Abbad y Lasierra, Íñigo (1745–1813)

Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra (b. 17 April 1745; d. 24 October 1813), author of the first history of Puerto Rico, Historia geográfica, civil y natural de la Isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico (1788). Born in Lérida, Spain, Abbad was educated at the monastery of Santa María la Real in Nájera, Spain. A Benedictine, he went to Puerto Rico in 1772 as confessor to the bishop Manuel Jiménez Pérez. He died in Valencia, Spain.

In the nineteenth century, Abbad's history underwent two editions, in 1831 and 1866. The latter edition, corrected and annotated by the Puerto Rican scholar José Julián Acosta, is still considered a valuable source of information. In 1959, the University of Puerto Rico reissued Abbad's work with an introduction by the historian Isabel Gutiérrez del Arroyo. Historia geográfica, civil y natural de la isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico was republished in 2002 jointly by Editorial Doce Calles (Madrid) and Centro de Investigaciones Históricos (Puerto Rico). Also recently republished by Miraguano Ediciones (Madrid) was Diario del viaje a América.

See alsoAcosta, José de .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Information on Abbad can be found in Kenneth R. Farr, Historical Dictionary of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (1973); Esther M. Melón De Díaz, Puerto Rico: Figuras, apuntes históricos, símbolos nacionales (1975); and Adolfo De Hostos, Diccionario histórico bibliográfico comentado de Puerto Rico (1976).

                              Olga JimÉnez de Wagenheim