Corozal: The Early Years, 1795-1803
by Luis R. Negrón Hernández
Translated by Ann Shevlin
Article based on documents
found by this
researcher. You will find
documents
from this research at the
Centro Histórico
Turístico del Cibuco, in
Corozal.
(c) CopyRight - Prohibido copiar, reproducir
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Photo: Document from 1803 related to the
founding of Corozal, found by researcher
Luis Negrón Hernández.
Photo: Exhibit for students from Corozal
on the findings related to the town’s founding;
project led by this historical researcher.
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 overnor De la Torre in Corozal in 1824
During his visit to Corozal in 1824, Governor
and Lieutenant General Miguel de la Torre
was informed that Corozal had been founded
in 1795 through the efforts of the proxies
Joaquín Marrero and José de Rivera Ortiz.
The latter, as I will explain in this essay,
was actually the first constitutional mayor
in 1813, not the first official at the time
of the town’s founding. In the documents
that I found in the Archivo General de Puerto Rico, he is mentioned, but as the candidate who
was defeated in the first elections of 1803.
This may be the reason for the confusion
about the historical date.
Ever since then, that date
(1795) has been
cited as the founding date,
even though documented
evidence, unknown until
now - and discovered
by this researcher- points
to the later date.
This is not only the case
in Corozal, but
also in other towns on
the island, where
town governments adopt
earlier dates in order
to increase the antiquity
of their municipalities,
without evidence, corroboration
or research
into the source documents
at the Archivo
General de Puerto Rico.
Pastoral visits by Bishop Zengotita
Beginning on May 31, 1796, the Bishop of the
island, a member of the Order of Mercy, Juan
Bautista Zengotita y Bengoa (1795-1802),
unlike his predecessor Francisco de la Cuerda
y García, began making pastoral visits to
all of the towns on the island, concerned
about the shortage of clergy, the spiritual
well-being of his Christian parishioners,
and the material progress of the parishes.
In none of these church documents, nor in
any government ones, is there mention of
any effort to establish a new town in “the
place of Corozal”.
England attacks Puerto Rico
Toward the end of 1796, the famous English
general Ralph Abercromby tried to capture the island for Great Britain,
with thousands of troops and tens of landing
craft. The bombardment and land assaults
by the British produced panic among the inhabitants
of San Juan, Cangrejos, Puerto Nuevo, Martín
Peña and Río Piedras. The Bishop called off
his visits, mounted his horse, and returned
at top speed to the Fortaleza, where he put
the resources of the clergy and the facilities
of the Church at the Governor's disposition
for any defense effort.
Pepe Díaz, "the King of Spain's
Bravest Soldier"
The urban militia of Toa Alta, to which the "place of Corozal” belonged,
joined the war effort on April 21st. In Martin
Peña, Sergeant Major Pepe Díaz, "the
King of Spain's Bravest Soldier", was
mortally wounded. Many others like him went
down in Puerto Rican history for their acts
of heroism, deeds which, finally, in April
of 1797, brought and end to the attack by
Great Britain.
Zengotita resumed his pastoral
visits and,
in 1799, upon completing
them, perhaps it
was suggested to him that
he establish a
new parish in Corozal,
in the township of
Toa Alta.
The floods along the river and the great
distance of this new town from the church
in Toa gave urgency to the need for a temple
for religious instruction and Eucharistic celebration. Once the process
of creating a new parish and marking off
the boundaries of Vega and Toa Alta had begun,
both of which were requirements for the creation
of a local government, popular elections
were held to choose the first executive for
Corozal in the jurisdiction of Toa Alta.
Photo: Teachers from Corozal visit the traveling
exhibit of documents related to the foundation
of their town. Thousands of pamphlets with
newly discovered historical data were distributed
during the talks given by this researcher
in tens of schools in Corozal.
Marshal De Castro commissions the first elections
in 1803
My research into documents exchanged between
La Fortaleza and Corozal at the beginning
of the 19th century reveals that it was in
1803 that Governor and Field Marshal Ramón
de Castro y Gutiérrez (1795-1804) commissioned
War Lieutenant José Navarro of Vega Alta
to create a new town in “the place of Corozal”.
Navarro, accompanied by the "witnesses
of attendance", took off on horseback
at 9:00 a.m. from Vega Alta, and, upon arriving
six hours later at the rudimentary beginnings
of the new church building (being built from
palm bark), he ordered those assembled there
to bring the townspeople together the next
day for elections.
Only Whites and land owners
The community was to present three "honest
and pure" candidates, from whom the
Governor would appoint the one who received
the largest number of votes.
