Juan Prim, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos

Juan Prim

Portrait by Luis Madrazo
Prime Minister of Spain
In office
18 June 1868  27 December 1869
Monarch Francisco Serrano y Domínguez
Preceded by Francisco Serrano y Domínguez
Succeeded by Juan Bautista Topete
Captain General of Puerto Rico
In office
1847–1848
Preceded by Rafael de Aristegui y Velez
Succeeded by Juan de la Pezuela y Cevallos
Personal details
Born Juan Prim y Prats
(1814-12-12)12 December 1814
Reus, Spain
Died 30 December 1870(1870-12-30) (aged 56)
Madrid, Spain
Nationality Spanish
Profession Politician
Signature
Military service
Service/branch Army
Years of service 1834–1868
Rank General
Battles/wars Glorious Revolution
First Carlist War
Crimean War
Awards Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand (3)
Order of the Medjidie
Juan Prim, Spanish general and statesman. Painting by Antonio María Esquivel
Monument to Prim sculpted by Josep Llimona in Reus
Assassination of Juan Prim (drawing by Pierre Méjanel)

Juan Prim y Prats, 1st Marquis of Los Castillejos, 1st Count of Reus, 1st Viscount of El Bruch, Grandee of Spain, (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxwam ˈpɾin i ˈpɾats], Catalan: Joan Prim i Prats [ʒuˈam ˈpɾim i ˈpɾats]; 12 December 1814 30 December 1870) was a Spanish general and statesman who was briefly Prime Minister of Spain until his assassination.

Life

Prim was the son of lieutenant colonel Pablo Prim. He entered the free corps known as the volunteers of Isabella II in 1834, and in the course of the Carlist War he rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and had two orders of knighthood conferred upon him. After the pacification of 1839, as a progressist opposed to the dictatorship of General Espartero, he was sent into exile. However, in 1843 he was elected deputy for Tarragona, and after defeating Espartero at Bruch he entered Madrid in triumph with General Serrano. The regent Maria Christina promoted him major-general, and made him conde de Reus (Count of Reus) and vizconde del Bruch (Viscount of El Bruch).[1]

General Narváez, the prime minister, failed to understand what constitutional freedom meant, and General Prim, on showing signs of opposition, was sentenced to six years' imprisonment in the Philippine Islands. The sentence was not carried out, and Prim remained an exile in England and France until the amnesty of 1847. He then returned to Spain, and was first employed as captain-general of Puerto Rico (Governor of Puerto Rico) and afterwards as military representative with the sultan during the Crimean War. In 1854 he was elected to the cortes, and gave his support to General O'Donnell, who promoted him lieutenant-general in 1856. In the war with Morocco he did such good service at Castillejos (Fnideq), Cabo Negro, Guad al Gelu and Campamento in 1860 that he was made marqués de los Castillejos (Marquis of Los Castillejos) and Grande de España (Grandee of Spain).[1]

Prim commanded the Spanish army in Mexico when it refused to consent to the ambitious schemes of Napoleon III. On his return to Spain he joined the opposition, heading pronunciamentos in Catalonia against generals Narváez and O'Donnell. All his attempts failed until the death of Narváez in April 1868, after which Queen Isabella fell more and more under the influence of the Jesuits, and became increasingly tyrannical, until at last even Serrano was exiled. In September 1868 General Serrano and General Prim returned, and Brigadier Topete, commanding the fleet, raised the standard of revolt at Cádiz. In July 1869 General Serrano was elected regent, and Prim became president of the council and was made a marshal.

"Amadeo I in front of the coffin of General Prim (1870)" by Antonio Gisbert

On 6 November 1870 Amadeo, Duke of Aosta, was elected king of Spain, but General Prim, on leaving the chamber of the Cortes on 28 December, was shot by unknown assassins and died two days later. The Cortes took his children as wards of the country; three days afterwards King Amadeo I swore in the presence of the corpse to observe the new Spanish constitution.[1] This is due to the fact that Prim had searched all the European courts of the time trying to find a monarch who was not opposed to being democratically elected. He is quoted for saying that "looking for a democratic monarch in Europe is like trying to find an atheist in heaven". Amadeo of Savoy was the most fitting that consented.

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References

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Juan Prim.
Preceded by
Rafael De Aristegui y Velez
Governor of Puerto Rico
1847-1848
Succeeded by
Juan De La Pezuela y Cevallos
Preceded by
Francisco Serrano y Domínguez, Duke de la Torre
Prime Minister of Spain
1868-1869
Succeeded by
Juan Bautista Topete y Carballo
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