Juan Anacleto Araneta
| Juan Anacleto Araneta | |
|---|---|
Juan Araneta
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| Born |
July 13, 1852 Molo, Iloilo City, Iloilo Province, Captaincy General of the Philippines |
| Died | October 3, 1924 (aged 72) Negros Occidental, Philippine Islands |
| Other names | Juan Araneta "Don Juan" |
| Organization | Negros independence movement |
Juan Anacleto Araneta (July 13, 1852 – October 3, 1924), was a pioneer sugar farmer and revolutionary leader during the Negros Revolution.
Juan was born to Romualdo Araneta and Agüeda Torres in Molo, Iloilo, Philippines. The Aranetas later moved to Negros and settled there permanently.
At the age of 19, he was brought by his brother-in-law, Pedro Sarmiento, to Manila and was enrolled at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. He showed great promise in school, earning medals of merit for his endeavours. He graduated with a perito mercantil degree, equivalent to today's bachelor's degree in Commerce. His contemporaries in school included José Rizal, Jose Alejandrino, Cayetano Arellano, and Apolinario Mabini, among others.
Upon returning to Molo, he was elected Capitan del Pueblo, like his father before him. The friars in the province, however, had become suspicious of him, and only the high regard and respect of the people of Bago and the other towns in the province prevented his summary liquidation by the Spanish authorities.
In 1891, Juan went to Europe with his friend, Don Claudio Reina after his wife died. He had the opportunity to meet many of the Filipino leaders then living in Madrid, London and Paris. As a consequence, the Spanish authorities were even more antagonistic toward him upon his return. As a result, he lost the land that he and his sisters inherited from their parents. He had to take his family to the slopes of Mt. Kanlaon where they started to farm anew. He brought many gadgets to his hacienda in Dinapalan. One popular tale was his use of a telescope to supervise his laborers in the vast hacienda from afar. It became a legend among the common people that he had magical powers, but in reality, he was only able to see their actions by using the telescope.
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