Antonio Zambrana (June 19, 1846 - March 27, 1922) was a Cuban lawyer,

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

, writer, and politician.

Biography

Antonio Zambrana was born in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Spanish Cuba The Captaincy General of Cuba () was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire created in 1607 as part of Habsburg Spain's attempt to better defend and administer its Caribbean possessions. The reform also established captaincies general ...

on June 19, 1846. Zambrana's early education was guided by

José de la Luz y Caballero José Cipriano de la Luz y Caballero (July 11, 1800 – June 22, 1862) was a Cuban scholar, acclaimed by José Martí as "the father ... the silent founder" of Cuban intellectual life of the 19th century. Interest in Luz's work was revived around ...

at his El Salvador school (). He later pursued legal studies and earned his doctorate in 1867.

Ten Years' War

When 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 ...

erupted in October 1868, Zambrana threw his support behind 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 ...

against Spanish authority. He was a member of the Central Assembly of Representatives (). Zambrana and fellow signatories

Salvador Cisneros Betancourt Salvador Cisneros y Betancourt (February 10, 1828 – February 28, 1914) was a Cuban revolutionary and statesman, who was the only Cuban to become the president of the Republic of Cuba (1902–1959), Republic of Cuba twice. Early life Salvador C ...

, Eduardo Agramonte,

Ignacio Agramonte Ignacio Agramonte y Loynaz (23 December 1841 – 11 May 1873) was a Cuban revolutionary, who played an important part in the Ten Years' War (1868–1878). Biography Born in Puerto del Príncipe (known as Camagüey) on December 23, 1841, to a w ...

, and Francisco Sánchez Betancourt endorsed the Decree of Abolition of Slavery () in Camagüey on February 26, 1869. On April 10, 1869, he participated in the

Guáimaro Guáimaro is a town and municipality in the southern part of Camagüey Province in Cuba. It is located between the cities of Camagüey and Las Tunas (city), Las Tunas. History Guáimaro features prominently in Cuban history as the place where in 1 ...

Assembly as a delegate of Camagüey and was elected

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. Zambrana and

were designated to draft the proposal of the Guáimaro Constitution. On April 11, the Assembly set up the government with Salvador Cisneros Betancourt as president and Zambrana and Agramonte as

secretaries A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, Personal assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project manageme ...

. In

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

found Zambrana and other members of the

Cuban Junta The Cuban Junta was a group of Cuban nationalists that advocated for Cuban independence before and during the Spanish-American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898). The Junta was primarily made up of naturalized Cubans located in the United States. ...

of New York guilty of treason and rebellion, with a death sentence by

garrote A garrote ( ; alternatively spelled as garotte and similar variants)''Oxford English Dictionary'', 11th Ed: garrotte is normal British English spelling, with single r alternate. Article title is US English spelling variant. or garrote vil () is ...

pending if they were captured by Spanish authorities. Seeking support for Cuban Independence, he went to the United States in 1873. During his time in New York, created various newspapers and published ''La República de Cuba''. Following extensive preparations and fundraising, Zambrana and Gen. Manuel de Quesada traveled to Latin American countries including Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, and Peru. He wrote ''El Negro Francisco'', an antislavery novel which was published in 1875 in

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

. He soon established himself in Costa Rica, working as both a jurist and professor. On February 5, 1883, the Alvarez-Zambrana treaty between the Republic of Nicaragua and the Republic of Costa Rica was established. Zambrana was appointed as

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

Próspero Fernández Oreamuno Juan Primitivo Próspero Fernández Oreamuno (July 18, 1834 – March 12, 1885) was President of Costa Rica from 1882 to 1885. Fernández studied philosophy at the University of San Carlos of Guatemala before embarking on a military career. ...

, President of the Republic of Costa Rica. In 1886, he returned to Cuba and founded the newspaper ''El Cubano'' in Havana. In 1891, he returned to

San José, Costa Rica San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital city, capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of San José Province. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Costa Rican Central Valley, Central Valley, wi ...

, where he continued his work in law and education. He worked as a lawyer for

Antonio Maceo Lt. General José Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales (June 14, 1845December 7, 1896) was a Cuban general and second-in-command of the Cuban Liberation Army, Cuban Army of Independence. Fellow Cubans gave Maceo the nickname "The Bronze Tit ...

, who established himself as a sugar planter in

Nicoya Nicoya is a Districts of Costa Rica, district and head city of the Nicoya (canton), Nicoya canton, in the Guanacaste Province, Guanacaste province of Costa Rica, located on the Nicoya Peninsula. It is one of the country's most important tourism, ...

.Foner, P. S. (1989). Antonio Maceo: The “Bronze Titan” of Cuba’s Struggle for Independence. United Kingdom: Monthly Review Press. His most distinguished work was developed at the

University of Costa Rica The University of Costa Rica (Spanish: ''Universidad de Costa Rica,'' abbreviated UCR) is a public university in the Republic of Costa Rica, in Central America. Its main campus, Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, is located in San Pedro Mo ...

School of Law, where he taught

Legal History Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it has changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilizations and operates in the wider context of social history. Certain jurists and his ...

and

Roman Law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

. Zambrana was the first person in Costa Rica to author texts on Roman Law. He also held the role of Dean at the Law School. Appointed by the Costa Rican Congress in 1904, he assumed the role of

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

within the

Court of cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...

of Costa Rica's Supreme Court of Justice. Following his re-election in 1908, he continued in his role until resigning in 1911, at which point he departed Costa Rica.

Death

Antonio Zambrana died in Havana, Cuba on March 27, 1922.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zambrana, Antonio 1833 births 1922 deaths 19th-century Cuban military personnel People of the Ten Years' War Cuban politicians Cuban Freemasons