Fernando Fernández

Fernando Fernández (c.1850–1940) was the founder of the oldest rum producing company in Puerto Rico.

Start of a dynasty

Fernández, was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. He was the owner of the Santa Ana plantation located in the city of his birth. The Santa Ana plantation is located on land which was granted to his grandfather (whose name was also Fernando Fernández) by the Spanish Royal Crown in 1797. Fernández's grandfather was a naval captain who fought against pirates and English merchant ships. The Spanish Royal Crown granted him this land in recognition of his service to Spain, here he planted sugarcane and raised cattle.

In 1804, the elder Fernández used a mixture of sugar and honey to process and distill rum. He aged his product in special barrels which were imported from Europe. The rum he produced was only for his own personal use and that of his family.

In 1821, various slaves from his plantation were involved in a conspiracy. A slave from another plantation by the name of Marcos Xiorro planned and organized a revolt against the slave masters. The plans of the revolt were discovered by the Spanish authorities and never took place.

In 1827, he ordered his 127 slaves to build an enormous windmill shaped like a tower. The windmill helped to extract the juice from the sugarcane. He would still resort to the use of manpower whenever the wind wasn't strong enough to operate the windmill.

In 1846, Fernández's father, Manuel Fernández (birth name: Manuel Fernández y Martínez), inherited the plantation; Manuel Fernández developed the land which consisted of over . Manuel Fernández eventually purchased much of the property adjoining his land and soon became the richest man in Bayamon.