HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Francisco Martínez Portusach (1864–1919) was a Spanish
merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...
and
whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...
who was briefly the
Governor of Guam The governor of Guam ( / ) is the head of government of Guam and the commander-in-chief of the Guam National Guard, whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Island (formerly the State of the Territory) addresses to t ...
, before he was deposed. In the American media of the time, he was often referred to as Francisco Portusach or Frank Portusach.


Biography

Portusach was born in
Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a pop ...
. His father was a wealthy merchant and Portusach spent his childhood on
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
merchant ships in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
and other Spanish territories. After the death of his father, he fell out of favor with his elder brother and moved to
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, in 1885 and became a
United States citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitu ...
in 1888. Soon after, he moved to
Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
, and then to
San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, where he met and married his American wife. Together, they moved to
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
, then a Spanish colonial territory. On June 20, 1898, during 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 ...
, the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
captured Guam. The existing Spanish garrison, including Governor Juan Marina, were taken as
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
to
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
. The existing Spanish citizens of the island were also disarmed.
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Henry Glass, the commander of the battle appointed Portusach as the acting-
Governor of Guam The governor of Guam ( / ) is the head of government of Guam and the commander-in-chief of the Guam National Guard, whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Island (formerly the State of the Territory) addresses to t ...
, to serve until a formal military garrison could be sent. Portusach's only qualification for the position was that he was the only American citizen living on the island. With Glass and the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
departed, Portusach was unable to solidify his position as governor and he was quickly overthrown by José Sisto, a Filipino Spaniard and the island
Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...
under Spanish rule. Sisto, too, would shortly be overthrown by the native Chamorro population. In January 1899, the USS ''Brutus'' arrived and reinstated Sisto – not Portusach – as governor. In 1917, he wrote ''History of the Capture of Guam by the United States Man-of-War 'Charleston' and Its Transports''.


See also

*
List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States This is a list of minority governors and lieutenant state governors in the United States. In the United States, an ethnic minority is anyone who has at least one parent who is not of non-Hispanic white descent (such as African Americans, Asian Am ...


References


"Spaniards Rise In Guam"
''New York Times''. New York, N.Y.: Dec 31, 1898. pg. 1, 1 pgs *"Portusach Was Deposed." ''The Washington Post''. Washington, D.C.: Dec 31, 1898. pg. 1, 1 pgs *"The Capture of the Island of Guam." ''Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine''. San Francisco: Mar 1900. Vol.VOL. XXXV, Iss. No. 207; pg. 225, 9 pgs

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portusach Martinez, Francisco 1864 births 1919 deaths Governors of Guam Spanish emigrants to the United States Guamanian people of Spanish descent Spanish merchants 19th-century Spanish businesspeople People from the Spanish East Indies