History of Puerto Rico

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Map from 1888
Departments of Puerto Rico 1886 (Spanish)
1901 map (USA)
1915 map (USA)

The history of Puerto Rico began with the settlement of the archipelago by the Ortoiroid between 3000 and 2000 BC. Other tribes like the Igneri - a cultural stage of the Arawak culture  - settled the island between 120 and 1000 AD. In the west of the island there are traces of the Saladoid culture . At the time of Christopher Columbus ' arrival in the New World , the Taínos were the dominant indigenous culture. The indigenous population lost its importance in the second half of the 16th century when their numbers were drastically reduced due to the exploitation, war and diseases that the Spaniards brought with them.

Thanks to its location in the northeastern Caribbean , Puerto Rico was a key point for the Spanish Empire in the early years of the exploration, conquest, and colonization of the New World. The smallest of the Greater Antilles was a major military base in many wars between Spain and other European powers for control of the region during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The island was an intermediate step on the way from Europe to Cuba , Mexico , Central America and the northern territories of South America . During the 19th century and until the end of the Spanish-American War , Puerto Rico and Cuba were the last two Spanish colonies in the New World and served as the final outpost in Spanish strategies to recapture the American continent .

In 1898 the United States invaded Puerto Rico and claimed the island for themselves. The first half of the 20th century was marked by struggles for more democratic rights from the United States. The Foraker Act of 1900, which established a civilian government, and the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917, which granted Puerto Ricans civil rights in the United States, paved the way for the Puerto Rico Constitution and the first democratic elections in 1952. However, it remains the political status of Puerto Rico is still disputed more than 500 years after the first settlement by the Europeans.

Puerto Rico before colonization

The settlement of Puerto Rico began with the arrival of the Ortoiroid culture from the Orinoco region in South America . Some scholars date their arrival back 4,000 years. An archaeological excavation on the island of Vieques in 1990 unearthed the remains of an alleged Ortoiroid man (known as the Puerto Ferro man) who dates back to around 2000 BC. Is dated. The Ortoiroid were ousted by the Igneri, a relatively peaceful tribe from the same region who arrived on the island between 120 and 400 AD.

Around 345 BC The Saladoids from the Orinoco reached Puerto Rico and brought not only pottery but also the cultivation of cassava, yucca and corn with them. The pre- ceramic culture was pushed to Cuba . In a later phase, the saladoids also colonized the mountainous interior of the island. Trade networks reached as far as the north of South America, which is evidenced by jewelry made from various semi-precious stones. A unified, Caribbean cultural area was created.

The Arawak probably settled on the island between the seventh and eleventh centuries. During this time the Taíno culture emerged, which dominated around 1000 AD. Its origins lie in the village of Saladero in the Orinoco basin in Venezuela . They reached Puerto Rico after hiking across the Lesser Antilles . When Columbus arrived, an estimated 30,000 to 60,000 Taíno lived on the island, under the leadership of the Kaziken Agüeybaná , which they called boriken , which means "the great land of the valiant and noble." Lord"). The locals lived in small villages under the direction of a chief and made their living by hunting, fishing and collecting local cassava roots and fruits. When the Spaniards arrived in 1493, there were conflicts with the Caribs , who moved them up to the Antilles. The Spanish wiped out the Taíno, but their culture is still rooted in Puerto Rico's culture today. Musical instruments like the maracas and güiro , the hammock and words like Mayagüez , Arecibo , iguana ( iguana ) and hurricane ( huracán ) represent the legacy of the Taíno.

Spanish rule (1493–1898)

Beginning of colonization

Christopher Columbus is considered to be the discoverer of Puerto Rico

On his second voyage, Christopher Columbus set sail from Cádiz on September 25, 1493 with 17 ships and a crew of 1200–1500 men . He landed on November 19, 1493 on the island, which he named San Juan Bautista in honor of John the Baptist . Juan Ponce de León , a lieutenant under Columbus who later became the island's first governor (some sources mention Vicente Yáñez Pinzón , who never arrived on the island), founded the first settlement of Caparra (today's capital, San Juan ). The next year the settlement was abandoned because they preferred a neighboring island on the coast that had a suitable port and was called Puerto Rico ("rich port"). In 1511 the second settlement of San Germán was built in the southwest of the island. In 1521 the northern settlement was named San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico , or San Juan for short. In the middle of the 18th century, the original names for the island and the capital were reversed in common usage: the island that Columbus had named San Juan Bautista (San Juan for short) was now called Puerto Rico, while the city (originally Puerto Rico ) was now called San Juan.

