republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...

in his early life, he took part in the , One of the founders of the Democratic–Progressive Party (best known as Democratic Party) in 1849, he also took part in the 1854 revolts, battling in the streets of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, being arrested and imprisoned at El Saladero. Following the 1856 counter-revolutionary involution by

O'Donnell The O'Donnell dynasty ( ga, Ó Dónaill or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell, Ulster, in medieval Ireland. Naming conventions Or ...

, Becerra entered in combat in the

Plaza de Santo Domingo The plaza de Santo Domingo is a public square in the city of Madrid, Spain. History and description The square covers an area of . It is located in the Palacio neighborhood, itself belonging to the Centro District. Located in the northern e ...

at the helm of a light battalion of the National Militia trying to defend the Constitutional liberties side by side against a battalion of Jägers sent by O'Donnell, and was forced to exile. He would endorse the (for which he was sentenced to death by '' garrote'' for rebellion). Forced again to exile, he was one of the endorsers of the 16 August 1866 becoming (as representative of the '' democrats'') one of the three legs of the coordination of the revolutionary action along

Juan Prim Juan Prim y Prats, 1st Count of Reus, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos, 1st Viscount of Bruch (; ca, Joan Prim i Prats ; 6 December 1814 – 30 December 1870) was a Spanish general and statesman who was briefly Prime Minister of Spain until h ...

and (representative of the ''

progressives Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techno ...

''), that aimed towards the overthrow 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 ...

and the call of Constituent Cortes elected by

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stan ...

Sexenio democrático

After the 1868 Glorious Revolution, Becerra became a member of the Junta Superior Revolucionaria. Along and Cristino Martos he would become one of the leaders of the so-called , the monarchist democrats part of the 1868–1871 Provisional Government. In July 1869, during the Regency of Marshal Serrano, he was appointed as Minister of Overseas. A founding member of the Spanish Abolitionist Society back in 1864, he took measures during his first ministerial tenure towards the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico, presenting two projects in 1869, which were not welcomed either by his cabinet peers or from the parliament. After months of fierce resistance to the ministerial initiatives from pro-slavery legislators such as

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (8 February 18288 August 1897) was a Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Prime Minister and his overarching role as "architect" of the regime that ensued with the 1874 restor ...

Francisco Romero Robledo Francisco Romero Robledo (8 March 1838, in Antequera, Spain – 3 March 1906, in Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropo ...

, Becerra was forced to resign in March 1870 amid intense pressure. Already entered the reign of Amadeo, during the premiership of

Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla (22 March 183313 June 1895) was a Spanish politician. He served as Prime Minister of Spain for a little over ten weeks, in the summer of 1871, and again for eight months, between June 1872 and February 1873. Biography Born ...

, Becerra was appointed as Minister of Development in December 1872, replacing

José Echegaray José Echegaray y Eizaguirre (19 April 183214 September 1916) was a Spanish civil engineer, mathematician, statesman, and one of the leading Spanish dramatists of the last quarter of the 19th century. He was awarded the 1904 Nobel Prize in Li ...

. On 11 February 1873, in a vote at the Cortes during the same session in which the declaration of the First Republic was proclaimed, he was confirmed as Minister of Development (with 266 votes in favour). He would however leave the ministry by late February.

Bourbon Restoration and later life

Following the Bourbon Restoration, Becerra joined the Liberal Fusionist Party led by

Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Práxedes Mariano Mateo Sagasta y Escolar (21 July 1825 – 5 January 1903) was a Spanish civil engineer and politician who served as Prime Minister on eight occasions between 1870 and 1902—always in charge of the Liberal Party—as part of th ...

as part of its left-leaning faction. He left the fusionists in 1881 to create along

Segismundo Moret Segismundo Moret y Prendergast (2 June 1833 – 28 January 1913) was a Spanish politician and writer. He was the prime minister of Spain on three occasions and the president of the Congress of Deputies on two occasions. Biography Moret was bor ...

, Eugenio Montero Ríos and José López Domínguez the

Dynastic Left The Dynastic Left ( es, Izquierda Dinástica, ID) was a Spanish political party founded in 1881 by elements from the Liberal Fusionist Party and the Democratic Progressive Party. Between 1884 and 1886 most of its members returned to the Libera ...

. An initiated Freemason (symbol: ''Fortaleza''; grade: 33), Becerra was chosen as Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Spain in 1884; after his departure from the post in 1886, the organization was thrown into chaos and divided into factions. Elected to the Royal Academy of Sciences in 1885, he took office as numerary member (Medal #36) on 18 November 1886, reading a discourse titled ''Evolución de la Matemática e influencia que en los progresos de esta ciencia ejerció la civilización árabe'' ("Evolution of Mathematics and the influence of the Arab civilization on the progress of this science"), replied by

Eduardo Saavedra Eduardo Saavedra y Moragas (27 February 1829 in Tarragona – 12 March 1912 in Madrid), Spanish engineer, architect, archaeologist and Arabist, member of the Real Academia de la Historia, Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, Real Academia Esp ...

. Becerra returned to the ministry of Overseas in two occasions: from December 1888 to January 1890 and from March 1894 to November 1894, as part of cabinets presided by Sagasta. He died on 19 December 1896 at his address in the in Madrid; he was apparently drinking a glass of milk, and, as it slipped out of his hand, after a sigh, he died. He was buried at the on the next day.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Becerra Bermudez, Manuel 1820 births 1896 deaths Spanish revolutionaries 19th-century Spanish mathematicians Spanish Freemasons Spanish abolitionists Prisoners and detainees of Spain Overseas ministers of Spain Public works ministers of Spain Exiled Spanish politicians Government ministers during the First Spanish Republic