Manuel Corchado y Juarbe

Manuel Corchado y Juarbe
Born	September 12, 1840 Isabela, Puerto Rico
Died	November 30, 1884 Madrid, Spain
Occupation	poet, journalist and politician

Manuel Corchado y Juarbe (September 12, 1840 – November 30, 1884) was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist and politician who defended the abolition of slavery and the establishment of a University in Puerto Rico. Through his written works he criticized the way the people of Puerto Rico were being treated by the island's Spanish appointed governor.

Corchado y Juarbe was born in Arenales Altos, barrio of the town of Isabela in Puerto Rico. His parents were Juan Eugenio Corchado and Juana Eugenia Juarbe. He received his primary education in the towns of Isabela and Aguadilla. In 1855, his parents sent him to Barcelona, Spain where he received and finished his secondary education. Corchado y Juarbe later earned a law degree from the University of Barcelona.

While living in Barcelona, he and José Coll y Britapaja, a fellow Puerto Rican, founded a magazine called "Las Antillas". He used the magazine to make public the social problems in Puerto Rico and what the people of the island were going through. He championed the idea of the establishment of a University and the abolition of slavery. Corchado y Juarbe also criticized and told of the abuses of Lieutenant General Féliz María de Messina Iglesias, the Spanish appointed governor in the island.

Corchado y Juarbe returned to Puerto Rico and began a column in the newspaper "El Agente". In 1862, he entered a contest sponsored by the "La Sociedad de Amigos del País de Puerto Rico" (the Economic Friends of Puerto Rico). The "Sociedades Económicas de Amigos de Puerto Rico" was a bramch of the "Sociedad Económica de los Amigos del País" were private associations established in various cities throughout Spain, and to a lesser degree in some of her colonies. He won a first prize for his poem "Oda a Campeche". His poem was published in various Spanish newspapers and magazines. Corchado y Juarbe presided over the Ateneo Puertorriqueño (Puerto Rican Athenaeum) for some time.

Corchado y Juarbe was a supporter of the Spanish Revolución of 1868, believing that the Spanish colonies will enjoy more liberties with the establishment of the new regime. After the success of the revolution, which established a republican government, he was elected in 1871 to represent the District of Mayagüez and Puerto Rico before the Spanish Courts in Barcelona. Corchado y Juarbe made use of his position to denounce the use of capital punishment and voice his support of the new Spanish Constitution. He also delivered speeches in which he favored the improvement of social and economic conditions for the Spanish colonies. In 1875, the Spanish royal family returned to power and Corchado y Juarbe decided that it was too dangerous to continue in his political quest. In 1879, he returned to Puerto Rico.

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