Manuel Matamoros García (1834–1866) was a leading

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Protestant.

Biography

Matamoros was born in

Lepe Lepe is a Spanish town in the province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is near the Portuguese border. According to the 2022 census, the city has a population of 28,617 inhabitants. Economy Until the late 1970s its econom ...

in Huelva as the son of a lieutenant colonel in the Spanish Artillery and he was brought up at

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

in Andulusia. He studied from 1850 to 1853 at the Military Academy in Toledo. He became enthusiastic about

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

ism following figures such as Francisco de Paula Ruet and Antonio Vallespinosa and he is said to have been converted in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. In a strict

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

country he was sentenced in

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

to eight years and banned from being a teacher. The sentence was not for being a Protestant but for spreading propaganda that encouraged others (proselitism). Eleven others were acquitted whilst his co-defendant José Alhama Teva was given nine years. Matamoros and Teva's sentences were eventually commuted to exile. In May 1863 they were attending the

Gibraltar Methodist Church The Gibraltar Methodist Church is part of the South East District of the Methodist Church of Great Britain. It has a long history associated with the development of British Gibraltar, and it has greatly strengthened its ties with the local populat ...

.History
, Gibraltar Methodist Church, accessed December 2012 Matamoros went to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and finally died in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He has been described as the founder of Spanish Protestantism and a symbol of religious freedom.Manual Matamoros
Filosofia.org, English translation, accessed December 2012 Matamoros died in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

Legacy

Matamoros left behind an extensive collection of

Carte de Visite The ''carte de visite'' (, English: 'visiting card', abbr. 'CdV', pl. ''cartes de visite'') was a format of small photograph which was patented in Paris by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854, although first used by Louis Dodero ...

for Protestants he had met in Lausanne, Gibraltar and elsewhere. These provide an insight into who he knew. For instance there is a card for Rev. William Harris Rule, a Methodist minister who had tried unsuccessfully to introduce Protestantism into Spain twenty years before Matamoros.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matamoros, Manuel 1834 births 1866 deaths People from the Province of Huelva Spanish Protestants Converts to Protestantism