Colonization took shape with the encomienda settlements, in which the settlers enslaved the Taíno as labor and in return offered them military protection. In order to stop the exploitation of the natives and under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church , Ferdinand II issued the Leyes de Burgos on December 27, 1512 , which the encomiendas converted into repartimientos . These laws prohibited, among other things, any punishment of the locals, regulated their working hours, pay and hygiene and ordered that they had to undergo catechesis . However, the laws were mostly ignored and the reality was marked by slavery. In 1511 the Taíno revolted against the Spaniards. Allegedly, as planned by Agüeybaná II , Chief Urayoán ordered Diego Salcedo to be drowned to see if the Spaniards were immortal. After drowning Diego, they observed his body for three days to confirm his death. Ponce de León managed to put down the uprising without any problems, and within a few decades a large part of the local population had died from disease, violence and a high rate of suicide.

The Roman Catholic Church saw the opportunity to expand its influence and colonized the island as well. On August 8, 1511, Pope Julius II established three dioceses in the New World, one in Puerto Rico and two on the island of Hispaniola, under the direction of the Archbishop of Seville . Alonso Manso , the canon of Salamanca , was called to be bishop of the Puerto Rican diocese. Before arriving on the island on September 26, 1512, he built the first school for advanced studies. In 1513 Manso was the first bishop to arrive in America. Puerto Rico also became the first spiritual headquarters in the reign of Pope Leo X and the center of the Spanish Inquisition in the New World.

During the colonization in 1513 African slaves were brought to the island. In the following years, their number increased in line with the decline of the Taíno population, but was small compared to the neighboring islands. In this early period there were also attempts to wrest control of Puerto Rico from the Spanish. The Caribs , a tribe invading from the Caribbean, attacked the Spanish settlements on the banks of the Daguao and Macao in 1514 and 1521 , but failed because of the armed force of the Spaniards. However, these should not be the last attacks, because the European powers recognized the potential of the newly discovered country and tried to win it for themselves.

Threats from Europe

View over San Juan Bay from Fort San Felipe del Morro

Lured by possible wealth, the European powers tried several times in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries to wrest control of Puerto Rico from the Spanish, which led to several invasions on the island. The successes of these invasions varied, but none of the attackers was able to gain permanent control of the islands. In 1528 the French recognized the strategic value of Puerto Rico; they raided and burned San Gérman in the southwest (French pirates invaded again in 1538 and 1554). They also destroyed many of the earliest settlements, including Guánica , Sotomayor (now Aguada ), Daguao (now Ceiba ), and Loíza , before the local military forced them to retreat. Only the capital San Juan remained intact.

The Spaniards began to secure the Bay of San Juan. In 1532, La Fortaleza was the first fortress at the entrance to the Bay of San Juan. Seven years later they constructed the Fort San Felipe del Morro . Later, Fort San Cristóbal and Fort San Jerónimo also served as a garrison and as a defense against attacks over land. The forts were built with financial support from the Mexican mines. In 1587, the engineers Juan de Tejada and Juan Bautista Antonelli took care of the redesign of Fort San Felipe del Morro, which is still visible today .

Sir Francis Drake launched an unsuccessful attack on San Juan in 1595

On November 22, 1595, the English privateer Sir Francis Drake sailed with 27 ships and a troop strength of 2500 men in the bay of San Juan to rob the city. Although he set San Juan on fire, he could not defeat the fighters entrenched in the forts. Knowing of Drake's defeat, the Royal Navy landed on June 15, 1598 under the leadership of the Duke of Cumberland George Clifford with troops from 21 ships in Santurce on the east coast. Clifford encountered Spanish resistance when attempting to cross the San Antonio Bridge to San Juan from Condado (now a district of the capital, San Juan). Still, the British captured the island and held it for several months before an outbreak of bacterial turmoil in the troops forced them to give up. The following year Spain sent soldiers, cannons and the new governor Alonso de Mercado to rebuild San Juan.

