José María Cabal

Biography

José María Cabal José María Cabal Barona (Guadalajara de Buga, 25 May 1769 – Popayán, 19 August 1816) was a Neogranadine military and political leader who fought in the Colombian War of Independence. Born in 1769 into a noble, landowning family, Cabal received his primary education at the Colegio Seminario de Popayán. In 1792, he moved to Santafé de Bogotá to study law. There, he became involved in literary circles that embraced the ideals of the Enlightenment. In 1794, Cabal was arrested for possessing translated copies of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and was exiled to Spain. He was acquitted and traveled through Spain and then France, where he pursued his studies in botany and mineralogy, which became lifelong passions. In 1809, Cabal returned to New Granada after 14 years abroad...

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