Friar Juan Damián López de Haro (September 27, 1581 - August 24, 1648)[1] was a member of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and served as Bishop of Puerto Rico in 1644. He is known for expressing his disillusionment on Puerto Rico's dilapidated colony status in letters and poems written to Spanish officials.[2]
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López de Haro was born in Toledo, Spain on September 27, 1581, where he was baptized on the same day. He enrolled in Religious studies in 1599, majoring in philosophy at the convent in Toledo. He later majored in Theology continuing his studies in Salamanca.[3]
López de Haro was appointed Bishop of Puerto Rico on February 9, 1643, confirmed on June 13, ordained as bishop on February 14, 1644, and installed upon his arrival to Puerto Rico on July 13, 1644.[1] Upon his arrival, López de Haro began to express his overall dislike with the conditions of the Colony of Puerto Rico at that time and convened a Synod.
In his final years as Bishop, López de Haro began visiting annexed regions of the diocese in what is now Venezuela. During this trip, he contracted Yellow Fever and died on Margarita Island on August 24, 1644, after only 4 years as Bishop.[3]
During his tenure, López de Haro wrote extensively maintaining correspondence with numerous dignitaries. Of the most notable are King Philip IV, and Juan Diez de la Calle, a clerk of the secretary of New Spain of the Council of the Indies (in Madrid). In his letters to King Philip were descriptions of the state of the diocese on both the Island of Puerto Rico, City of San Juan Bautista, and annexes.[4]
In his letters to Juan Dias de la Calle, López de Haro is seen expressing his dissatisfaction with colonial conditions of Puerto Rico, and his distaste of white settlers' chivalrous hypocrisy.[4]
López de Haro has also written some of the first recordings of Taíno folk tales[5] and his writings are the only known historical description of Puerto Rico in the mid-seventeenth century.[3]