José Morales Lemus (May 10, 1808 - June 28, 1870) was a Cuban revolutionary, merchant, and lawyer.
José Morales Lemus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | José Gregorio Morales Lemus |
| Born | May 10, 1808 Gibara, Holguín Province, Captaincy General of Cuba, Spanish Empire |
| Died | June 28, 1870 Brooklyn, New York |
| Allegiance |  Cuba |
| Battles / wars | |
Biography
editJosé Gregorio Morales Lemus was born in Gibara, Holguín, Spanish Cuba on May 10, 1808.[1] His origins trace back to the Canary Islands through his parents.[2] He spent his childhood and received his early education in Havana.[3]
Morales Lemus completed his legal education and was admitted to practice law in 1835.[4][5] As a lawyer, he worked in the La Habana district of the Real Audiencia, which was the highest judicial body in Spanish colonies, including Cuba.[6]
In the mid-1860s, he served as both a director and magistrate for the Sagua La Grande Railway, established in 1863 and based in Havana.[7]
In 1863, he established the periodical El Siglo (English: The Century) in Havana to advocate for reforms in Cuba.[8] In 1866, the government of Isabella II appointed a commission to assess the situation in Cuba.[9] Leading a deputation of reformists including José Antonio Saco and Nicholas Azcarate[10] to Madrid, Morales Lemus sought to negotiate their positions on the Spanish colonial administration of the colonies.[11] The delegation pushed for economic and political reforms as well as the abolition of slavery.[12] On April 27, 1867, the Cuban delegation's hearings concluded with the Ministry of Overseas (Spanish: Junta Informativa de Ultramar) rejecting all reform proposals and subsequently imposing a higher tax.[13] When the talks did not produce the desired outcomes, he decided to join the Ten Years' War, Cuba's first war of independence against Spain in 1868.[14]
Morales Lemus was a founding member of the Revolutionary Committee of Havana along with Miguel Aldama, Antonio Fernández Bramosio, José Manuel Mestre, and José Antonio Echeverría.[15]
Upon fleeing Cuba in 1869, he was appointed president of the Cuban Junta in New York.[16] In the United States, the junta handled the financial and business affairs of the Republic of Cuba in Arms.
When the government was formed on April 10, 1869, Morales Lemus was assigned to the Diplomatic corps of the Republic of Cuba in Arms.[17] At Berrocal in Artemisa, Morales Lemus was appointed as Envoy extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States by President Carlos Manuel de Céspedes.[18]
On April 15, 1869, Captain General Domingo Dulce ordered an embargo on the property of Morales Lemus and 15 others, including Nestor Ponce de Leon and José María Mora, for aiding the insurrection.[19]
Morales Lemus, Col. William A.C. Ryan, and others were indicted on April 16, 1869, by the Federal Grand Jury of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for violating the Neutrality Act of 1818 by initiating a military expedition in Cuba on May 1, 1869.[20][21] Receiving news of the indictment and arrest warrant, Morales Lemus turned himself in and was released on bail.[22]
When the Junta issued a 100-peso bond on June 1, 1869, to fund the Cuban uprising against Spanish colonial rule, it was signed by Morales Lemus.[23] The Spanish colonial government seized the stocks, bonds, and securities by the close of 1870.[24]
Death
editJosé Morales Lemus died on June 28, 1870, in Brooklyn, New York.[25]
References
edit- ^ Guerra, R. (1972). Guerra de los 10 [i.e. diez] años. Spain: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales.
- ^ Encyclopedia of Cuba: People, History, Culture. (2003). United Kingdom: Greenwood Press.
- ^ Castellanos G., C. G. (1935). Panorama histórico: ensayo de cronología cubana, desde 1492 hasta 1933. Cuba: Ucar, García y cía..
- ^ The Old Franklin Almanac for .... (1866). United States: John Haslett.
- ^ The American Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year .... (1871). United States: D. Appleton.
- ^ Guia de forasteros de la siempre fiel isla de Cuba. (1861). Cuba: Imprenta del Gobierno y capitanía general por S.M..
- ^ The Joint stock companies' directory. (1867). United Kingdom: (n.p.).
- ^ Coester, A. (1919). The Literary History of Spanish America. United States: Macmillan.
- ^ Bradford, R. H. (1980). The Virginius Affair. United States: Colorado Associated University Press.
- ^ Special Warfare Area Handbook for Cuba. (1961). United States: Department of the Army.
- ^ Cuba Before the United States: Remarks on the Hon. Chas. Sumner's Speech, Delivered at the Republican Convention of Massachusetts, the 22d September, 1869. (1869). United States: Styles & Cash, Printers.
- ^ Guerra-Vilaboy, S., Loyola-Vega, O. (2015). Cuba: A History. United Kingdom: Ocean Press.
- ^ Franqui-Rivera, H. (2018). Soldiers of the Nation: Military Service and Modern Puerto Rico, 1868-1952. (n.p.): University of Nebraska Press.
- ^ Boykin, J. H. (1979). World Blacks, Self Help and Achievement: Handbook of Some of the Achievements of Black People. United States: J.H. Boykin.
- ^ Astolpho, oder, Die Räuberhöhle. (1804). Germany: Bey Karl Christoph Stiller.
- ^ Moore, J. B. (1898). History. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.
- ^ Piron, H. (1876). L'île de Cuba: Santiago--Puerto-Principe--Matanzas Et la Havane. France: E. Plon et cie.
- ^ Correspondence Between the Department of State and the United States Minister at Madrid, and the Consular Representatives of the United States in the Island of Cuba: And Other Papers Relating to Cuban Affairs, Transmitted to the House of Representatives in Obedience to a Resolution. (1870). United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.
- ^ "PRESIDENT OE THE UNITED STATES | GovInfo" (PDF). govinfo.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
- ^ House documents. (1895). (n.p.): (n.p.).
- ^ Nevins, A. (1957). Hamilton Fish: The Inner History of the Grant Administration. United States: F. Ungar Publishing Company.
- ^ "New-York | Library of Congress (.gov)" (PDF). chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
- ^ Obsolete American Securities and Corporations. (1904). United States: R. M. Smythe.
- ^ Pérez, L. A. (2012). On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture. United States: University of North Carolina Press.
- ^ Piñeyro, E., Ripoll, C. (1970). Morales Lemus y la revolución de Cuba. United States: Unión de Cubanos en el Exilio.