There were further attacks on the island in the 17th and 18th centuries. On September 25, 1625 the Dutch attacked under the leadership of Boudewijn Hendrick San Juan and besieged the Fort San Felipe del Morro anyway La Fortaleza. The residents fled the city and the Spaniards, under the leadership of Governor Juan de Haro, were able to drive the Dutch troops from Fort San Felipe del Morro. As they retreated, the Dutch set the city on fire. Meanwhile, the construction of the fortifications in San Juan continued. In 1634 Philip IV built six fortresses at Fort San Cristóbal, which were connected by a series of sandstone walls around the city. In 1702 the English failed with an attack on Arecibo on the north coast. In 1797 the French and Spanish declared war on the United Kingdom. The British tried again, under the command of General Ralph Abercromby, by invading San Juan with a force of 7,000 men and an armada of 64 warships to conquer the island. Captain General Don Rámon de Castro and his army managed the defense.

While the island was subject to regular attack, a Puerto Rican society gradually emerged. A census by Lt. General Alejandro O'Reilly in 1765 revealed a population of only 44,883, including 5037 (11.2%) slaves. This was a small percentage compared to other Spanish colonies. In 1786, Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra published the first comprehensive book on Puerto Rico. Historia Geográfica, Civil y Política de Puerto Rico was published in Madrid and contained a complete history of Puerto Rico from its discovery in 1493 to 1783. The book also provides first-hand information on Puerto Rican identity including music, clothing, personality and nationality.

Early 19th century

The royal letter of grace, Real Cédula de Gracia, of 1815

The 19th century brought many changes to Puerto Rico, some of which were political and others were societal. In 1809 the Spanish government met in Cádiz in southern Spain to fight Napoléon Bonaparte . While still swearing their loyalty to the king, the Cortes Generales invited electoral representatives from the colonies. Ramón Power y Giralt has been appointed local MP for the Cortes of Cadiz. The Power Law , which followed shortly afterwards, determined five ports of free trade ( Fajardo , Mayagüez , Aguadilla , Cabo Rojo and Ponce ) and enacted economic reforms to develop a more efficient economy. The Cádiz Constitution, which came into force in 1812, divided Spain and its territories into provinces, each of which had a local body or council for the promotion of prosperity and the defense of interests. In addition, the Puerto Ricans received conditional citizenship .

On August 10, 1815, the Real Cédula de Gracia (royal memorandum ) allowed strangers (including French refugees from Hispaniola) to enter Puerto Rico and opened the port to trade with nations other than Spain. Agricultural economic growth began, of which sugar , tobacco and coffee were the main products. The letter of grace also promised any free country that swore its loyalty to the Spanish crown and the Roman Catholic Church. Many people from Germany , Corsica , Ireland , France , Portugal and the Canaries immigrated to Puerto Rico to escape the economic misery in Europe. The small gains in autonomy and rights, however, were short-lived. After the fall of Napoleon, absolutism reigned in Spain, which suspended the Cadiz Constitution and restored Puerto Rico to the former colony status, subject to the unrestricted power of the Spanish monarch.

In addition to the integration of immigrants into Puerto Rican culture, there were other events that had an impact on society. On June 25, 1835, regent María Cristina ended the slave trade in the Spanish colonies. In 1851, Governor Juan de la Pezuela Cevallos founded the Royal Academy of Belles Letters . The Academy licensed elementary school teachers, formulated methodologies for the schools, and hosted literary competitions that promoted intellectual and literary progress on the island. Telegraphy came to the island in 1858 when Samuel FB Morse installed a line in Arroyo in the Hacienda La Enriqueta. The Arenas Bridge , still in use today, was not completed until 1894.

Struggle for autonomy

The flag of the revolution used at the Grito de Lares

The second half of the 19th century was marked by Puerto Rico's struggle for autonomy . A census in 1860 found a population of 583,308 people, of whom 300,406 (51.5%) were white and 282,775 (48.5%) were black (black, mulatto and mestizo ). The majority of the population was illiterate (83.7%) and lived in poverty. Agriculture, which was the main source of income at the time, was hampered by lack of roads, rudimentary tools, and natural disasters such as hurricanes and drought. The economy also suffered from rising tariffs and taxes imposed on it by the Spanish Crown. The Spaniards had also begun to exile or arrest supporters of liberal reforms .

