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he historical details of Juan Bautista Cam-
biaso, a native of Genoa, Italy, and a nat-
uralized Dominican, are little known in
the Dominican Republic. It is said that
he arrived when very young in the eastern part of
the island of Santo Domingo and in the company of
his brother Luis, and that both established residence
in the first European city of the Americas. As time
went by, Bautista became an appreciated “skillful
and experienced sailor.” He cultivated and main-
tained a close friendship with the main members of
the politically motivated, secret society La Trinitar-
ia, especially with its founder Juan Pablo Duarte. In
September 1844, Duarte, leader of the revolution
for independence, was imprisoned in Puerto Plata;
from there he was transferred to the city of Santo
Domingo, along with Juan Isidro Pérez and other
companions, on the schooner Separación Domin-
icana under the command of General Cambiaso,
who, as José Gabriel García has pointed out, “was
not responsible for the turn of events, nor was it in his hands to evade it.” However, “he behaved like a
gentleman with the illustrious prisoner and contributed with everything that depended on him to make his
situation less unpleasant than what fate had apportioned—a noble and generous trait, characteristic only of
men with great souls and hearts!”
1
With independence newly proclaimed, Cambiaso became the architect of the first armed naval flotilla of
the Dominican Republic, in addition to training the first Dominican naval officers, all in record time. He dis-
tinguished himself most notably during the Dominican-Haitian war, and later, after resuming his business
activities, he served as Italian consul in the country. He was a distinguished public figure and a true hero of
national independence. Along with his compatriot Juan Bautista Maggiolo,
2
and with the Dominican Juan
Alejandro Acosta, Juan Bautista Cambiaso helped to form the triad that laid the foundations on which the
Dominican Navy was later officially created.
CHAPTER 11
Juan Bautista Cambiaso (1820-1886)
Founder of the Dominican Navy and First
Admiral of the Republic
By Juan Daniel Balcácer
Professor of Dominican Critical History at the Catholic University of Santo Domingo.
President of the Comisión Permanente de Efemérides Patrias
•