Fernando Heydrich Klein (26 January 1827 – April 1, 1903) was a German businessman, politician, engineer and sculptor who lived in

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. Builder of the Aqueduct of Matanzas, he was politically engaged, playing a significant role during the

Ten Years' War The Ten Years' War (; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. On 10 October 1868, sugar mil ...

in Cuba. Married to Maria-Candelaria Martínez y Valdez, he was father of American Consul Alfredo Heydrich and

Emilio Heydrich Emilio Heydrich Martínez (Cuba 1861 – Barcelona 1947), was a German-Cuban merchant, entrepreneur and landowner, son of Fernando Heydrich Klein and María-Candelaria Martínez y Valdés. Heydrich was married to Antonia Cubero y Casals and their ...

; he was also an ancestor of the artists

Daniel Garbade Daniel Garbade (born 1957) is a Spanish painter, illustrator, art director, property master and publisher. Born in Switzerland from Swiss-Cuban origins, Garbade is the grand-nephew of Adrien Lachenal, great-grandchild of Cuban sculptor Fernando ...

and Juan Esnard Heydrich. He died in 1903, and was laid to rest at the Necropolis San Carlos Borromeo, Matanzas.

Aqueduct of Matanzas

In 1845, Manuel del Portillo successfully initiated the idea of an aqueduct for the supply of drinking water to Matanzas. Francis Albear y Lara, the engineer and chief, also encountered resistance. When Juan F. Sanchez and Bárcena also failed in a similar project, Fernando Heydrich proposed his own project together with G. Fabra and Cabanillas and his company, Heydrich & Cie, and received the order in 1870 to build a water channel from the springs of Manantial Bello y Benavides to Matanzas. They exploited the aqueduct til 1912. It still stands as a landmark of the city, and was chosen as a monument of the nation in 2005.

Industry

Heydrich was one of the first producers of

Sisal Sisal (, ; ''Agave sisalana'') is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The sisal fiber is ...

on the island. With his son Alfredo and his company Heydrich and Raffoler & Cie, he requested the

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

, which he finally got after a long dispute and thus began a new kind of production in Cuba.

Politics

During the

insurrection Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

of the

rebels A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...

during the

, Fernando Heydrich played an essential role as founder and president of the ''Compania de Alemane''s, also called the “Club Alemán”. Their task was the founding of a

volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

corps /

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

to protect the goods of German and other foreign merchants. He received the explicit consent from

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

through a telegram to Consul Luis Will, in 1869, under the condition of preserving neutrality.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heydrich, Fernando 1827 births 1903 deaths Emigrants from the Kingdom of Prussia People of the Ten Years' War 19th-century German sculptors 19th-century Cuban sculptors 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century Cuban sculptors German male sculptors Cuban politicians Cuban male artists