On September 23, 1868, hundreds of women and men in Lares revolted against Spanish rule, driven by poverty and political alienation, and strived for independence. The uprising Grito de Lares was supported by a group under the leadership of the Dominican Republic exiled Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances and Segundo Ruiz Belvis planned. Betances had founded the "Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico" ( Comité Revolucionario de Puerto Rico ) in January 1868 . Other leaders in the important but quickly suppressed uprising were Manuel Rojas , Mathias Brugman , Mariana Bracetti , Francisco Ramírez Medina and Lola Rodríguez de Tió

As a result of the Grito de Lares , political and social reforms took place at the end of the 19th century. On June 4, 1870, thanks to the efforts of Román Baldorioty de Castro , Luis Padial and Julio Vizcarrondo, the Moret Law was granted, which released slaves born after September 17, 1868 or over 60 years of age. On March 22, 1873, the Spanish National Assembly officially abolished slavery in Puerto Rico with a few special clauses (the clauses stated that the slaves would have to work for another three years and that the owners would be compensated with 35 million pesetas ). The first political organizations on the island emerged in 1870 when two factions developed. The traditionalists in the liberal-conservative party Partido Liberal Conservador led by José R. Fernández, Pablo Ubarri and Francisco Paula Acuña pleaded for assimilation into the political party system of Spain. The autonomists in the liberal reform party Partido Liberal Reformista led by Román Baldorioty de Castro, José Julián Acosta , Nicolás Aguayo and Pedro Gerónimo Goico preferred decentralization from Spanish control. The parties later changed their names to Partido Federal Reformista (federal reform party) and Partido Español Incondicional (unconditional Spanish party). In March 1887, the Reform Party was reformed and renamed Partido Autonomista Puertorriqueño (Puerto Rican Autonomist Party). She tried to create a political and legal identity for Puerto Rico while emulating Spain in all political affairs. It was under the leadership of Román Baldorioty de Castro, José Celso Barbosa , Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón and Luis Muñoz Rivera .

The struggle for autonomy had almost achieved its goal when, on November 25, 1897, the Carta Autónomica , which granted the island political and administrative autonomy, was approved in Spain. It allowed the island to retain its representation in the Spanish Cortes Generales and established a two-chamber legislature . The legislature consisted of a Council of Administration with eight elected and seven designated members and a Chamber of Representatives with one member for every 25,000 inhabitants. In the same year, José Celso Barbosa and Manuel Fernández Juncos founded the Orthodox Autonomist Party, Partido Autonomista Ortodoxo . On February 9, 1898, the new government officially began its work. Governor General Manuel Macías , who was not allowed to interfere in civil or political affairs without the approval of the Cabinet, swore in the new government under the Carta Autonómica , which gave city councils full autonomy in local affairs. The semi-autonomous government was short-lived, however, because the United States invaded Puerto Rico when the Spanish-American War broke out .

1898 invasion

US 1st Kentucky Volunteers in "Porto Rico", 1898

On March 10, 1898, Dr. Julio J. Henna and Robert H. Todd, the leaders of the Puerto Rican branch of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, broke up their correspondence with US President William McKinley in the hope that they might include Puerto Rico in the planned invasion of Cuba . Henna and Todd provided the US government with information about the Spanish military presence on the island. On April 24, the Spanish defense minister pointed Segismundo Bermejo the Admiral of Cervera, with its fleet of Cape Verde to move into the Caribbean, Cuba and Puerto Rico.

In May Lt. Henry H. Whitney of the US Fourth Artillery sent on a fact-finding mission to Puerto Rico. He provided maps and information about the Spanish armed forces to the US government that could be of help in an invasion. On May 10th, a gun battle broke out at Fort San Cristóbal between the Spaniards, commanded by Captain Ángel Rivero Méndez , and the USS Yale , led by Capt. William C. Wise . Two days later, a squadron of twelve US ships under Rear Admiral William Thomas Sampson bombed San Juan, causing the residents to panic. On June 25th, General Nelson Appleton Miles , the commander of the US armed forces, was ordered to drive to Puerto Rico and land there with his troops. On July 21, a convoy with nine transporters and 3,300 soldiers escorted by the USS Massachusetts from Guantánamo to Puerto Rico. General Miles landed on July 25th with the first contingent of American troops in Guánica on the south coast of the island. They encountered resistance in the south and center of the island, but by late August the island was under United States control.

