Francisco Mariano Quiñones Quiñones (1830 – 13 September 1908) was a proponent of the abolition of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

and of the

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

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 ...

Biography

Early years

Quiñones was born into a wealthy family of landowners in

San Germán, Puerto Rico San Germán () is a historic San Germán barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality located in the Sabana Grande Valley of southwestern region of Puerto Rico, south of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Mayagüez and Maricao, Puer ...

, and at a young age developed his lifelong love for

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

and

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

. He was sent to Europe where he attended private schools. After he finished his secondary education, he went on to university studies in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, Germany;

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and New York City. When Quiñones returned to Puerto Rico in 1848, he went to work for the family business.Biography

Abolitionist

In 1865, the Spanish Crown requested from the municipalities of Puerto Rico recommendations for new laws and Quiñones was elected representative for San Germán. In 1867, Quiñones represented Puerto Rico before the "Overseas Information Committee" meeting in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Together with

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 José Julián Acosta, he demanded the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico and also protested over the injustices practiced by the governor General

Romualdo Palacio González Romualdo Palacios González (8 February 1827 – 7 September 1908) was a Spanish general and governor of Puerto Rico in 1887. He is best remembered for his political persecution of Puerto Rican ''Autonomist Party (Puerto Rico), Autonomistas'' ca ...

in the island.

Politician

When Quiñones returned to the island, he joined the Puerto Rican Liberal Reformist Party and in 1871 was elected as representative in front of the Spanish Courts. In Spain he continued his fight for the abolition of slavery. In 1887, Quiñones joined the

Autonomist Party The Autonomist Party (; ) was an Italian-Dalmatianist political party in the Dalmatian political scene, that existed for around 70 years of the 19th century and until World War I. Its goal was to maintain the autonomy of the Kingdom of Dalmati ...

headed by

Luis Muñoz Rivera Luis Muñoz Rivera (July 17, 1859 – November 15, 1916) was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist and politician. He was a major figure in the struggle for political autonomy of Puerto Rico in union with Spain. In 1887, Muñoz Rivera became part ...

. There were some disagreements between Muñoz and some of the members which led to a rupture in the party. Among those who abandoned the party were Quiñones and

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 ...

, who went on to form the Orthodox Autonomist Party. On 10 February 1898, Spain granted Puerto Rico the rights to self-determination, which was considered the first step towards independence. Quiñones was named President of Puerto Rico's first Cabinet by General Macías. In 1898, after the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

when Puerto Rico became a colonial territory of the United States, Quiñones joined the Puerto Rican Republican Party founded by Celso Barbosa and which championed the idea of converting Puerto Rico into a state of the U.S. Quiñones was elected and served as a representative in the House of Delegates in 1900 and 1902 Mayor of San Germán. On 13 September 1908, Quiñones died in San Germán and a private mourning the following day on the house floor was attended by Muñoz,

José de Diego José de Diego y Martínez (April 16, 1866 – July 16, 1918) was a Puerto Rican statesman, journalist, poet, lawyer, and advocate for Puerto Rico's political autonomy in union with Spain and later of Puerto Rican independence from the United St ...

Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón (April 22, 1855 – December 13, 1913) was a Puerto Rican lawyer and politician, a member of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives, and a lifelong political contrarian. He favored Puerto Rican autonomy when Puerto Ric ...

, R. Arrillaga, José R. Laurrauri, Pedro F. Colberg, Carlos H. Blondet, and V. Trelles Oliva; a public funeral was held at 7 P.M.

Works

Among his most important written works of literature are ''Artículos'' (1887) and ''Apuntes para la Historia de Puerto Rico'' (1888).

References