Manuel Egozcue y Cintrón (1855 in Toa Alta,

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

– 1906) was a businessman and a prominent politician in Spain and Puerto Rico during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. After completing university, he emigrated to

, then an overseas

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Spain, and quickly became prominent in its business circles. He became an active member of the Partido Incondicional Español (the

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

Spanish Unconditional Party) and held public offices under the Spanish government, including the vice-presidency of the ''Diputación Provincial'' (Provincial Legislature). In 1896 the government honored him with the Orden del Mérito Naval for services rendered to Spain's navy. After the American occupation, Egozcue Cintrón joined the newly formed

Republican Party of Puerto Rico The Republican Party of Puerto Rico () is the local affiliate of the national Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party in Puerto Rico. The affiliation started in 1903. The party does not participate in the November elect ...

, whose main goal was obtaining statehood status for the island. He served on its board of directors, where he worked closely with party founder

José Celso Barbosa José Celso Barbosa Alcala (July 27, 1857 – September 21, 1921) was a Puerto Rican physician, sociologist and political leader. Known as the father of the statehood movement in Puerto Rico, Barbosa was the first Puerto Rican, and one of th ...

. During the municipal elections of 1900—the first since the beginning of the American occupation—the Republican Party achieved an overwhelming victory, and Egozcue Cintrón became

Alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, a position he held until he was elected a member of the First House of Delegates for the 1901–1902 term. Following the House's seasonal adjournment, he was reappointed to fill Alcalde's unexpired term. In 1904 he was again elected mayor, but his term was truncated when territorial governor William Henry Hunt ordered his removal from office after a corruption scandal that tainted much of city government. Although Egozcue Cintrón was ultimately acquitted of all charges, the ordeal affected him deeply, requiring his

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

in a psychiatric hospital. He died shortly thereafter, in 1906. During Egozcue Cintrón's terms as mayor, an urban police corps was created to patrol the city, and $600,000 of

municipal bond A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income received by holders of municipal bonds is often ...

s were issued for full payment of the city's debt and the completion of an aqueduct. A

pen and ink PEN may refer to: * (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI) * PEN International, a worldwide association of writers ** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International ** PEN America, located ...

drawing of Egozcue Cintrón was created by Puerto Rican

caricaturist A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. List of caricaturists * Abed Abdi (born 1942) * Abril Lamarque (1904–1999) * Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) * Alex Gard (1900–1948) * Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977) * Alfre ...

Mario Brau de Zuzuárregui, who was the son of

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 governo ...

, a Puerto Rican historian.

References

* Coll y Toste, Cayetano (1978) ''Puertorriqueňos Ilustres'', Editorial Cultural, Inc. (Spanish).

External links

Register of Porto Rico

''La Ilustración Española y Americana''

Guía oficial de España
{{DEFAULTSORT:Egozcue Cintron, Manuel 1855 births 1906 deaths Businesspeople from Bilbao People from Toa Alta, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Unconditional Spanish Party politicians Mayors of San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican businesspeople Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century Puerto Rican politicians 18th-century Puerto Rican people 19th-century mayors of places in Puerto Rico 20th-century mayors of places in Puerto Rico