José Coll y Cuchí
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José Coll y Cuchí (January 12, 1877-July 2, 1960) born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, was a lawyer, writer and the founder of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party.
Coll y Cuchí came from a well-to-do family that taught him about the value and benefits of a good education. His family was able to afford the luxury of sending him to private schools for his primary and secondary education.
In 1896, Coll y Cuchí's family sent him to Spain where he earned his degree in law from the University of Barcelona. During his stay in Spain, he came into contact and became involved with the island's independence movement.
When Coll y Cuchí returned to Puerto Rico, he found himself with a totally different political situation. The island which once belonged to the Spanish Crown was now an American territory. This came about as part of the accord of the Treaty of Paris as a consequence of the outcome of the Spanish-American War.
In 1904, he joined the Puerto Rican Republican Party and was elected to the Puerto Rican Chamber of Delegates. Believing that Puerto Rico's identity as a nation was threaten by the Foraker Law, he decided to the join Puerto Rican Union Party headed by Antonio R. Barceló and was reelected to the Chamber of Delegates in 1908. As member of the Chamber, he led the fight against the Foraker Law, also known as the Organic Act of 1900, which was imposed upon the island by the United States Government.
By 1919, Coll y Cuchí felt that the Union Party wasn't doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rico and he and some followers departed from the party and formed the Nationalist Association of Puerto Rico in San Juan. During that time there were two other organizations that were pro-independence, they were the Nationalist Youth and the Independence Association.
On September 17, 1922, the three political organizations joined forces and formed the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and Coll y Cuchí was elected president. Under Coll y Cuchí's presidency, the party was able to convince the Puerto Rican Legislature Assembly to approve an act that would permit the transfer of the mortal remains of Puerto Rican patriot Ramón Emeterio Betances from Paris, France to Puerto Rico. Betances' remains arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico on August 5, 1920 and a funeral caravan organized by the Nationalist Party transferred the remains from the capital to the town of Cabo Rojo where he was laid to rest. In 1924 Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos joined the party and was named vice-president.
By 1930, there were some disagreements between Coll y Cuchí and Albizu as to how the party should be run. As a result Coll y Cuchí abandoned the party and some of his followers returned to the Union Party. On May 11, 1930, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos was elected president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party.
Coll y Cuchí never abandoned his pro-independence ideals and continued to be active in the independence cause. Among his written works are the following:
- The Secular Issues of the Jewish People
- America's Doctrine
- Nationalism in Puerto Rico (1923}
José Coll y Cuchí died in Santurce, Puerto Rico on July 2, 1960.