Peace Protocols were signed in Washington on August 12th . Commissions from the United States and Spain met in San Juan on September 9th to discuss the details of the withdrawal of Spanish troops and the cession of the island to the United States. At a first meeting in Paris on October 1, a peace treaty was drafted, which the Americans and Spaniards signed on December 10 ( ratified by the US Senate on February 6, 1899 ). The Spaniards renounced their claims to Cuba, surrendered Guam , Puerto Rico and the dependent islands to the United States, and transferred sovereignty over the Philippines to the Americans for $ 20 million. General John R. Brooke became the United States' first military governor in Puerto Rico.

Under the control of the United States (1898 to date)

Military government

US 45-star flag, used by the United States after the invasion of Puerto Rico and as the official flag of Puerto Rico until 1908

Following the signing and ratification of the Paris Peace Treaty, Puerto Rico came under the military control of the United States, which resulted in some changes that are still in force today. The island was renamed "Porto Rico" (reversed in 1932) and the US dollar replaced the Puerto Rican peso . Freedom of assembly, speech, freedom of the press and freedom of religion now applied as well as an eight-hour day for government employees. A public school system was established and the US Post Office expanded to the island. The highways were expanded and bridges built over important rivers. The government lottery was abolished and cockfighting was banned. A central health system should ameliorate the bad conditions with high rates of child mortality and numerous endemic diseases.

The beginning of military rule led to the creation of new political groups. The Republican Party, Partido Republicano, and the American federal party, American Federal Party , were formed under the leadership of José Celso Barbosa and Luis Muñoz Rivera, respectively. Both parties supported the annexation to the United States as a solution to the colonial situation.

Two hurricanes struck the island in August 1899: San Ciriaco on August 8th and an unnamed storm on August 22nd. Almost 3,400 people died in the floods and thousands were left without homes, food or work after the disaster. The impact on the economy was devastating as the losses from the destruction of the sugar and coffee plantations amounted to several million US dollars.

Foraker Act (1900)

The first Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, 1900

The period of military rule in Puerto Rico ended on April 2, 1900 when the US Congress passed the Foraker Act , named after Senator Joseph Benson Foraker . The Act established civil government and free trade between the island and the United States. The island's government consisted of a president-appointed governor, an executive council (comparable to the Senate ) and a 35-member legislature, with the executive's veto requiring a 2/3 majority. The first civilian governor Charles Herbert Allen was sworn in on May 1, 1900. On June 5, US President McKinley appointed an executive council with five Puerto Rican and six US members. The Foraker Act also created a judicial system headed by the Supreme Court . Puerto Rico was also allowed to send a resident commissioner to Congress as a representative . The newly formed Department of Education under the direction of the future Governor of Pennsylvania , Dr. MG Braumbaugh, made English the language of instruction and treated Spanish as a special subject. However, English and Spanish were official languages ​​on the island. The first Foraker Act elections were held on November 6th, and the Legislative Assembly began its work on December 3rd. On March 14, 1901, Federico Degetau was the first Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico to move into his office in Washington.

In view of the new political status, the federal party Partido Federal and the socialist workers' party Partido Obrero Socialista de Puerto Rico emerged in 1900 . The former wanted to make Puerto Rico a state of the United States, while the latter followed the ideals of the Socialist Labor Party of America . Four years later, Luis Muñoz Rivera and José de Diego transformed the American federal party into the Partido Unionista de Puerto Rico in order to combat the colonial government. In 1909, Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón, Manuel Zeno Gandía , Luis Lloréns Torres , Eugenio Benítez Castaño and Pedro Franceschi founded the independent party Partido Independentista , which was the first to have the independence of Puerto Rico on its agenda.

That same year, due to weaknesses and a minor crisis in the government, the Foraker Act was modified by the Olmsted Amendment , which placed control of Puerto Rican affairs in the jurisdiction of an executive department that had to be designated by the President. In 1914 the first Puerto Rican members of the executive cabinet (managing director Martin Travieso and the commissioner for internal affairs Manuel V. Domenech) were appointed, which allowed the islanders a majority. In 1915 a delegation from Puerto Rico traveled to Washington with Governor Arthur Yager to ask Congress for more autonomy for the island. This delegation and speeches by Resident Commissioner Luis Muñoz Rivera in Congress led, with political and economic interests, to the signing of the Jones Act of 1917.

