Juan Prim y Prats, 1st Count of Reus, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos, 1st Viscount of Bruch (; ; 6 December 1814 – 30 December 1870) was a Spanish general and

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

who was briefly Prime Minister of Spain until his assassination.

Biography

Born in

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The area has long been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental significance during the time of the Phylloxera plague. Currently it is known f ...

on 6 December 1814, Prim was the son of lieutenant colonel Pablo Prim. He entered the free corps known as the ''tiradores de Isabel II'' and met his

baptism of fire The phrase baptism by fire, baptism of fire or baptism with fire is a Christian theological concept originating from the words of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11. It also has related meanings in military history and popular culture. Christiani ...

on 7 August 1834, during the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...

, facing the Carlist party of Triaxet. Over the course of the war, he rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and had two orders of

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

conferred upon him. After the pacification of 1839, as a progressist opposed to the dictatorship of General Espartero, he was sent into exile. However, in 1843 he was elected deputy for

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

, and after defeating Espartero at Bruch he entered Madrid in triumph with General Serrano. The regent Maria Christina promoted him major-general, and made him ''conde de Reus'' (Count of

) and ''vizconde del Bruch'' (Viscount of Bruch). General Narváez, the prime minister, failed to understand what constitutional freedom meant, and General Prim, on showing signs of opposition, was sentenced to six years imprisonment in the

Philippine Islands 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 ...

. The sentence was not carried out, and Prim remained an exile in England and France until the

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

of 1847. He then returned to Spain, and was first employed as captain-general of

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 ...

(

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...

) and afterwards as military representative with the sultan during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. In 1854 he was elected to the Cortes, and gave his support to General O'Donnell, who promoted him lieutenant-general in 1856. In the war with Morocco he did such good service at Castillejos (Fnideq), Cabo Negro, Guad al Gelu and Campamento in 1860 that he was made ''marqués de los Castillejos'' (Marquess of los Castillejos) and ''Grande de España'' (

Grandee Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

of Spain). Prim commanded the Spanish expeditionary army in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 1862, when Spain, Great Britain, and France sought forced payment from the liberal government of

Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican politician, military commander, and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. A Zapotec peoples, Zapotec, he w ...

for loans. Prim was a sympathizer with the Mexican liberal cause, thus he refused to consent to the ambitious schemes of French emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, and withdrew Spanish forces following a meeting with Manuel Doblado. Prim was a staunch supporter of the Union in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and on his trip to the

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, where he visited

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, he met with Lincoln in Washington. Joan Prim i Prats amb uniforme militar ANC1-59-N-492

On Prim's return to Spain, he joined the opposition, heading ''pronunciamentos'' in Catalonia against generals Narváez and O'Donnell. All his attempts failed until the death of Narváez in April 1868, after which Queen Isabella became increasingly tyrannical until at last even Serrano was exiled. In September 1868 General Serrano and General Prim returned, and Brigadier Topete, commanding the fleet, raised the standard of

revolt Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

. In July 1869 General Serrano was elected regent, and Prim became president of the council and was made a marshal. On 6 November 1870 Amadeo, Duke of Aosta, was elected king of Spain, but General Prim, on leaving the chamber of the Cortes on 28 December, was shot by unknown assassins and died two days later. The Cortes took his children as wards of the country; three days afterwards King Amadeo I swore in the presence of the corpse to observe the new Spanish constitution. This is due to the fact that Prim had searched all the European courts of the time trying to find a monarch who was not opposed to being democratically elected. He is quoted for saying that "looking for a democratic monarch in Europe is like trying to find an atheist in heaven". After France had rejected the almost-elected Leopold of Hohenzollern because of their fear that

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

might thereby become more powerful, Amadeo of Savoy was the most fitting who consented. The workshop of metalworker Plácido Zuloaga was commissioned to make a monumental

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

for Prim. Completed in 1875 in Eibar, this now resides in the cemetery at

Gallery

File:Catalonia-Reus-Prim-Monument.jpg, Monument to Prim sculpted by Josep Llimona in Reus File:Léo Taxil-Mystères de la Franc-Maçonnerie-gravure 82.jpg, Assassination of Juan Prim (drawing by Pierre Méjanel) File:Amadeo I frente al féretro del general Prim de Antonio Gisbert 1870.jpg, "Amadeo I in front of the coffin of General Prim (1870)" by Antonio Gisbert File:Placa conmemorativa asesinato de Prim.jpg, alt=Commemorative plaque, Commemorative plaque

References

;Informational notes ;Citations ;Bibliography * * * ;Further reading * * * * (in French, contains a useful bibliography). * Schurz was the United States' ambassador to Spain in 1860. In his ''Reminiscences'', he gives a short biography of Prim as well as his recollections of his own talks with Prim and the Spanish court.

External links

Map
(1866) of th
approximate route of Prim from Ocaña to Portugal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prim, Juan 1814 births 1870 deaths Military personnel from Catalonia Politicians from Catalonia Counts of Spain Deaths by firearm in Spain Royal governors of Puerto Rico Grandees of Spain Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand Marquesses of Spain People from Reus People murdered in Spain Prime ministers of Spain Spanish captain generals People of the Second French intervention in Mexico Viscounts of Spain Exiled Spanish politicians Unsolved murders in Spain Assassinated prime ministers Assassinated Spanish politicians Military personnel of the First Carlist War Spanish military personnel of the Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–60) People murdered in 1870 Politicians assassinated in the 1870s

Biography

Gallery

See also

References

External links