Arango, to whom we have previously made reference, was born on May 22, 1765, at Havana. In early boy-hood he was left an orphan, but he managed the large estate which had been left him with all the skill and judgment of a mature mind. He studied law, and was admitted to practice in Spain, and he there acted, for a number of years, as agent for the municipality of Cuba. He was thoroughly familiar with the wrongs and needs of his country, and it is probable that no one of his time was more suited by nature, training and sympathies to act for Cuba. He succeeded in fact in obtaining from the crown some very valuable concessions for the island. In Cuba itself he worked hard to bring about an increase of staples. He exerted his influence among the planters to the end that the fertile soil should be worked to its utmost productiveness. It was necessary that not only should Cuba be self-supporting, and be able to pay her enormous taxes, but that there should be a large surplus to feed the royal exchequer. No one realized this more than Arango, whose years at the Spanish court had made him familiar with the greed of the Spanish government. His work was fruitful, and Cuban production at this period came almost up to the wild expectations of the Spanish government, which regarded Cuba as a land of inexhaustible riches. Arango was moreover a humanitarian at heart. The wrongs of the slaves and the evils of the slave trade appealed to his sense of justice. On the other hand, he saw very clearly the difficulty of obtaining the proper amount of labor for the Cuban plantations if the slave trade was abolished, and so his efforts on behalf of the slaves took the form of attempts toward their protection by wise laws. The attitude of Spain toward her colonies was at this time, as indeed always, grossly illogical. She wanted to take everything and give nothing. She could not foresee that a present of constant depletion meant a future of want; that in order to produce in quality the proper facilities must be provided. Arango, who was a diplomat as well as a statesman, by persuasion and by constant but gentle pressure at last won some of those in authority at the court to his point of view. If Cuba was to be a source of wealth to Spain, she must be endowed with the most efficient equipment to produce that wealth. Through Arango's efforts machinery was allowed to be imported into the island, free of duty. This, of course, furnished the means for industrial expansion. He also obtained the removal of the duty on coffee, liquors and cotton, for a period of ten years.