The voters [access to members of PReb.com only], more
than 150 heads of family --probably all white
and all owners of land, among them several
women-- chose Juan Ortega y Torres, José
de Rivera Ortiz, and Pedro de Rivera Martínez.
The elections were repeated
in the face of
claims by candidate Rivera
Ortiz that there
had been irregularities
and disputes among
the commissioners, particularly
on the part
of the war deputy from
Toa Alta, Bernardino
de Rivera and the proxy
Guillermo Quintero [access to members of PReb.com only]. The Governor, with great patience, proceeded
to hand over this task to a third war deputy,
Juan Correa, from Vega Baja.
Ortega, the first War Deputy
The young Juan de Ortega y Torres remained undefeated, being chosen as the
first War Deputy of Corozal, and he was received
with applause in the town square on Sunday,
September 18, 1803. This is really the year
in which the town was founded.
The old parochial records
from Toa Alta do not indicate the existence of any parish,
hermitage or church at all under the pastoral
jurisdiction in “the place of Corozal”. On
the contrary, the parish books show that
the residents of that jurisdiction from the
“place of Corozal” came to the Toa Alta church
to take part in the sacraments. Nor is there
any mention of the existence of a parish
in Corozal before 1803 in any of the pastoral
visits described in the documents of the
Archdiocesan Archives of the Diocese of San
Juan. In fact, the first book of the parish of
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph” (The Sacred Family)
in Corozal begins with the date 1804, a few
months after the founding of the town. In
his letter of July 14, 1803, Don Juan de
Ortega indicated to the governor Ramón de
Castro that the Ecclesiastic Tribunal and
the Vice-Patronage had agreed upon:
…in mutual agreement the establishment of
a new parish,
with its borders
marked off, at the
insistence
and expense
of the exhibitor,
with the goal of
being
independent of the
other parishes, and
has appealed to the
goodness
of the
Tribunal of Your
Lordship that you
permit
the formation of
a new Town… |
On taking office, First War Lieutenant Juan
de Ortega y Torres immediately set in motion
the process of collecting 30 pesos for the
construction of a jail and the organization
of the urban militias [access to members of PReb.com only], charged
with police duties, as was required at the
time.
Photo to right: parish church of Corozal
The next day, Monday, September 19, Ortega
informed the Governor about the ceremony
in which he took over:
...the job that your Worship has deigned
to put in my
charge, in the new
town of Corozal…
with
the applause
and obedience of
these residents… |
Among his duties, the War Deputy was charged
with maintaining public order, seeing that
state laws and local regulations were enforced,
setting tax rates, submitting monthly reports
to the governor, serving as judge, reading
the king's proclamations to the people, and
promoting commerce and the prosperity of
the township.
The executive power of
the War Lieutenant
would transfer to the Mayor
with the approval
of the First Spanish Constitution.
That document
was ratified by the Cortes
de Cádiz on March
19, 1812, and promulgated
here on July 14
by Governor Salvador Meléndez
(1809-1820).
The War Lieutenant at the
time Don Guillermo
Quintero, honoring Article
310 of the political
Constitution of the Spanish
monarchy regarding
the establishment of City
governments, informed
the Governor that the election
of the first
Constitutional Government
had fallen to Don
José de Rivera Ortiz.
Quintero, the outgoing official, handed over
the Archive of Corozal to Rivera, which consisted
of: two books of Government Circulars, another
of Royal Orders, a directory, protocols of
writings and finances, sales, contracts,
last wills and testaments, a book of requisitions,
letters to the Higher Government, two proclamations
of Good Government, one of ballots and a
copy of the political Constitution of the
Monarchy. In these elections of September
1813, Don José Mariano de Rivera was elected
to the post of City Solicitor, and Don Pedro
de Rivera Martínez, Don Salvador Virella,
Don Juan Mariano de Rivera and Don Francisco
Antonio de Rivera were elected as aldermen.
It is interesting to have
come across - during
a series of conferences
and traveling exhibits
- several of the descendents
of these first
towns people and officials
from Corozal,
still among the families
of today’s municipality
and holding positions in
the town government.
Copies and transcriptions of these documents
- and many additional details heretofore
unknown - have been made available to the
town of Corozal by this researcher in order
to clear up the previous confusion regarding
the founding date and to shed light on the
history of its early years.
* Vea transcripciones de documentos de Corozal
en: Tablas y censos.
** Si tiene información
documental sobre
este tema, puede escribirle
al investigador
Luis Negrón Hernández a
PRih@PReb.com (PRih:
Puerto Rico Investigaciones
Históricas).
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