Maria de la Mercedes Barbudo: Her plot to gain independence for Puerto Rico! — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Before Ramon Betances, Albizu  Campos or even Lolita Lebron,
2. 0:05there was María de las Mercedes Barbudo.  María Barbudo was a Puerto Rican political
3. 0:11activist and the first female independista who  advocated and fought for the independence of
4. 0:18Puerto Rico from Spain. During the height  of her prominence, she was discovered
5. 0:23by  spies and sent to prison from which she  eventually escaped. However after her escape,
6. 0:29she had to live in exile and was never  able to return to Puerto Rico again..
7. 0:35The exact date of her birth is not certain, but  it is estimated to have been in 1773 in San Juan,
8. 0:43Puerto Rico. Being one of four siblings,  she was born to a Spanish officer in the
9. 0:49Spanish Royal military, Domingo Barbudo  and  a Puerto Rican mother of mixed racial descent,
10. 0:56Belén Coronado . Although not wealthy, the  family's economic status was comfortable
11. 1:02and the fact that her father was a military  officer afforded her the benefit of access
12. 1:08to education and books. She became one of  the few women on the island who learned to
13. 1:14read because at the time, the only people  who had access to libraries and who could
14. 1:19afford books were either appointed Spanish  government officials or wealthy landowners.
15. 1:25It is also believed that she studied with the  Catholic nuns at a Convent. This is evidenced
16. 1:32by her fine handwriting, which she exhibited when  writing her letters.  Thanks to her education and
17. 1:39the environment into she was born, Maria Barbudos'  awareness and interest in politics began to grow.
18. 1:48Aside from her formal education, she learned  how to manage business from her uncle,
19. 1:53Juan Veloz Coronado, who was a moneylender, and  became a reputable merchant in the San Juan area.
20. 2:02As a young woman, Barbudo founded  a sewing goods store in San Juan,
21. 2:06specialising in the sale of  buttons, threads and clothes.
22. 2:10She also eventually became successful as  a personal loan provider like her uncle.
23. 2:17Overtime, Maria Mercedes' education and  business acumen afforded her the ability
24. 2:24to move in prominent circles and to meet  and socialize with important people. These
25. 2:31included notable citizens such as Captain  Ramón Power y Giralt , Bishop Juan Alejo
26. 2:37de Arizmendi and the artist José Campeche.  Maria Mercedes' was very opened minded and
27. 2:45would often hold meetings with intellectuals  in her house. They would discuss the political,
28. 2:51social and economic situation of Puerto  Rico and the Spanish Empire in general,
29. 2:58and proposed solutions to improve the  well-being of the people on the island.
30. 3:05As her political acumen matured, she became  a great admirer of the “liberator” Simon
31. 3:11Bolivar and she began to move in what would be  considered at that time more radical circles.
32. 3:19She established a friendship with a Puerto  Rican Royalist Colonel, Matías Escuté Valvei,
33. 3:25Jr who turned subversive against Spain. She  also befriended and wrote to many Venezuelan
34. 3:33revolutionists, among them José María Rojas,  with whom she regularly corresponded. Rojas
35. 3:42was a revolutionary agent who collaborated  with Bolívar. She also received magazines
36. 3:49and newspapers from Venezuela which upheld the  ideals of Bolívar.  According some, she even had
37. 3:57some type of correspondence with Antonio Valero  de Bernabé, who was known as the liberator from
38. 4:05Puerto Rico and had joined Simon Bolivar in the  struggle against Spanish rule in the Americas.
39. 4:14Eventually, Maria de las mercedes Barbudo's house
40. 4:18began to be suspected as the center of  meetings of conspirators against Spain.
41. 4:26In 1823 a new governor, Miguel de La Torre was  installed in Puerto Rico. With this installation
42. 4:34began a period of intensified repression  on the island. The Spanish authorities in
43. 4:41Puerto Rico under Governor Miguel de la Torre  were suspicious of the correspondence between
44. 4:47Barbudo and the Venezuelan rebel factions. José de Luque, a spy hired by La Torre,
45. 4:55was the one who discovered María Barbudos'  correspondence with the radicals in Puerto
46. 5:01Rico. Governor La Torre monitored the  Barbudo house for a year and a half,
47. 5:07starting in September 1823. Secret agents of the  Spanish Government intercepted some of her mail,
48. 5:15delivering it to the Governor . He ordered an  investigation and had her mail confiscated.
49. 5:23The Government believed that the correspondence  served as propaganda of the Bolívarian ideals
50. 5:29and that it would also serve to motivate  Puerto Ricans to seek their independence.
51. 5:36According to the Spanish investigation, the  correspondence also  revealed the liberal
52. 5:42conspiracy contemplated the taking of the  forts of San Juan and that the core of the
53. 5:49subversives consisted of the Puerto Rican officers  themselves in the royalist army. Interestingly
54. 5:58one of the letters revealed the following  proclamation to the people of Puerto Rico:
55. 6:06Puerto Ricans! Wake up from your apathy before  Spain leaves you redeemed to a handful of impotent
56. 6:13land, so that you will be eternally slaves of  barbaric Cossacks or slightly less barbaric
57. 6:20Spaniards. It is time for us to do things, for us  to obtain a distinguished place in the world, for
58. 6:28us to act like men without the need for tutors and  to fight hard against the intrusive and obstinate
59. 6:36Spaniards, in ordering what belongs to others.  Long Live  independence! Long live freedom! “
60. 6:44On October 22, 1825, María de las Mercedes  Barbudo was summoned to confess her crime. She
61. 6:53was questioned about her letters and did not deny  that it was true. She did not deny her complicity
62. 7:00with all the names of the accused that were cited  to her and who had already left the Island. They
63. 7:07then took her to her house and searched her.  They found countless compromising communications,
64. 7:13calling for revolution. The following day,  she was put on house arrest in the Castillo
65. 7:20san Cristobal until the schooner El Marinero  took her to a Recollection House in Havana, Cuba.
66. 7:29However after 5 months ,with the help of  revolutionary factions, Barbudo escaped from
67. 7:34this recollection house and went to Saint Thomas  Island. She eventually arrived at La Guaira in
68. 7:41Venezuela where her friend José María Rojas  met her. Eventually she settled in Caracas,
69. 7:49Venezuela. Thanks to the support of  her friends, and her perserverance,
70. 7:55María de las Mercedes Barbudo was able  to continue her business and advocacy.
71. 8:01Puerto Ricans Antonio Valero Bernabé and  Father José María Bonilla were also there,
72. 8:09among many other exiles from the Island who  dreamed of seeing Puerto Rico free. María
73. 8:16de las Mercedes Barbudo died on February 17,  1849 at the age of 76. She was buried in the
74. 8:25Cathedral of Caracas, a place reserved for  people of national importance. This was the
75. 8:32place where  the Liberator, Simon Bolivar was also  originally buried. Her remains still remain there.
76. 8:41Let us know what you think in the comments  section below. Help us to spread this video
77. 8:46by sharing. Don't forget to subscribe and  turn on the notification bell for more videos