Jones-Shafroth Act (1917)

The Jones – Shafroth Act was approved on December 5, 1916, and made into law on March 2, 1917 by the signature of President Woodrow Wilson . By law, Puerto Rico became an organized but unincorporated territory of the United States, and all Puerto Ricans were granted United States citizenship. The Act extended the compulsory military service to the island, after the First World War, 20,000 soldiers to the US Army arrived. Government power was divided into an executive branch (named by the US president), a legislative branch and a judicial branch . The legislature consisted of the Senate with 19 members and a House of Representatives with 39 members. The members of the legislature were freely elected by the Puerto Rican people. A Bill of Rights stipulated that elections should take place every four years. English became the official language in Puerto Rican courts.

On October 11, 1918, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter scale and a 6.1 meter high tsunami struck the island. The epicenter was located northwest of Aguadilla in the Mona Canyon (between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic). The earthquake caused great damage in Mayagüez and killed many people; There was also damage in other places on the island. The aftershocks lasted for several weeks.

After the Jones-Shafroth Act and the establishment of elections, the new Puerto Rican nationalist party Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico was formed on September 17, 1922 . On April 16, 1929, a law was passed giving all women who could read and write the right to vote and was to come into effect in 1932. Although this resulted in restricted women's suffrage , in fact most Puerto Rican women were excluded from the election. In 1935 a law was passed that guaranteed universal suffrage. Universal suffrage for men was recognized in the Jones Act for Puerto Rico in 1917.

In the 1930s, under the leadership of Pedro Albizu Campos , the nationalists withdrew from politics, which led to conflict between their supporters and the authorities. They attacked the Governor Blanton Winship C. , the police chief Elisha Francis Riggs and the judges of the Federal Tribunal , Robert Archer Cooper on. On February 23, 1936, the two nationalists Hiram Rosado and Elias Beauchamp killed the police chief Riggs in San Juan in an act of revenge for the Río Piedras massacre . They were arrested and executed together at police headquarters . On July 31, 1936, Pedro Albizu Campos, Juan Antonio Corretjer , Clemente Soto Vélez and other nationalists were sentenced to six to ten years in federal prison. In 1937 the police opened fire on a parade of the Nacionalista de Puerto Rico . When Ponce Massacre 20 people died and 100 were injured.

Sugar cane plantations were a major source of income in Puerto Rico until the Great Depression

Puerto Rico's economy was booming in the 1920s. The sharp rise in the price of sugar, Puerto Rico's most important export item, brought the island a lot of income. As a result, the infrastructure improved . New schools, roads and bridges were built. The increasing private wealth was evident in the construction of many residences, while the development of trade and agriculture encouraged the expansion of banking and transportation. The child mortality rate has been falling steadily thanks to basic public health programs. However, the upswing came to an abrupt end when the United States suffered a stock market crash in 1929 . The world economic crisis hit the island hard. At the time, agriculture was the largest industry. Industry and trade also weakened in the 1930s. The crisis worsened when Hurricane San Ciprián hit the island on September 27, 1932. Details of the destruction are unknown, but an estimated 200-300 deaths, more than 1,000 injuries and property damage of $ 30 to 50 million. Agricultural production came to a standstill. However, the economic decline did not end there. In 1938, a statutory minimum wage of 25 cents an hour was introduced, as a result of which two-thirds of Puerto Rican textile mills had to close because the productivity of the work was below this level.

