Nicolás Estévanez Murphy (17 February 1838 – 19 August 1914) was a Spanish military officer, politician, essayist and poet. A federal

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 ...

, he briefly served as civil governor of Madrid and as

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

in the wake of the proclamation of the

First Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic ( es, República Española), historiographically referred to as the First Spanish Republic, was the political regime that existed in Spain from 11 February 1873 to 29 December 1874. The Republic's founding ensued after th ...

. A defender of the Africanness of his native Canary Islands, which were a central motif of his written work, he espoused a blend of anti-european, atheist,

anticlerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

, revolutionary and anarchist ideals. While he showed an unwavering commitment to Spanish patriotism, Estévanez has been reconstructed as a sort of father of

Canarian nationalism Canarian nationalism is a political movement that encourages the national consciousness of the Canarian people. The term includes several ideological trends, ranging from the right to self-determination (and complete independence from Spain) to a ...

by Canarian nationalist authors. He was a close collaborator of Francisco Pi y Margall.

Biography

Born in

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...

on 17 February 1838, the son of captain Francisco de Paula Estébanez y García Caballero (a progressive military officer from Málaga, Andalusia) and Isabel Murphy y Meade (a Canarian woman descended from Irish merchants settled in the islands in the late 18th century). Very young, in 1852, he entered the military academy in Toledo. After graduating, he served in the 1859–1860 African War. He took part in a number of war actions, including the 4 February 1860

Battle of Tétouan The Battle of Tetuan (, ) was fought on 4 to 6 February 1860, near Tetuan, Morocco, between a Spanish army sent to North Africa and the tribal levies which at the time made up the Moroccan Army. The battle was part of the Spanish-Moroccan War ...

, after which he was awarded the 1st Class of the Cross of St. Ferdinand. On 27 November 1871, he was stationed 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 ...

with the rank of captain when eight students were executed by the authorities who found them guilty of anti-Spanish activities and of vandalizing some tomb sites. On hearing the news he publicly protested and, for this reason, was expelled from the army but he never apologized or renounced his actions and was always proud of what he did. To this day, on the façade of the

Hotel Inglaterra Hotel Inglaterra is the oldest hotel in Havana. It is located at Paseo del Prado #416 between San Rafael and San Miguel. History The hotel traces its origins to 1844, when a two-story building known as ''El Cafe'' or ''The Escauriza Saloon'' wa ...

in Havana, Cuba, there is a plaque bearing his name and commemorating his protest.http://regioncanarias-diariodigital.blogspot.com.es/2014/10/el-centro-de-historia-y-cultura-militar.html Photo of plaque. Retrieved 2014/12/02 He participated in the revolution of September 1868 and joined the

insurrection of 1869 for which he was imprisoned. He later was elected member of parliament and was appointed minister in the cabinet of

Pi y Margall Francesc Pi i Margall (Spanish: Francisco Pi y Margall) (29 April 1824 – 29 November 1901) was a Spanish Federalism, federalist and Republicanism in Spain, republican politician and theorist who served as president of the short-lived First ...

during the

but with the restoration of the monarchy he went into exile in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Described in police reports as an "everlasting conspirator and expert in explosive devices", he has been pointed out as a presumed plotter in the attempted regicide of Alfonso XIII on 31 May 1906. He would have moved from his Parisian exile to Barcelona earlier in the month, reportedly holding a meeting at

Tibidabo Tibidabo () is a hill overlooking Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. At , it is the tallest hill in the Serra de Collserola. Rising sharply to the north-west, it has views over the city and the surrounding coastline. The summit of the hill is occupie ...

with

Francisco Ferrer Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia (; January 14, 1859 – October 13, 1909), widely known as Francisco Ferrer (), was a Spanish radical freethinker, anarchist, and educationist behind a network of secular, private, libertarian schools in and aroun ...

and Mateo Morral—the physical perpetrator—before leaving for Cuba. He died on 19 August 1914 in Paris.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Estevanez, Nicolas 1838 births 1914 deaths People from Las Palmas Spanish republicans Government ministers of Spain Members of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Politicians from the Canary Islands Spanish soldiers Spanish poets Writers from the Canary Islands Spanish activists Spanish male poets Civil governors of Madrid Government ministers during the First Spanish Republic Exiled Spanish politicians