Juan Donoso Cortés

Juan Donoso Cortés, marqués de Valdegamas (6 May 1809 – 3 May 1853) was a Spanish author, conservative and Catholic political theorist, and diplomat. He was a descendant, through his father Pedro Donoso Cortés, of the conquistador Hernando Cortés.

Biography

Cortés was born at Valle de la Serena (Extremadura). At 11, he had finished his education in the humanities, and at 12, he had begun the study of law at the University of Salamanca; at 16, he received his degree of licentiate from the University of Seville, and at 18, he became professor of literature at the College of Caceres.

Carried away by the rationalism prevalent in Spain following upon the French invasions, he ardently embraced the principles of Liberalism and fell under the influence of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whom he later characterized as "the most eloquent of sophists".

He entered politics as an ardent liberal under the influence of Manuel José Quintana. His views began to modify after the rising at La Granja, approaching a counterrevolutionary outlook and became more marked on his appointment as private secretary to the Queen Regent. His political thought found its most lucid and orderly expression in his Lecciones de Derecho Politico (1837).