José Julián Acosta (February 16, 1825 – August 26, 1891), was a journalist and an advocate of the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

in Puerto Rico.

Early years

José Julián Acosta Calbo was born in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...

to Francisco de Acosta y Sandoval and Juana Antonia Calbo y Garriga. There he received his primary education. He was one of Rafael Cordero's most notable students. Cordero was an inspiration to Acosta and the influence of his teachings remained with Acosta for the rest of his life. Later, he became a protégé of Father Rufo Manuel Fernández, who would send him to

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 ...

, Spain to study Physics and Mathematics. After he graduated in 1851, Acosta continued to expand his educational knowledge in Paris, London, and Berlin. In Berlin, he was a student of the naturalist

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...

.Enciclopedia Puerto Rico

When Acosta returned to Puerto Rico, he took a job as a professor of

Botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

and Maritime Sciences and became the director of the Civil Institute of Secondary Education. Acosta was the founder and editor of the newspaper ''

El Progreso El Progreso () is a city, with a population of 119,260 (2020 calculation), and a municipality located in the Honduran department of Yoro. Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport of San Pedro Sula is located west of the city. To the eas ...

'' (''Progress''), and he collaborated with many other newspapers which were oriented toward

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

Abolitionist

Between 1865 and 1867, Acosta was a member of a Puerto Rican commission, which included

Segundo Ruiz Belvis Segundo Ruiz Belvis (13 May 1829 – 3 November 1867) was a Puerto Rican abolitionist who also fought for Puerto Rico's right to independence. Early years Ruiz Belvis was born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico (then a barrio of the municipality ...

and Francisco Mariano Quiñones, and which participated in the ''Junta Informativa de Reformas de Ultramar'' (Overseas Reforms Informative Board) which met in Madrid. Here, Acosta presented the argument for the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico. That same year, whilst in Madrid, Acosta was made a member of the Spanish Royal Academy of History, for his work in the editing of Fray Iñigo Abbad y Lasierra's ''Historia geografica, civil y natural de la isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico''. (''Geographic, Civil, and Natural History of the Island of St. John the Baptist of Puerto Rico'') Upon returning to the Island, Acosta, like many other Puerto Ricans with liberal views, was harshly mistreated by the Spanish governor. After the

Grito de Lares ''El Grito de Lares'' (''The Cry of Lares''), also referred to as the Lares uprising, the Lares revolt, the Lares rebellion, or the Lares revolution, was the first major revolt against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico. The revolt was planned by Ra ...

(Cry of Lares) revolt in 1868, he was suspected of being a conspirator and was imprisoned in the dungeons of

Fort San Felipe del Morro Castillo San Felipe del Morro, also known as El Morro, is a citadel built between 16th and 18th centuries in San Juan, Puerto Rico.ww ...

by General Pavia, even though he had not participated in the failed revolt. Acosta later published a pamphlet entitled ("Hours of Imprisonment") describing his experiences in prison.

Political career

Acosta became a member of the Liberal Reformist Party and in 1870, he founded the political newspaper ''El Progreso''. In 1871 he became an elected representative to the Spanish Courts. In 1873, he became president of the Liberal Reformist Party, but decided to leave the party in 1874, and joined the Autonomist Party formed by

Román Baldorioty de Castro Román Baldorioty de Castro (23 February 1822 – 30 September 1889) was Puerto Rican abolitionist and spokesman for the island's right to self-determination. In 1870, he was elected as a deputy in the Cortes Generales, the Spanish parliament, ...

Legacy

On March 22, 1873, Acosta witnessed the success of his abolitionist efforts, with the proclamation of the decree for the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico. Acosta died on August 26, 1891, in

. He was interred in Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery in

Old San Juan Old San Juan ( es, Viejo San Juan) is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the islet of San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Catedral, Marina, Mercado, San Cristóbal, and San Francisco sub-barrios (s ...

. His great-grandson was Colonel

Gilberto José Marxuach Colonel Gilberto José Marxuach a.k.a. "The Father of the San Juan Civil Defense" (November 19, 1910 – April 18, 1957), was a former officer in the United States Army who in 1951 founded and became the first director of the Civil Defense in ...

, the "Father of the San Juan Civil Defense".

Notes

References