24-565: 1890s (opened) Parque de la Abolición (English: Abolition Park) is a city park in Barrio Cuarto , Ponce, Puerto Rico . It was the first park in the Caribbean to commemorate the abolition of slavery . It was built in 1874 and renovated in 1956. Slaves were brought to Puerto Rico from Africa, starting in the early 16th century and lasting through the 19th century, to replace the local Indian slaves who had been decimated. The new slaves worked
48-602: 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 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
72-642: A quorum in September. Power was an avid advocate for Puerto Rico during his tenure (September 24, 1810 — June 10, 1813) as a delegate in the Cortes. 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 the Constitution of 1812 . Before
96-463: A school named after Power the "Ramon Power y Giralt School" located in Calle Loiza Final. The city of Ponce has a street named after him; it runs west to east and is located between (i.e., parallel to) Calle Ferrocarril and Avenida Las Américas , and has its western terminus at Calle Concordia and its eastern terminus at Avenida Hostos . His former residence was restored and currently houses
120-497: A son Jean Baptiste Power Dubernet. He settled in Bilbao , where Ramon’s father Joaquín was born. 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. At the age of 16, Power began his studies of Naval sciences in Spain . Upon graduation he was commissioned a lieutenant in
144-566: Is also located in Barrio Cuarto. Ram%C3%B3n Power y Giralt Captain Ramón Power y Giralt (October 7, 1775 – June 10, 1813) 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 before the Cortes of Cádiz , the parliamentary government of Spain at
168-676: Is bounded on the North by Comercio/ Francisco Parra Duperón Street, on the South by Ramón Power Street, on the West by Eugenio Maria de Hostos Avenue and Marina Streets, and on the East by Rio Portugues . In terms of barrio-to-barrio boundaries, Cuarto is bounded in the North by Barrio Tercero , in the South by Canas Urbano , in the West by Primero , and in the East by San Antón . Cuarto has 0.2 square miles (520,000 m ) of land area and no water area. In 2000,
192-468: Is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico . Together with Primero , Segundo , Tercero , Quinto , and Sexto , Cuarto is one of the municipality's six core urban barrios . It was created in 1878. Cuarto is an urban barrio located in the southern section of the municipality, within the Ponce city limits, and southeast of the traditional center of the city, Plaza Las Delicias . It
216-602: The Spanish Navy and eventually rose to the rank of Captain . In 1808, following Napoleon's invasion of Spain , the criollos of Santo Domingo revolted against French rule. Colonel Rafael Conti , a fellow Puerto Rican, organized an expedition to return Hispaniola back to Spain. Col Conti together with naval Captain Power y Giralt distinguished themselves with the defense of the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo against an invasion from
240-413: The coffee , sugar cane , and gold mining industries in Puerto Rico. During the 18th century, as gold mining ceased to be one of the major industries in Puerto Rico, slaves worked mostly in coffee plantations and sugar cane fields. By a royal proclamation of Spain slavery was abolished on 22 March 1873. In 1874, a year after the abolition of slavery, a group of citizens built a small park in memory of
264-612: The yellow fever epidemic which had spread throughout Europe . He was succeeded in the Cortes by José María Quiñones who served from November 25, 1813, to May 10, 1814. He was buried at the Oratorio de San Felipe Neri church in Cádiz. According to The San Juan Star (Puerto Rico's English-language newspaper), a movement led by the Archbishop 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
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#1733106365997288-556: The Assembly, ratified by the Central Government, and confirmed by Royal Decree on 1 March 1881. The park was built and opened in the 1890s. It had swing sets for children, a fountain with colorful fish, and a roller coaster . On 6 May 1956, under the administration of Ponce mayor Andrés Grillasca Salas , the roller coaster, swing sets and fish pond were removed, and replace with the current Concha Acústica amphitheater. The statue of
312-712: 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. The highlight of his legislative career was the Ley Power ("the Power Act"), which designated five ports for free commerce. Thus, the ports of Fajardo , Mayagüez , Aguadilla , Cabo Rojo and Ponce established
336-560: The French forces by enforcing a blockade with the aid of Great Britain (Spain's ally at the time) and Haiti, returning Santo Domingo back to Spanish control. On May 4, 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
360-522: 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 April 16, he was again elected to represent Puerto Rico, this time in the Cortes of Cádiz , the parliamentary assembly serving as
384-481: The freed slave was added at the base of the obelisk. The sculpture of the freed slave is a work of Victor Cott. Also in 1956, the park's Concha Acústica opened. The park is located on Avenida Hostos at the fork of Salud Street and Marina Street, immediately north of the 100-foot high Monumento a la abolición de la esclavitud . It sits across from the Darlington Building, Ponce's first multi-story building, which
408-466: The historic event. In 1880 Olimpio Otero , Juan Mayoral Barnés, and Román Baldorioty de Castro were instrumental in creating the concept for a park dedicated to the commemorating the abolition of slavery, the only such memorial in the Caribbean . Juan Mayoral Barnés brought the idea for the creation of the park to the Ponce Municipal Assembly on 14 March 1880. It was unanimously approved by
432-434: The occasion. Between the green area of the park and the two monuments is the outdoors acoustic amphitheater known as La Concha Acustica (English: The Acoustic Shell) which completes the park in its triangular city block. After almost 70 years of use with only minor maintenance, the park was renovated in 1956 by Francisco Porrata Doria , an architect from Ponce. Barrio Cuarto Cuarto ( Barrio Cuarto )
456-658: The population of Cuarto was 3,011. The population density in Cuarto was 18,303 persons per square mile. In 2010, the population of Cuarto was 1,999 persons, and it had a density of 12493.8 persons per square mile. The communities of Belgica and El Bosque are found in Barrio Cuarto as are several other smaller communities. Cuarto is home to Parque de la Abolicion on its southwestern edge. The NRHP -listed Casa Paoli , Old Ponce Casino , Ponce Massacre Museum , and Iglesia de la Santísima Trinidad are all located in Barrio Cuarto. The Puerto Rico Islamic Center at Ponce (see side photo)
480-530: 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 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. Power died while still in Cádiz on June 10, 1813, from
504-610: The time. Power was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Joaquín Power y Morgan, a Spaniard from the Basque Country (of Irish and French descent) 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 y Santaella a Catalan from Barcelona , Spain. His great-grandfather Peter Power was Irish from Waterford , he moved to Bordeaux , France and had
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#1733106365997528-447: Was completed in 1952. The park features a grassy green area with trees and masonry benches as well as two monuments to commemorate the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico : a monument depicting a black male slave with broken chains depicting he is a free man, and a 100-foot high obelisk , Monumento a la abolición de la esclavitud , which rises just behind the black iron sculpture of the freed slave to accentuates and give instance to
552-601: Was escorted by the United States Coast Guard into the port and received with a 21 gun salute . Present to receive the remains were the Governor of Puerto Rico, and presidents of all branches of government. His resting place now is at the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista next to Bishop Juan Alejo de Arizmendi . Both Puerto Rico and Spain have honored Power's memory, by naming several avenues after him. San Juan also has
576-533: 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 ship Juan Sebastián Elcano . On March 2, 2013, it left the port of Cádiz , stopping at Las 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
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