Ramón Power y Giralt
| Ramón Power y Giralt | |
|---|---|
 Captain Ramón Power y Giralt |
|
| Born | October 7, 1775 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Died | June 10, 1813 Cadiz, Spain |
| Allegiance | Spanish Navy |
| Years of service | 1795-1809 |
| Rank | Naval Captain |
| Battles/wars | Santo Domingo against an invasion from French forces |
Captain Ramón Power y Giralt[note 1] (October 7, 1775 – June 10, 1813), commonly known as Ramón Power, was, according to Puerto Rican historian Lidio Cruz Monclova, among the first native-born Puerto Ricans to refer to himself as a "Puerto Rican" and to fight for the equal representation of Puerto Rico in front of the parliamentary government of Spain.
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[edit] Early years
Power was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Joaquín Power y Morgan, an Irish immigrant who came to Puerto Rico in connection with the Compañía de Asiento de Negros which regulated the slave trade in the island, and María Josefa Giralt, a local Puerto Rican girl. In San Juan he received his primary education at a private school. In 1788, when he was 13 years old, he was sent to Bilbao, Spain, to continue his educational studies.[1]
[edit]
At the age of 16, Power began his studies of Naval sciences in Spain. Upon graduation he was commissioned a lieutenant in the Spanish Navy and eventually rose to the rank of Captain. He distinguished himself in 1808-1809 with the defense of the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo against an invasion from French forces by enforcing a blockade.
[edit] Political career
On 4 May 1809, in the midst of Peninsular War and Napoleon Bonaparte's occupation of Spain, Power was elected by the five, local cabildos (town councils) to represent Puerto Rico in the Junta Suprema Central y Gubernativa del Reino (Supreme Central and Governing Board of the Kingdom). (In 1808 Napoleon had deposed Ferdinand VII and named his eldest brother, Joseph I, King of Spain. The Junta Suprema was leading the resistance against the Bonapartes.) The Junta Suprema dissolved itself before Power could arrive, nevertheless, the following year on 16 April he was again elected to represent Puerto Rico, this time in the Spanish Cortes, the parliamentary assembly that had been convened by the Junta and was gathering in the Southern Spanish port of Cádiz. One of his greatest supporters was Bishop Juan Alejo de Arizmendi, who during the official farewell Mass, gave Power his episcopal ring as a reminder that he should never forget his countrymen. After arriving in Cádiz on June 8, 1810 he joined the growing number of delegates, which finally reached a quorum in September. Power was an avid advocate for Puerto Rico during his tenure (24 September 1810—10 June 1813) as a delegate in the Cortes.[2] He was named the first vice-president of the Cortes and succeeded in obtaining powers from the Cortes which would benefit the economy of the Puerto Rico. The most well-known product of the assembly was the Constitution of 1812.
Before the Constitution was written, Power convinced the Cortes to reverse a decree of the Council of Regency which had given the governor of Puerto Rico extraordinary powers in reaction to the establishment of juntas in South America.[3] The highlight of his legislative career was the Ley Power ("the Power Act"), which designated five ports for free commerce—Fajardo, Mayagüez, Aguadilla, Cabo Rojo and Ponce, established the reduction of most tariffs and eliminated the flour monopoly, in addition to establishing other economic reforms with the goal of developing a more efficient economy. It also called for the establishment of a Sociedad Económica de los Amigos del País on the island, which was approved in 1814. Many of these reforms remained in effect even after Ferdinand VII revoked the Spanish Constitution.[4]
Power y Giralt died while still in Cádiz (he would be succeeded in the Cortes by José María Quiñones who served from 25 November 1813—10 May 1814)[5] on 10 June 1813 from the yellow fever epidemic which had spread throughout Europe. According to The San Juan Star (Puerto Rico's English language newspaper), there is a movement underway to bring Power's remains back to Puerto Rico. Power's remains are located in a common grave, along with other delegates' to the Cortes, at the Oratorio San Felipe Neri in Cadiz. DNA testing is currently underway to identify the remains.
[edit] Honors and tributes
Puerto Rico and Spain has honored Power's memory by naming avenues after him.[6][7] San Juan also has a school named after Power the "Ramon Power Y Giralt School" located in Calle Loiza Final.[8] His former residence was restored and currently houses the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust in Old San Juan.[9] Power's contemporary, José Campeche, honored him in a painting entitled The Shipwreck of Power.[10] Graphic artist Lorenzo Homar has also dedicated one of his artistic works to Ramón Power.[11]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Power and the second or maternal family name is Giralt.
[edit] References
- ^ Chinea, Jorge L. "Irish Indentured Servants, Papists and Colonists in Spanish Colonial Puerto Rico, ca. 1650-1800" in Irish Migration Studies in Latin America, 5:3 (November 2007), pp. 171-182. Consulted on November 29, 2008.
- ^ Rieu-Millan, Marie Laure. Los diputados americanos en las Cortes de Cádiz: Igualdad o independencia. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1990. 41. ISBN 978-8400070915
- ^ González Vales, Luis, "Towards a Plantation Society" in Arturo Morales Carrión. Puerto Rico: A Political History. (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1983), 83-88. ISBN 0-393-30193-1
- ^ "Aspectos políticos en Puerto Rico: 1765–1837". http://www.proyectosalonhogar.com/Diversos_Temas/Aspectos_politicos.htm. Retrieved March 4, 2006. (Spanish)
- ^ Rieu-Millan, Marie Laure. Los diputados americanos en las Cortes de Cádiz: Igualdad o independencia. 41
- ^ Calle Ramon Power in Madrid
- ^ Colegio Sgrado Corazon located in Calle Ramon Pwer in Ponce
- ^ Ramon Power Y Giralt School
- ^ Casa de Ramon Power
- ^ Rafael Trelles
- ^ Ramon Power Por Lorenzo Homar
[edit] External links
- 1775 births
- 1813 deaths
- People from San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Puerto Rican people of Irish descent
- Deaths from yellow fever
- Puerto Rican Navy personnel
- Spanish admirals
- People of the Spanish colonial Americas
- Puerto Rican military personnel
- Puerto Rican military officers
- Puerto Rican politicians
- Colonial Puerto Rico
- Infectious disease deaths in Spain
