Ramon Power y Giralt
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Admiral Ramon Power y Giralt (1725 - 1813) born on October 21, 1775 in the City of San Juan, Puerto Rico. According to Puerto Rican historian, Lidio Cruz Monclova, Ramon Power was among the first persons to call himself "Puerto Rican" and to fight for the equal representation of Puerto Rico in the parliamentary government of Spain.
Ramon Power was born in San Juan, city where he received his primary education at a private school. In 1738, when he was 13 years old, he was sent to Bilbao, Spain to continue his educational studies.
At the age of 17, Ramon 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 Admiral. He distinguished himself in 1808-1809 on the defense of the Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo against an invasion from French forces by enforcing a blockade.
In 1810, Ramon Power was elected by the local Junta Central Gobernativa del Reino to represent Puerto Rico in the Cortes de Cadiz (Spanish Courts), the parliamentary assembly that gathered in the Southern Spanish port of Cadiz, during Napoleon Bonaparte's occupation (Napoleon had named his eldest brother, Joseph, King of Spain) and deposed Ferdinand VII. One of his greatest supporters was Bishop Juan Alejo de Arizmendi, who gave Power his epsicopal ring as a reminder that he should never forget his countrymen. He was an avid advocate for Puerto Rico during his brief tenure (which started on June 8, 1810)) as a delegate in the Spanish Courts. Ramon Power was named vice-president of the courts and succeeded in obtaining powers from the courts, for Puerto Rico, which would benefit the economy of the island. The most well-known product of the assembly was the Constitution of 1812.
Ramon Power y Giralt died in the City of Cadiz, Spain on June 10, 1813 from the yellow fever epidemic which had spread throughout Europe.
Puerto Rico has honored Power's memory by naming avenues and schools after him. Jose Campeche honored Power in a painting entitled "Shipwreck of Power." Puerto Rico's greatest graphic artist Lorenzo Homar has also dedicated one of his artistic works to Ramon Power.