José Benítez (mayor)

José Concepción Benítez y Bermúdez (c. 1760 – August 11, 1832[2]) was mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1800.

[5] Benítez is best remembered as the military commander who led a group of urban militiamen from Ponce in their defense of San Juan during the British invasion of 1797.

[7] As a result of an attempted attack by the English navy, in 1802 Benítez established a shoreline lookout, and set up an artillery battery at El Peñoncillo in Barrio Playa, Ponce, to prevent further attempts by the English from dropping anchor and staging an attack from that area.

Monterías were hilly areas located next to hatos were cattle could be reigned in or gathered together with the help of trained dogs.

After his death in 1832, his family's fortunes were further diminished, but his daughter was able to successfully petition the government for a land grant, which kept them from becoming insolvent.