Manuel Corchado y Juarbe (September 12, 1840 – November 30, 1884) was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist and politician who defended the abolition of slavery and the establishment of a university in Puerto Rico. Through his written works he criticized the way the people of Puerto Rico were being treated by the island's Spanish-appointed governor. Early years Corchado y Juarbe was born in Arenales Altos, a barrio in the town of Isabela in Puerto Rico. His parents were Juan Eugenio Corchado and Juana Eugenia Juarbe. He received his primary education in the towns of Isabela and Aguadilla. In 1855, his parents sent him to Barcelona, Spain, where he received and finished his secondary education. Corchado y Juarbe later earned a law degree from the University of Barcelona. While living in Barcelona, Corchado y Juarbe, together with José Coll y Britapaja, a fellow Puerto Rican, founded a magazine called "Las Antillas". He used the magazine to make public the social problems in Puerto Rico and what the people of the island were going through. He championed the idea of the establishment of a university and the abolition of slavery. Corchado y Juarbe also criticized and told of the abuses of Lieutenant General Féliz María de Messina Iglesias, the Spanish-appointed governor in the island. Return to Puerto Rico Corchado y Juarbe returned to Puerto Rico and began a column in the newspaper "El Agente". In 1862, he entered a contest sponsored by the Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País de Puerto Rico (the Economic Society of Friends of the Country of Puerto Rico). The "Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País de Puerto Rico" was a branch of the "Sociedad Económica de los Amigos del País", and these were private associations established in various cities throughout Spain and, to a lesser degree, in some of her colonies. In the contest, Corchado y Juarbe won first prize for his poem "Oda a Campeche". His poem was published in various Spanish newspapers and magazines. Corchado y Juarbe also presided over the Ateneo Puertorriqueño (Puerto Rican Athenaeum) for some time. Spanish Courts Corchado y Juarbe was a supporter of the Spanish Revolución of 1868, believing that the Spanish colonies will enjoy more liberties with the establishment of the new regime. In 1871, after the success of the revolution, which established a republican government, he was elected to represent the District of Mayagüez and Puerto Rico before