José Morales Lemus (May 10, 1808 – June 28, 1870) was a Cuban revolutionary, merchant and lawyer.
Biography José Gregorio Morales Lemus was born in Gibara, Holguín Province, Spanish Cuba on May 10, 1808.Guerra, R. (1972). Guerra de los 10 [i.e. diez] años. Spain: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales. His origins trace back to the Canary Islands through his parents.Encyclopedia of Cuba: People, History, Culture. (2003). United Kingdom: Greenwood Press. He spent his childhood and received his early education in Havana.Castellanos G., C. G. (1935). Panorama histórico: ensayo de cronología cubana, desde 1492 hasta 1933. Cuba: Ucar, García y cía..
Morales Lemus completed his legal education and was admitted to practice law in 1835.The Old Franklin Almanac for .... (1866). United States: John Haslett.The American Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year .... (1871). United States: D. Appleton. As a lawyer, he worked in the Havana district of the Real Audiencia, which was the highest judicial body in Spanish colonies, including Cuba.Guia de forasteros de la siempre fiel isla de Cuba. (1861). Cuba: Imprenta del Gobierno y capitanía general por S.M..
In the mid-1860s, he served as both a director and magistrate for the Sagua La Grande Railway, established in 1863 and based in Havana.The Joint stock companies' directory. (1867). United Kingdom: (n.p.).
In 1863, he established the periodical El Siglo () in Havana to advocate for reforms in Cuba.Coester, A. (1919). The Literary History of Spanish America. United States: Macmillan. In 1866, the government of Isabella II appointed a commission to assess the situation in Cuba.Bradford, R. H. (1980). The Virginius Affair. United States: Colorado Associated University Press. Leading a deputation of reformists including José Antonio Saco and Nicholas AzcarateSpecial Warfare Area Handbook for Cuba. (1961). United States: Department of the Army. to Madrid, Morales Lemus sought to negotiate their positions on the Spanish colonial administration of the colonies.Cuba Before the United States: Remarks on the Hon. Chas. Sumner's Speech, Delivered at the Republican Convention of Massachusetts, the 22d September, 1869. (1869). United States: Styles & Cash, Printers. The delegation pushed for economic and political reforms as well as the abolition of slavery.Guerra-Vilaboy, S., Loyola-Vega, O. (2015). Cuba: A History. United Kingdom: Ocean Press. On April 27, 1867, the Cuban delegation's hearings concluded with the Ministry of Overseas () rejecting all reform proposals and subsequently imposing a higher tax.Franqui-Rivera, H. (2018). Soldiers of the Nation: Military Service and Modern Puerto Rico, 1868-1952. (n.p.): University of Nebraska Press. When the talks did not produce the desired outcomes, he decided to join the Ten Years' War, Cuba's first war of independence against Spain in 1868.Boykin, J. H. (1979). World Blacks, Self Help and Achievement: Handbook of Some of the Achievements of Black People. United States: J.H. Boykin.
Morales Lemus was a founding member of the Revolutionary Committee of Havana along with Miguel Aldama, Antonio Fernández Bramosio, José Manuel Mestre, and José Antonio Echeverría.Astolpho, oder, Die Räuberhöhle. (1804). Germany: Bey Karl Christoph Stiller.
Upon fleeing Cuba in 1869, he was appointed president of the Cuban Junta in New York.Moore, J. B. (1898). History. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office. In the United States, the junta handled the financial and business affairs of the Republic of Cuba in Arms.
When the government was formed on April 10, 1869, Morales Lemus was assigned to the Diplomatic corps of the Republic of Cuba in Arms.Piron, H. (1876). L'île de Cuba: Santiago--Puerto-Principe--Matanzas Et la Havane. France: E. Plon et cie. At Berrocal in Artemisa, Morales Lemus was appointed as Envoy extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States by President Carlos Manuel de Céspedes.Correspondence Between the Department of State and the United States Minister at Madrid, and the Consular Representatives of the United States in the Island of Cuba: And Other Papers Relating to Cuban Affairs, Transmitted to the House of Representatives in Obedience to a Resolution. (1870). United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.
On April 15, 1869, Captain General Domingo Dulce ordered an embargo on the property of Morales Lemus and 15 others, including Nestor Ponce de Leon and José María Mora, for aiding the insurrection.
Morales Lemus, Col. William A.C. Ryan, and others were indicted on April 16, 1869, by the Federal Grand Jury of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for violating the Neutrality Act of 1818 by initiating a military expedition in Cuba on May 1, 1869.House documents. (1895). (n.p.): (n.p.).Nevins, A. (1957). Hamilton Fish: The Inner History of the Grant Administration. United States: F. Ungar Publishing Company. Receiving news of the indictment and arrest warrant, Morales Lemus turned himself in and was released on bail.
When the Junta issued a 100-peso bond on June 1, 1869, to fund the Cuban uprising against Spanish colonial rule, it was signed by Morales Lemus.Obsolete American Securities and Corporations. (1904). United States: R. M. Smythe. The Spanish colonial government seized the stocks, bonds, and securities by the close of 1870.Pérez, L. A. (2012). On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture. United States: University of North Carolina Press.
Death José Morales Lemus died on June 28, 1870, in Brooklyn, New York.Piñeyro, E., Ripoll, C. (1970). Morales Lemus y la revolución de Cuba. United States: Unión de Cubanos en el Exilio.
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