History of Odessa. Jose De Ribas

Jose Pascual Domingo de Ribas (1749 – 1800), a soldier, was a Russian admiral of Spanish-Irish origin.

Son of the Spanish council in Naples. He joined Russian Army as member of the Spanish nobility in 1772. He took part in Russo-Turkish Wars of 1768-1774 and 1787-1792. His greatest deed was the storming of Izmail in 1790 under the supreme command of Alexander Suvorov. De Ribas proposed a plan of the storm, which was approved by Suvorov, and led both Russian navy and land forces to capture the mighty fortress. The defeat was seen as a catastrophe in the Ottoman Empire.

De Ribas and a close collaborator, a Dutch engineer named Franz de Volan, recommended Khadzhibei (modern Odessa) as the site of the region's principal port. Its harbor was deep and nearly ice-free. Breakwaters, on the model of those found at Naples, Livorno and Ancona, could be cheaply constructed and would render the harbor safe even for large fleets

In 1791 de Ribas was promoted to Rear Admiral and commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. He was promoted to vice Admiral in 1795 and to full Admiral in 1796.

As a secretary to Prince Potemkin, he became one of the earliest administrators of the New Russia. He was actively involved in the conspiracy to overthrow Emperor Paul but died several months before the coup took place.

The main, and the most famous, street in Odessa, the city he founded, Deribasovskaya is named after Jose Pascual Domingo de Ribas.

Odessa Ukraine Jose De Ribas

Odessa Deribasovskaya Street

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