José de Nouvilas de Vilar

José de Nouvilas de Vilar[lower-alpha 2] (1856 – 1931) was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 3 January 1893[3] to 9 August 1894.[4] He was a soldier in the Spanish military and held the rank of "General de Brigada".

José de Nouvilas de Vilar
94th Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico
In office
3 January 1893[1][lower-alpha 1] – 9 August 1894[2]
Preceded byCarlos Eusebio de Ayo
Succeeded byEduardo Armstrong
Personal details
Born1856
Mahón, Menorca, Spain
Died1931
Valldemossa, Mallorca, Spain
SpouseMaria Lavinia Boothby Tolosa
OccupationMilitary

Background

Nouvilas de Vilar had been Ponce Police Chief immediately prior to his first day as mayor. He had garnished the sympathy of the townspeople for his fair application of law enforcement, in particular for the treatment of residents during the popular and commercial protests of 7–10 September 1892 to the Madrid's tax increase. During these protests Nouvilas de Vilar had prohibited his police force from using any violence against the residents.[5]

Mayoral term

Nouvilas became mayor of Ponce on 3 January 1893 and he mayored the municipality until 9 August 1894. During this time he spearheaded the development of a working group of women for the creation of a shelter for Ponce's homeless elderly. In 1893, noticing the large number of elderly beggars that crowded the city streets, he had the urge that something needed to be done to help these group of people. A significant amount from the estate of Miguel Arribas was also donated to the municipality for this purpose.[6] As a result of his leadership, and the many donations that came in, by November 1894 an Asilo de Ancianos (Shelter for the Elderly) opened at Calle Mendez Vigo #37.[7] Later, encountering declining health, Nouvilas de Vilar traveled to the Peninsula for medical treatment, from where he resigned his mayoral post.[8] However, under the pretext of public safety, he also ordered the "alcaldes de barrio" to "enter all private homes in their jurisdiction and assess their physical condition."[9]

Legacy

Nouvilas is remembered for issuing an anti-prostitution edict, the Reglamento de Higiene de la Prostitución (Prostitution Higiene Decree), intended to "correct immorality in Ponce".[10]

See also

Notes
  1. Both Eduardo Neumann (Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1913, p. 280) and Socorro Giron (Gobierno Municipal de Ponce, 1992, p. 284) state Nouvilas de Vilar took office on 3 January 1893. However, Felix Pubill (Tipografia de Jose Pico Matos, 1900, page 59) states he took office on 3 January 1892, which appears to be a typographical error.
  2. Some sources (e.g., Neysa Rodriguez Deynes, Brevario Sobre la Historia de Ponce (2002) p.167, and Gobierno Municipal de Ponce's website (16 May 2006)) spell his name "José de Nonvilas de Vilar". Here "José de Nouvilas de Vilar" is used because it is consistent with the oldest sources available (Felix Pubill (1900) and Eduardo Neuman Gandia (1913)). There is a third spelling that has been found, "José de Nouvillas" (Socorro Giron's Ponce, el Teatro La Perla y La Campana de La Almudaina (1992), p. 301.), but since this third case is found in a reprint from a press (Imprenta de M. Lopez (M. Lopez Press) from 20 June 1894) for Nouvilas's 1895 Edict, it is discarded here as typographical press error. The spelling "José de Nouvilas de Vilar" is the spelling of his name as given by the oldest reference available, Felix Pubill's "La Administración Municipal de Ponce" (1900), p. 59, as well as by the second oldest source, Eduardo Neumann Gandia's Verdadera y Autentica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce (1913), p. 279.

References
  1. Socorro Girón. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 3rd Edition. 1992. p.284.
  2. Socorro Girón. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 3rd Edition. 1992. p.289.
  3. Socorro Girón. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 3ra Edición. 1992. p.284.
  4. Socorro Girón. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 3ra Edición. 1992. p.289.
  5. Félix Pubill. La Administración Municipal de Ponce: Memoria de las gestiones practicadas en la Administración Municipal de Ponce, por los Alcaldes y Ayuntamientos que ha tenido desde el año 1882 al 1900. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Tipografía José Picó Matos. 1900. p. 59. LCCN 85-207338
  6. Félix Pubill. La Administración Municipal de Ponce: Memoria de las gestiones practicadas en la Administración Municipal de Ponce, por los Alcaldes y Ayuntamientos que ha tenido desde el año 1882 al 1900. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Tipografía José Picó Matos. 1900. p. 61. LCCN 85-207338
  7. Eduardo Neumann Gandia. Verdadera y Autentica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. 1913. pp.109-110.
  8. Félix Pubill. La Administración Municipal de Ponce: Memoria de las gestiones practicadas en la Administración Municipal de Ponce, por los Alcaldes y Ayuntamientos que ha tenido desde el año 1882 al 1900. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Tipografía José Picó Matos. 1900. p. 62. LCCN 85-207338
  9. Ileana M. Rodriguez Silva. Silencing Race: Disentangling blackness, colonialism, and national identities in Puerto Rico. Palgrave Macmillan. 2012. p. 103. ISBN 9781137263216
  10. Socorro Girón. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 3rd Edición. 1992. p.284, and 290-302.

Further reading
  • Ramon Marin. Las Fiestas Populares de Ponce. Editorial Universidad de Puerto Rico. 1994.
  • Eileen J. Suarez Findlay. Imposing Decency: The Politics of Sexuality and Race in Puerto Rico, 1870-1920. Duke University Press. 1999.
  • Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliográfica Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 256. Item 1287. LCCN 92-75480
  • Government of Puerto Rico. Circular del Gobierno General sobre incendios, Junio 6 de 1893. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Establecimiento Tipográfico de M. Lopez. 1893. (Archivo Histórico de Ponce, AHP).
  • Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliográfica Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 335. Item 1669. LCCN 92-75480
  • Ponce. Presupuesto municipal para el ejercicio 1893 a 1894. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Tipografía El Vapor, s.f. (Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras)
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