Ramón María Mella Brea (July 27, 1837 – March 21, 1868) was a Dominican independence activist. Son of the hero

Matías Ramón Mella Matías Ramón Mella Castillo (25 February 1816 – 4 June 1864), commonly known as Ramón Mella, was a Dominican revolutionary, politician, and military general. He was a central figure in proclaiming the First Dominican Republic and advanc ...

, he participated in the struggles against Spain in the 1860s. He was a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

of the

Six Years' War The Six Years' War () was a civil war in the Dominican Republic which lasted from 2 May 1868 to 2 January 1874 that "constituted the third war of independence fought by the Dominican people", in this case against the administration of President B ...

Biography

He was born on July 27, 1837. He was born to Josefa Brea and

, one of the Founding Fathers of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. He has partial

Canarian Canary Islanders, or Canarians (), are the people of the Canary Islands, an autonomous community of Spain near the coast of Northwest Africa. The distinctive variety of the Spanish language spoken in the region is known as ''habla canaria'' (Ca ...

ancestry through his paternal great-grandmother, Juana Álvarez Pereyra. When the annexation to Spain was proclaimed in 1861, he resided in Jamao, where his father managed his own wood cuts. After the Cry of Capotillo on August 16, 1863, He went to the front and was under the orders of General Gregorio de Lora, with whom he went to fight in the Battle of Santiago (1863) in September 1863. In March 1864, he was on duty in Monte Cristi. He carried out the entire restoration campaign, even after the death of his father in June of that same year, and eventually reached the rank of brigadier general. In the political struggles recorded after the Dominican Republic attained its independence from Spain, he joined the

Blue Party (Dominican Republic) The Blue Party (), also known as the National Party, Liberal Party, or National Liberal Party and nicknamed together The Tailless (), was a historical Dominican political party from the late 19th century to the mid 20th century. Ulises Heureaux ...

. Due to his political affiliation, he was arrested during the

against

Buenaventura Báez Ramón Buenaventura Báez Méndez (July 14, 1812March 14, 1884), was a Dominican conservative politician and military figure. He was president of the Dominican Republic for five nonconsecutive terms. His rule was characterized by corruption and ...

, who locked him up in the Ozama Fortress, in the capital city of

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. On March 21, 1868, at aged 30, he died in prison, as a consequence, as it was officially said, of the fractures and blows suffered by accidentally falling from his own feet. (Other sources claim he was actually thrown from the top of the tip of the fortress, falling to his death).

References

{{reflist 1837 births 1868 deaths People from Santo Domingo White Dominicans Dominican Republic people of Spanish descent Dominican Republic people of Canarian descent Dominican Republic revolutionaries Dominican Republic independence activists 19th-century Dominican Republic politicians Blue Party (Dominican Republic) politicians People of the Dominican Restoration War People of the Six Years' War

Biography

See also

References