José Celso Barbosa

Puerto Rican-born physician and politician

• Born: July 27, 1857
• Birthplace: Bayamón, Puerto Rico
• Died: September 21, 1921
• Place of death: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Throughout his life, Barbosa worked in the area of public medicine but also dedicated himself to political reform. First an active member of the Autonomist Party under Spanish rule, Barbosa founded the Republican Party of Puerto Rico, which advocated acceptance of American rule and eventual American statehood.

Early Life

Born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, to Hermógenes Barbosa Tirado and Carmela Alcalá, José Celso Barbosa (SEHL-soh bahr-BOH-sah) was raised mostly by his maternal aunt, Lucía Alcalá. He first attended the local school of Olegario Núñez and then the public elementary school of Gabriel Ferrer Hernández, both in Bayamón. Barbosa then became the first mulatto to be enrolled in the Jesuit minor seminary, which was located in San Juan. He excelled as a student and was awarded his diploma in 1875.

Being from a poor family, Barbosa next tutored younger students, such as the children of José Escolástico Berríos, the owner of the San Antonio Sugar Mill, in order to earn enough money to go to the United States to attend college. At that time, Puerto Rico did not yet have a university. In 1876, he went to New York City to study English, which he learned fairly well in one year’s time, and to pursue studies in law or engineering. He briefly enrolled in the School of Engineering at Fort Edwards, New York, but soon contracted pneumonia. At the urging of his physician, he investigated the possibility of a career in medicine. In 1877, he began his studies in general medicine and surgery at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He completed these studies in 1880 and was honored as the valedictorian of his class.

After taking several months to tour a number of American clinics and hospitals, Barbosa returned to Puerto Rico in October, 1880. There, he encountered difficulties in establishing his medical practice, as the Spanish government would not accept a degree from an American institution. At the request of the American consulate, Spanish officials relented and accepted Barbosa’s medical degree as valid. He began to practice medicine in San Juan just as a smallpox epidemic broke out.

Life’s Work

Barbosa quickly earned the reputation of being an excellent physician and distinguished himself through his use of innovative techniques in treating the smallpox. He was named a staff physician at the Society for Mutual Aid, which put him in contact with poor and often desperately ill patients, whom he treated with respect, kindness, and competence. In 1882, he joined the Liberal Reformist Party, beginning a lifelong involvement in politics.

Barbosa married Belén Sánchez Jiménez in 1886 and was elected as a member of the Liberal Reformist Committee. His increasing interest in the civil affairs of the island led Barbosa to participate in the organizational meeting of the Autonomist Party of Puerto Rico in Ponce in 1887. In 1890, Barbosa was appointed professor of natural history at the Institute of Higher Learning, which was organized under the auspices of the Puerto Rican Athenaeum, where he offered courses in zoology, botany, and mineralogy. Two years later, he was named professor of anatomy and physiology and taught classes in various aspects of anatomy and obstetrics. Seeking greater Puerto Rican political liberties, Barbosa founded the Orthodox (or Pure) Autonomist Party in 1897 and served as undersecretary for public instruction.

With the arrival of American rule, Barbosa was energized to work for a new and more stable system of government and a higher standard of living for all of Puerto Rico’s citizens. He actively supported closer cooperation with American attempts to modernize the island’s health and educational systems and encouraged his fellow Puerto Ricans to embrace the ideals of democracy.

In 1899, Barbosa founded the Republican Party of Puerto Rico, which was dedicated to strengthening the island’s ties to the United States and to obtaining acceptance of Puerto Rico as a state. President William McKinley appointed him a member of the executive cabinet of Governor Charles H. Allen, a position he would hold from 1900 to 1917. Recognizing the need for linguistic and cultural integration, Barbosa founded Puerto Rico’s first bilingual newspaper, El tiempo, in 1907. He deepened his governmental commitments by serving as a member of the senate of Puerto Rico from 1917 until his death in 1921. Barbosa succumbed to cancer in San Juan at the age of sixty-four.

Significance

Not only was Barbosa a powerful supporter of a strong public health system, he also was a dedicated professor who brought advanced scientific learning and medical techniques to Puerto Rico from the United States. Today, he is best remembered as the father of the Puerto Rican statehood movement and as the founder of the Republican Party of Puerto Rico, which worked for American statehood for the island. Puerto Rico’s political status always has been the central issue in the search for Puerto Rican identity; Barbosa’s was one of the most important voices in that debate, under both Spanish and American rule.

Bibliography

Ayala, César J., and Rafael Bernabé. Puerto Rico in the American Century: A History since 1898. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009. Barbosa’s role in the new American system of government is highlighted here, with special attention being given to his efforts to gain U.S. citizenship and statehood for Puerto Ricans.

Cabán, Pedro A. Constructing a Colonial People: Puerto Rico and the United States, 1898-1932. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1999. Describes Barbosa’s political views and activism on behalf of Puerto Rican statehood.

Malavet, Pedro A. America’s Colony: The Political and Cultural Conflict Between the United States and Puerto Rico. New York: New York University Press, 2004. Malavet makes brief mention of Barbosa as a member of the Autonomist movement under Spain and his activities in the pro-statehood movement.