Juan Alonso Zayas (1869 – October 8, 1898) was a Puerto Rican who served as a second lieutenant in the Spanish Army. He was the commander of the 2nd Expeditionary Battalion stationed in Baler that fought in the Siege of Baler in the Philippines.
Early years
Zayas was born and raised in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. His father, born in Barcelona, Spain, was an officer in the Spanish Army stationed in the island. Zayas received the best education available as the son of a military official. His main interest was photography, and he became a professional photographer at a young age. In November 1888, when he was 19 years old, Zayas joined the Spanish Army in San Juan.
Military career
Zayas was first assigned to the Infantry Regiment of Luchana N 28. In May 1889, he was sent to Cuba and assigned to the Battalion of Isabel II and later to the Infantry Regiment of Cuba. Zayas was promoted to the rank of sergeant and sent to the School of Sergeants of the Getafe Civil Guard in Madrid, Spain, before the outbreak of the Cuban Revolt of 1895.
In the meantime, Zayas and the rest of the battalion were totally unaware of the Spanish–American War that was going on. In August 1898, the hostilities between the United States and Spain came to an end. Spain ceded its claim over the Philippine Islands to the United States in accordance with the bilateral Treaty of Paris.
Spanish surrender
In May 1899, the battalion at Baler found out about the Spanish–American War and its aftermath. They had been unaware that they had been fighting for a possession that was no longer theirs to fight for. On June 2, 1899 the battalion's commander, Lieutenant Martín Cerezo surrendered to the Tagalos only after some conditions were met. Among the conditions were the following:
- That the Spaniards not be treated as prisoners of war and
- that they would not be harmed in their quest of reaching a Spanish ship that would take them back to Spain.