Ramón Power y Giralt
Born	(1775-10-07)October 7, 1775 San Juan, Puerto Rico
Died	June 10, 1813(1813-06-10) (aged 37) Cádiz, Spain
Buried	Cathedral of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Allegiance	Spanish Navy
Service years	1795–1809
Rank	Captain
Conflicts	Santo Domingo against an invasion byFrench forces

CaptainRamón Power y Giralt (October 7, 1775 – June 10, 1813) was aSpanish Navy officer and politician. According to historian Lidio Cruz Monclova, Power was among the first native-bornPuerto Ricans to refer to himself as a "Puerto Rican" and to fight for the equal representation of Puerto Rico before theCortes of Cádiz, the government of Spain at the time.

Power was born inSan Juan, Puerto Rico to Joaquín Power y Morgan, a Spaniard from theBasque Country (ofIrish and French descent) who came to Puerto Rico in connection with theCompañía deAsiento de Negros, which regulated theslave trade in the island, and María Josefa Giralt y Santaella, a Catalan fromBarcelona.^[1][2][3] His great-grandfather Peter Power was an Irishman fromWaterford who moved toBordeaux and had a son Jean Baptiste Power Dubernet, who settled inBilbao, where Ramon’s father Joaquín was born.^[4]In San Juan he received his primary education at a private school. In 1788, when he was 13 years old, he was sent toBilbao, Spain to continue his educational studies.^[5]

At the age of 16, Power began his studies ofnaval science in Spain. Upon graduation he was commissioned alieutenant in theSpanish Navy and eventually rose to the rank ofCaptain. In 1795, thePeace of Basel resulted in Spainceding Santo Domingo to France, but the French did not take possession of the colony. Six years later in 1801, GeneralToussaint Louverture, a Black commander who was thede facto ruler of the neighboring French colony ofSaint-Domingue, occupied Santo Domingo. Louverture's occupation was met with anger byNapoleon, who dispatched an expedition to restore French rule in Saint-Domingue. The expedition's troops captured Santo Domingo from Louverture's army.^{[citation needed]}

In 1808, followingNapoleon's invasion of Spain, thecriollos of Santo Domingo revolted against French rule. ColonelRafael Conti, a fellow Puerto Rican, organized an expedition torestore Spanish rule in Santo Domingo. Power served in the expedition, which successfully recaptured Santo Domingo from the French with British assistance.^[6][7]

On May 4, 1809, in the midst ofPeninsular War andNapoleon Bonaparte's occupation of Spain, Power was elected by the five, localcabildos (town councils) to represent Puerto Rico in theJunta Suprema Central y Gubernativa del Reino (Supreme Central and Governing Board of the Kingdom). (In 1808 Napoleon had deposedFerdinand VII and named his eldest brother,Joseph I, King of Spain. TheJunta Suprema was leading the resistance against the Bonapartes.) TheJunta Suprema dissolved itself before Power could arrive, nevertheless, the following year on April 16, he was again elected to represent Puerto Rico, this time in theCortes of Cádiz, the parliamentary assembly serving as a Regency while awaiting Ferdinand VII's return, that had been convened by the Junta and was gathering in the Southern Spanish port of Cádiz. One of his greatest supporters was BishopJuan Alejo de Arizmendi, who during the official farewellMass, gave Power hisepiscopal 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 forPuerto Rico during his tenure (September 24, 1810 — June 10, 1813) as a delegate in the Cortes.^[8] On September 25, 1810, the second day of regular meetings, he was elected as vice-president of the Cortes and succeeded in obtaining powers which would benefit the economy of the Puerto Rico. The most well-known product of the assembly was theConstitution of 1812.^[9]

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 theestablishment of juntas in South America.^[10] The highlight of his legislative career was theLey Power ("the Power Act"), which designated five ports for free commerce. Thus, the ports ofFajardo,Mayagüez,Aguadilla,Cabo Rojo andPonce 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 aSociedad Económica de Amigos del País en Puerto Rico on the island, which was approved in 1814. Many of these reforms remained in effect even after Ferdinand VII revoked the Spanish Constitution.^[11]

Power died while still in Cádiz on June 10, 1813, from theyellow fever epidemic which had spread throughoutEurope. He was succeeded in the Cortes by José María Quiñones who served from November 25, 1813, to May 10, 1814.^[12] He was buried at theOratorio de San Felipe Neri church in Cádiz.

According toThe San Juan Star (Puerto Rico's English-language newspaper), a movement led by theArchbishop of San Juan,Roberto González Nieves, was successful in its attempt to bring Power's remains back to Puerto Rico. Power's remains were exhumed where he was interred along with other delegates' to the Cortes, at the church in Cadiz.

After DNA testing, the remains were brought by the Spanish tall shipJuan Sebastián Elcano. On March 2, 2013, it left the port ofCádiz, stopping atLas Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands before leaving on March 10 across the Atlantic Ocean taking 28 days to return Power y Giralt's body to San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 6, 2013. It was escorted by theUnited States Coast Guard into the port and received with a21 gun salute. Present to receive the remains were the Governor of Puerto Rico, and presidents of all branches of government.^[15]His resting place now is at theCathedral of San Juan Bautista next to BishopJuan Alejo de Arizmendi.

Both Puerto Rico and Spain have honored Power's memory, by naming several avenues after him.^[16][17] San Juan also has a school named after Power the "Ramon Power y Giralt School" located in Calle Loiza Final.^[18] The city ofPonce has a street named after him; it runs west to east and is located between (i.e., parallel to) Calle Ferrocarril andAvenida Las Américas, and has its western terminus at Calle Concordia and its eastern terminus atAvenida Hostos.

His former residence was restored and currently houses the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust inOld San Juan.^[19] Power's contemporary,José Campeche, honored him in a painting entitledThe Shipwreck of Power.^[20] Graphic artistLorenzo Homar has also dedicated one of his artistic works to Ramón Power.^[21]

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