Biography of Eugenio María de Hostos | Politician, educator.

(Eugenio María de Hostos y Bonilla; Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, 1839 - Santo Domingo, 1903) politician, educator and Puerto Rican writer. Austere and liberal-minded man whose thinking was influenced krausism and positivism, María Eugenio de Hostos devoted his life to a double ideal: the independence of his homeland and the education of the people.

Eugenio María de Hostos

Hostos dreamed of a free Antillean Confederation as the basis for a free and United America, and this was dedicated hard since their days of student in Spain; He saw in popular education improving the Foundation of a future of freedom and justice, and along an itinerant life that led him to travel across the continent, lavished his work of educational renewal everywhere.

Biography

After having followed the primary school in the capital of his native country, María Eugenio de Hostos traveled in 1852 to Spain to complete his academic training. He studied in Bilbao and Madrid, where he graduated in law and took contact with the various krausistas groups that encouraged Madrid cultural life in the second half of the 19th century.

Krausism determined, from then on, the philosophical, pedagogical and political paths that would develop their intellectual activity; and so, supporter of the independence of the West Indian colonies, believed possible a large overseas Federation, which called the Republic in those lares. Become champion of the West Indian independence movement, María Eugenio de Hostos gave at the Ateneo de Madrid several dream lectures that would be captured by Galdós in the historical novel Prim (1906), belonging to the fourth series of the Episodios nacionales. He trusted that the first Spanish Republic (1873-1874) would give freedom to his country, and left Spain when she saw their hopes dashed.

Then for the illustrious Puerto Rican began a life of pilgrimage, of propaganda, fight for his ideals. Returned to Latin America, he was part of the Cuban revolutionary Junta created in New York and directed its journalistic organ, The revolution. Subsequently, María Eugenio de Hostos toured South America to spread their liberal ideas, directed in Venezuela the National College of Asuncion, and founded in Santo Domingo called Normal School, to dump is full in a relentless teaching activity (1879-1888) which then spread over Chile between the years 1889 and 1899.

Fruit, in part, of this selfless work, were the two treaties of Sociology published in 1883 and 1901. Hostos proposed a liberal education that leads to a moral progress and made possible the development of democratic institutions in Latin America. Back to his homeland, he was appointed head of the Commission's claim in United States Puerto Rico independence within a Confederation of the three large West Indian Islands. But the Spanish domination had been replaced by the North American, and broken the illusion of see his country free, emigrated back to Santo Domingo, where he devoted the rest of his days to his educational and cultural work.

Eugenio de Hostos

María Eugenio de Hostos concern for ethics was embodied in the trial social morality (1888), and his early legalist vocation, in lessons of constitutional law (1887). Also is the author of three trials: biography of Placido (1872), public about Cuba letters (1895) and meditating (1909), posthumous work collecting his famous essay on Hamlet. In the field of literary creation, Hostos gave printing in 1863 symbolic novel entitled Bayoán pilgrimage, where its pro-independence postulates left embodied. His complete works (20 volumes) was published in 1939.

Works of Eugenio María de Hostos

Hostos, very extensive and varied production, includes many more titles than the previously featured, and despite such diversity, is headed mostly by those same ideals of freedom in the political arena and humanism in the educational that always guided your life path. It can be said even of works that, within his wide bibliography, could be described as literary.

If ever considered their literary as it is of secondary interest, this is not due to lack of skills or quality: his first work in prose, the singular novel entitled the pilgrimage of Bayoán, written in 1863 in Spain, has an interesting poetical and symbolic content that heralded a great literary future, within the current romantic writer. The story represents the union of the Antilles, embodied in different characters carrying indigenous names: Bayoán is Puerto Rico; Marien is Cuba; Guarionex is Santo Domingo. The depth of thought and ideas exhibition reveal already in this first text of Hostos refined love of America and its concern for the future of the West Indies.

This first group of literary works includes other two unpublished novels: the novel of life and spider's Web. Eugenio de Hostos also wrote some poetic compositions and a neo-classical poem entitled the birth of the new world. Then wrote some stories and comedies for children (stories to my son, 1878), but wasn't there: their literary illusions of youth would be soon considered by the author as leisures unfit man called to higher purposes patriotic and human.

The bulk of the work of Hostos trials of different thematic comprise it: ethics, sociology, law or literature. In this area his most far-reaching book is titled social morality (1888), fruit of the classes issued during his stay in Santo Domingo, from 1879 to 1888. Hostos followed the philosophical trends positivists of the time in which his thought was formed, but sometimes recalls the krausist current introduced into Spain by Julián Sanz del Río. On social morality, Hostos exposed, anyway, an own and original conception of ethics in the relations of man with the society.

Other trials of teaching type of Hostos, as the Treaty of Sociology (1901), had the same origin, because they come from his teaching in Santo Domingo; they are also noteworthy titles as in the exhibition and the birthplace of America. Through its solid scientific structure protrude their lessons in constitutional law (1887), awarded at the national exhibition of Guatemala in 1897; its Evolutionary geography (1895) and the aforementioned Treaty of Sociology (1901).

This gives an idea of the importance of the Puerto Rican polygraph, but its activity covers still more aspects: collected impressions of their long journey through South America on my trip to the South; He is the author of a biography of the Cuban Francisco Vicente Aguilera, who published in Caracas; of a biography of Placido, published in Chile in 1872; public about Cuba letters (1895), the lyrics and music of a hymn to Borinquen and other many works.

His studies of literary criticism, finally, include Romeo and Juliet (Barcelona, 1867) and Hamlet (Santiago de Chile, 1872), one of his essays of interest. The Confederation of American States, held in Lima in 1938, posthumously proclaimed "Citizen of America" Hostos, still appreciated as illustrious polygraph and the brightest educators in Latin America.

Extracted from the website: Biografías y Vidas