Mathias Brugman (birth name: Mathias Brugman Duliebre) (January 3, 1811 – September 30, 1868), a.k.a. Mathias Bruckman, was a leader in
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
's independence revolution against Spain known as
El Grito de Lares (English: ''The Cry of Lares'').
Early years
Brugman's father was Pierre Brugman from
Curaçao
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela.
Curaçao includ ...
of
Dutch–
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
Sephardic
Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
ancestry and his mother, Isabel Duliebre from Puerto Rico. They met and married in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
where Brugman was born, raised and educated.
The Brugman family moved to Puerto Rico and settled in the City of
Mayagüez where Mathias met and married Ana Maria Laborde. He opened a ''colmado'' (grocery store) and became rather successful, only to lose a good part of his fortune attempting to grow coffee. Like many other residents of Puerto Rico at the time, he resented the political injustices practiced by Spain on the island. This led him to become a believer in the cause of the Puerto Rican independence movement.
Independence advocate
Brugman admired independence advocates
Ramón Emeterio Betances and
Segundo Ruiz Belvis. It was this admiration which inspired him to become an outspoken advocate for Puerto Rico's independence.
In his Colmado, people would normally gather on a daily basis to discuss politics. Brugman eventually befriended
Manuel Rojas and his brother Miguel and together with his son, Hector joined them in a conspiracy to revolt against Spain. Together, with a group of other patriots, they formed revolutionary committees. These committees were mainly based on the west coast towns of Puerto Rico. The first revolutionary committee formed was Mathias Brugman's in Mayagüez. He used his Colmado as his headquarters and his cell was code named: "Capa Prieta" (Black Cape). Manuel Rojas committee in Lares was code named "Centro Bravo" (Bravo Center).
El Grito de Lares
On September 23, 1868, the revolution began and the town of Lares was taken in what was to be known as El "
Grito de Lares" (English: ''Cry of Lares''). The revolutionists declared Puerto Rico to be the free "Republic of Puerto Rico". However, the Spanish were already forewarned and soon defeated the small Army of liberators.
Mathias Brugman, his son Hector and Baldomero Baurer (a fellow revolutionist) went into hiding. Many of the others were either killed or imprisoned, including Manuel Rojas and
Mariana Bracetti.
Breve historia del Grito de Lares
/ref> On September 30, 1868, a farm worker, Francisco Quiñones, who worked in the Asunción Plantation, betrayed Brugman, his son and Baurer and led the Spanish authorities to where they were hiding. The men refused to surrender and eventually were executed. Mathias Brugman died in the town of Yauco, Puerto Rico
Yauco () is a Yauco barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the Yauco barrio-pueblo, downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco ...
in 1868.
See also
*List of Puerto Ricans
This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are included, as the governm ...
* Jewish immigration to Puerto Rico
* History of the Jews in Puerto Rico
References
External links
Brugman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brugman, Mathias
1811 births
1868 deaths
Activists from New Orleans
Puerto Rican Jews
Puerto Rican rebels
Imprisoned Puerto Rican independence activists
Puerto Rican people of Dutch descent
19th-century Puerto Rican politicians
19th-century Sephardi Jews