Juan Alejandro Acosta

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Acosta and the second or maternal family name is Bustamante.

Bust of Juan Alejandro Acosta in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Juan Alejandro Acosta Bustamante (1813–1886) was born in Baní into a locally prominent family. At the age of sixteen, Acosta became a good friend of Juan Pablo Duarte. Acosta became a member of the secret patriotic society, La Trinitaria (The Trinity). He commanded the brigantine Leonor, the first ship to fly the Dominican flag. Acosta commanded various Dominican warships during the fighting against Haiti. He opposed annexation of the Dominican Republic to another nation and was expelled from the Dominican Republic by Buenaventura Báez. He died in poverty.

Early years

He was born in Baní, Dominican Republic in 1813. He is the son of Francisco Acosta and María Baltasara de los Reyes. Committed to the activities of the Triniatrios, he signed the independence manifesto of 16 January 1844.

Participation in the Dominican Navy

Main article: Dominican Navy

At the time of the Haitian capitulation, on the 28 February 1844, he had to allay fears that worried the residents of Monte Grande about the abolition of slavery in the process that had begun. He was founder of the Dominican Navy along with Juan Bautista Cambiaso. In March, he piloted the schooner La Leonor, which interrupted Juan Pablo Duarte's exile in Curaçao; That was the first time he waved the national flag on foreign beaches. When President Jean-Louis Pierrot decreed a patent of marque against the Navy, it was able to survive due to the expertise of its founders.

Later military career

He distinguished himself in different naval combats. In 1849 he led the offensive squadron against Emperor Soulouque's positions in Petit Riviere, Dame Marie and in the Keys Inlet. He later participated on the revolutionary side in July 1857 against Buenaventura Báez. Some several years later, when Pedro Santana proclaimed annexation to Spain in March 1861, disagreeing with his military chief's move, he remained neutral. A decade later, On November 9, 1871, in Curacao, he supported Pedro Antonio Pimentel by signing a manifesto against the annexation to the United States that Báez intended to make.

Death

He died in Santo Domingo in 1886 with the rank of brigadier general.