Francisco Olazarra (c. 1805 – c. 1885) was a
corregidor Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.
Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...
, from 23 June 1865 to 31 December 1865
Background
Olazarra (full name: Francisco Olazarra y Sanchez) was lieutenant of the Primera División in the ''
Regimento de Extremadura'' (Extremadura Regiment) and had been wounded during the
Battle of Bilbao
The Battle of Bilbao, part of the War in the North in the Spanish Civil War, saw the Nationalist Army capture Bilbao and the rest of the Basque Country that was still being held by the Republic.
Background
Bilbao was the capital of the autono ...
. As lieutenant, he reported to Captain Matias Escay.
He was named corregidor Mayor of Ponce by Puerto Rico's Lieutenant General Félix María de Messina Iglesias on 5 June 1865, proclaimed on 10 June of that year, and started his commission on 23 June. His appointment was the result of
Luis Quixano y Font being moved to
Aguadilla
Aguadilla (, ), founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city and municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla i ...
to serve as corregidor mayor there, thus leaving vacant the post in Ponce.
Mayoral term
Olazarra is best remembered as the mayor who ordered an investigation into the case of a slave woman named Agripina, who belonged to slave owner Pablo Niuri. Both Olazarra and municipal council member Capo took part in carrying out the investigation, which took place between October and November 1865. On 10 October 1865, the slave was returned to Niuri, her owner while the investigation was allowed to proceed, and Olazarra wrote to Niuri "once you take delivery of the slave, you are to keep her available to this city hall for whenever she is asked for, and expecting you to apply no punishment on her, as there is no grounds for punishing her while she makes a credible petition for her freedom if there are grounds to believe the law is on her side."
''¡Soy libre! El grito de Agripina, la esclava rebelde de Ponce.''
Carmelo Rosario Natal. "Historia: Dime." 18 July 2013. Accessed 9 May 2019. Despite her attempts, the slave woman 's request was denied. She was returned to her owner and later managed to flee her owner anyway.
See also
* List of Puerto Ricans
* List of mayors of Ponce, Puerto Rico
This is a list of mayors of Ponce, Puerto Rico's southern economic center, the island's second largest and second most important city.
From 1692 to 1840, the office of mayor in Ponce was filled either by local hacendados or by military office ...
References
Further reading
* Ramon Marin. ''Las Fiestas Populares de Ponce.'' Editorial Universidad de Puerto Rico. 1994.
External links
Guardia Civil española (c. 1898) (Includes military ranks in 1880s Spanish Empire.)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olazarra, Francisco
Mayors of Ponce, Puerto Rico
1800s births
1880s deaths
Year of death uncertain
Year of birth uncertain