Román Baldorioty de Castro Totally Explained

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Román Baldorioty de Castro (February 23, 1822 – September 30, 1889), distinguished himself as one of Puerto Rico's foremost abolitionists and spokesperson for the island's right to self-determination. He received his primary and secondary education in San Juan, Puerto Rico and after completing his elementary education, he received a scholarship and moved to Spain, where he continued his studies at the University of Madrid. In 1853, he returned to Puerto Rico and began working as a professor at the island's School of Commerce and the Seminario Concilar. Baldorioty de Castro was selected to represent Puerto Rico at the 1867 Universal Fair, which was organized in Paris, France. In 1870, he was elected as a deputy in the Spanish Parliament where he promoted abolition of slavery. Baldorioty de Castro founded the Partido Autonomista in 1887, but he was only able to work within it for a few months before being imprisoned in Fort San Felipe del Morro, after being accused of publishing propaganda that affected the Spanish government's image. He was released after a brief period in jail, but his time in prison affected his health, which contributed to his death on September 30, 1889.

Early years

Baldorioty de Castro was born in Guaynabo to a poor family, His family moved to San Juan when he was young, where he received his primary education as a student of the noted educator, Rafael Cordero. After completing his elementary education, he enrolled in El Seminario Conciliar de Idelfonso, which at that time was the most organized institution in Puerto Rico. He spent most of his adolescence studying and completed his education with one of the best averages in his class. Following this, Baldorioty de Castro was granted a scholarship, which he used for his studies in Spain. He collected the money necessary to travel to the country and departed in the company of two students and a professor. Before establishing a permanent residence in Madrid, the group traveled to several Spanish provinces, where they visited some of the country's tourist sites. Among the places visited were locations in Cordoba, Seville, Andújar and Bailén where they met Alberto Lista, one of Spain's famous educationalists. Shortly after beginning their education in the Central University of Madrid, the three other students contracted Smallpox, Baldorioty de Castro provided them with medical attention until two of them died. Following this event, Baldorioty de Castro declined an offer to return to Puerto Rico, and continued his studies along with the only survivor. He graduated with a degree in Physics and Mathematical Sciences from the university. In 1847 the Sociedad de Amigos del País de Puerto Rico named Baldorioty the organization's correspondent in Spain. On March 21, 1851 he was granted permission to transfer to France, where he intended to continue his studies. Baldorioty then relocated to Paris, where he attended the Central School of Arts.

Political career

After seven years of absence, Baldorioty de Castro returned to Puerto Rico in 1853. Upon his return, he noticed that the island was experiencing political tension, based on differences between the governor in office and political and educational groups. Baldorioty de Castro then began promoting social, political and educational restructuring. These contributions led to Fernando Norzagaray, the colony's incumbent governor offering him a position as the mayor of one of the island's municipalities. Baldorioty de Castro declined the offer, based on his ideological position. At the moment, the government displayed no interest in promoting the people's education. This led to social and economic problems. This led to a reconsideration on the law's status, and a group of men including Baldorioty de Castro was selected to decide its validity. After the discovery, they selected Baldorioty de Castro as the supervisor of a series of experiments to determine the terrain's components.
   In 1857, the cattle industry in Puerto Rico began experiencing difficulties, when the number of animals diminished significantly.
   To resolve this, the island's Economic Society formed a commission composed of Baldorioty de Castro, José Julián Acosta and Juan Hernández Arbizu. During this time, he also proposed that a geometry class be included in the curriculum of elementary schools in Puerto Rico, which was accepted by the pertinent authority. On January 2, 1858, the Economic Society unanimously named him the secretary of the Studies Commission. On June 4, 1860, the organization named him vocal of a commission in charge of promoting conservation of the island's natural resources. Later this year, Baldorioty de Castro represented Puerto Rico as a delegate in the Spanish Parliament, an office that he performed until 1865. On September 17, 1864, he was certified as a Applied mechanics professor and worked under a salary of thirty-five dollars.
   While working in the Spanish Parliament, he made the most of his position and voiced his views about the abolishment of slavery and the establishment of a constitution which would guarantee Puerto Ricans more political rights. On November 4, 1866, he was named Puerto Rico's representative in Paris' 1867 Universal Exposition. In this event he served as a critic and subsequently wrote a review titled Exposición Universal de París en 1967. Memoria presentada a la Comisión Provincial de Puerto Rico. After completing his participation in Paris, Baldorioty de Castro returned to Puerto Rico, at the moment there was political instability based on inconformity with the Spanish colonial government and a group supporting the abolition of slavery in the island. This led to protests and demands by the local Creole population. These events influenced several revolutionaries and led to the Grito de Lares. Baldorioty de Castro didn't promote the armed revolution, instead choosing to debate the several conflicts on diplomatic venues. After the revolution attempts, a new superior provisional government was established in the island. This government promoted a union between the conflicting parties in order to establish reforms in the government's structure. In line with the proposed solution, Baldorioty de Castro proposed a conciliation of these groups, but the efforts to unify the opposing views was unsuccessful. After this, he received political pressure and traveled to Madrid in order to present the island's status to the respective authorities. Here, he began writing several documents containing strong criticism towards the colonial government and wrote a report listing the elements that he felt were being used by the administration that were affecting the island's social and economic aspects. In January 1867, Baldorioty de Castro received a communication from Puerto Rico's Superior Instruction Joint, notifying him that he was selected as a member of the Test Commission, where he was in charge of monitoring tests being issued in Physics and Natural Sciences.
   In 1870, he was named deputy to the Spanish Courts, after the governor in office had revoked all of his cathedratical recognitions. There he continued to speak about his cause. Baldorioty de Castro became known as "The Father of Puerto Rican Autonomy". On November 19, 1872, Ramon Baldorioty de Castro together with Luis Padial, Julio Vizcarrondo and the Spanish Minister of Overseas Affairs, Segismundo Moret, presented a proposal for the abolition of slavery. On March 22, 1873, the Spanish Government approved the proposal which became known as the Moret Law.

Final years and legacy

Baldorioty de Castro returned to Puerto Rico in 1873 and went to live in the City of Ponce. There, he became the founder of the newspaper "El Derecho" (The Law). He also was the founder of a weekly paper called "La Crónica" in which he was able to express his ideas on autonomy for the island. In 1887, Baldorioty de Castro was the co-founder, along with José de Diego, and President of the Autonomist Party of Puerto Rico. He named a young upcoming politician, Antonio R. Barceló, to the position of Secretary. This became one of Puerto Rico's first political parties. Its credo was that Puerto Rico should pick its own government and should have a representative in the Spanish Parliament. The Spanish government, however, considered Baldorioty de Castro a dangerous person and a dissenter and had him jailed in Fort San Felipe del Morro in San Juan. Although he wasn't in jail for long and was soon released, his health suffered greatly during his brief imprisonment and he died shortly thereafter. Román Baldorioty de Castro died September 30, 1889 in the City of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
The Cities of Bayamón, Juana Díaz and San Germán have honored the memory of Baldorioty de Castro by naming plazas after him. There are schools and a highway also named after him in other areas of Puerto Rico. The province of Azua de Compostela, Dominican Republic, honored him by naming one of the capital city's secondary education institutions after him: Liceo de Estudios Secundarios Román Baldorioty de Castro.

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