Juan Alonso Zayas (1869 – October 8, 1898) was a Puerto Rican who served as a second lieutenant in the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

. He was the commander of the 2nd Expeditionary Battalion stationed in

Baler A baler or hay baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store. Often, bales are configured ...

that fought in the

Siege of Baler The siege of Baler ( fil, Pagkubkob sa Baler; es, Sitio de Baler) was a battle of the Philippine Revolution. Filipino revolutionaries laid siege to a fortified church defended by Spanish troops in the town of Baler, Aurora, for 337 days, from ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Early years

Zayas was born and raised in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

, the capital of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. His father, born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, was an officer in the Spanish Army stationed in the island. Zayas received the best education available as the son of a military official. His main interest was photography, and he became a professional photographer at a young age. In November 1888, when he was 19 years old, Zayas joined the Spanish Army in San Juan.

Military career

Zayas was first assigned to the Infantry Regiment of Luchana N 28. In May 1889, he was sent to

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 ...

and assigned to the Battalion of Isabel II and later to the Infantry Regiment of Cuba. Zayas was promoted to the rank of sergeant and sent to the School of Sergeants of the Getafe Civil Guard in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, before the outbreak of the Cuban Revolt of 1895. By 1897, Zayas was already a second lieutenant, when he received orders to head for the Philippines as commander of the 2nd Expeditionary Battalion stationed in

. He arrived in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, the capital of the Philippines in May 1897. In Manila, he took a vessel and headed for

, which is located on the island of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

Siege of Baler

The distance between Manila and Baler is 100 km (62 miles) and if traveled through the jungles and badly built roads, the actual distance would be 230 km (144 miles). At that time, a system of communication between Manila and Baler was almost non-existent. The only way Baler received news from Manila was by way of sea vessels. The Spanish colonial government was under constant attack from the local Filipino groups who wanted their independence from the Spanish Crown. Zayas's mission was to fortify Baler against any possible attack. Among his plans for the defense of Baler was to convert the local church of San Luis de Tolosa into a fort. The independence advocates, under the leadership of Col. Calixto Vilacorte, were called "insurgents" or "Tagalos" by the Spanish authorities. On June 28, 1898, they demanded the surrender of the Spanish Army. The Spanish political governor of the region, Enrique de las Morena y Fossi refused. Immediately, the Filipinos attacked Baler in a battle that was to last for seven months. Despite being outnumbered, hunger and disease, the battalion did not give up. In the meantime, Zayas and the rest of the battalion were totally unaware of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

that was going on. In August 1898, the hostilities between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and Spain came to an end. Spain ceded its claim over the Philippine Islands to the United States in accordance with the bilateral

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

Spanish surrender

In May 1899, the battalion at Baler found out about the Spanish–American War and its aftermath. They had been unaware that they had been fighting for a possession that was no longer theirs to fight for. On June 2, 1899 the battalion's commander, Lieutenant Martín Cerezo surrendered to the Tagalos only after some conditions were met. Among the conditions were the following: # That the Spaniards not be treated as prisoners of war and # that they would not be harmed in their quest of reaching a Spanish ship that would take them back to Spain. The 32 survivors of Zayas's battalion were sent to Manila where they boarded a ship headed for their homeland. In Spain, they were given a hero's welcome and became known as "Los Últimos de Filipinas" () and also as "Los Últimos de Baler" (). Second Lieutenant Juan Alonso Zayas was not among the survivors. He died, on October 8, 1898, from

beriberi Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (Vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The two main types in adults are wet beriberi and dry beriberi. Wet beriberi affects the cardiovascular system, r ...

and with several other members of his unit was buried in San Luis de Tolosa, the church of Baler.

References

External links