Paseo de Moret

Dropping down from the Parque del Oeste, Paseo de Moret carries the surname of Segismundo Moret y Prendergast, born in Cádiz and died in Madrid in 1913. A professor, lawyer and celebrated orator, he was one of the great figures of the Liberal Party during the Restoration. His name stayed tied to the overseas colonies. As a minister he pushed through in 1870 the so-called Moret Law, which declared free the children of enslaved women born from then on, a first step toward abolition. In 1897, with Cuba at war, he decreed autonomy for Cuba and Puerto Rico in a late attempt to halt the loss of Spain’s last possessions. He held the head of government three times between 1905 and 1910, in turbulent years. He died while presiding over the Congress of Deputies. The avenue traces the western edge of Argüelles, looking out over the green of the Parque del Oeste, where the city opens toward the mountains before falling away to the Manzanares.