Commonwealth

After the Second World War , there were social, political and economic changes that continue to have an impact today. After the war, emigration to the United States, mostly to New York City, began for two decades . The reasons for this lay in the unsatisfactory economic situation after the global economic crisis and the extensive recruitment by the United States Army and American companies. Today more than two million Puerto Ricans live overseas. The political changes began when US President Harry S. Truman named the first native governor of Puerto Rico in the person of Commissioner Resident Jesús T. Piñero in 1946 and the US Congress passed a law a year later that allowed Puerto Ricans to to choose their own governor. The first elections were won by the President of the Puerto Rican Senate, Luis Muñoz Marín . The island's first democratically elected governor began work on January 2, 1949 and started an ambitious industrialization project called Operation Bootstrap in the 1950s . It was linked to an agrarian reform that limited the land available to the large sugar cane producers. The operation encouraged US investors to transfer or rebuild manufacturing facilities by giving them concessions on local and federal taxes, but keeping access to the US market free from import obligations. Another incentive was the low labor costs on the densely populated island, which had high unemployment in the cities. Labor-intensive light industries such as textiles emerged in the 1950s, and manufacturing gave way to heavy industries such as petrochemicals and oil refineries in the 1960s and 1970s . Muñoz Marín's development programs brought some prosperity to the emerging middle class and transformed the agricultural society into an industrial working class.

Flag of Puerto Rico, created in 1895 and officially recognized in 1952

On July 4, 1950, Truman signed the Public Act 600, which allowed Puerto Ricans to draft their own constitution for the Commonwealth . The US Congress had previously raised the island's status from a protectorate to the Commonwealth. This, along with Muñoz Marín's refusal to pursue Puerto Rico's independence, angered some residents. At the end of October 1950, a group of nationalists led by Pedro Albizu Campos staged some revolts; the most successful is known as the Jayuya Uprising . The nationalists attacked the governor's house, La Fortaleza , the Capitol and the Blair House in an attempt to assassinate Truman. These events led Muñoz Marín to crack down on the nationalists and the supporters of Puerto Rico independence. However, the measures by Muñoz Marín and the US government were later seen as a violation of constitutional law. On July 25, 1952, the electorate approved the constitution in a referendum and the island organized itself as the Estado Libre Asociado or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the literal translation of the Spanish name would be "freely associated state", but this was considered inappropriate because the United States is made up of states). In the same year, the flag of Puerto Rico , which was banned from 1852 to 1952, was shown publicly for the first time.

Luis A. Ferré founded the Partido Estadistas Unido to promote its status as a US state . On July 23, 1967, at the first plebiscite on Puerto Rico's political status, 60.4% voted in favor of maintaining the Commonwealth (39% for the state, 0.6% for independence). On August 20, 1980, the United Nations Decolonization Committee ordered the United States to withdraw from Puerto Rico. Further plebiscites on independence took place in 1993 and 1998. In both cases, the previous status quo was retained. The US Constitution does not mention this status, however, as the island legally remains a territory of the United States under the supervision of Congress. The Estadistas Unidos founded the new progressive party Partido Nuevo Progresista under Ferré's leadership. The party advocated that Puerto Rico should become the 51st state in the United States (as opposed to the Puerto Rican Independence Party ). Ferré was elected on November 5, 1968 with 43.6% of the vote as the first governor who pursued this goal. Its progressives, along with the Democrats and Independents, are among the established parties in Puerto Rico.

In the gubernatorial elections of November 4, 1980, the previous governor Carlos Romeo Berceló of the PNP, which continues to campaign for a connection as the 51st state of the United States , narrowly won against the candidate Rafael Hernández Colón of the Popular Democratic Party ( PPD), which works to maintain Commonwealth status.

On January 11, 1981 there was a heavy bomb attack by a command of the left-wing independence movement "Los Macheteros" (PRTP) on the Muñiz Air Base near San Juan. 11 fighter jets, including 10 of the A-7 Corsair II and an F-104 starfighter belonging to the Puerto Rico Air National Guard, were destroyed.

Today Puerto Rico is a major tourist destination and a premier center for pharmaceuticals and manufacturing. The island is still fighting for its political status despite the local autonomy granted in 1952, which leads to political debates in society. In business, Moody's credit rate has been reduced to Baa2, with the option of further cuts in the near future. As a result, financial reforms came about with the aim of reducing government spending, increasing revenue, and balancing the budget.

On October 25, 2006, the Puerto Rican Ministry of Foreign Affairs granted the politician Juan Mari Brás Puerto Rican citizenship, although it did not appear to have existed since 1917. The Supreme Court and Justice Minister determined that citizenship existed and was recognized in the Puerto Rican Constitution as in the Insular Cases ( Casos Insulares ) from 1901 to 1922 by the Supreme Court of the United States. The State Department is working on a protocol to grant Puerto Ricans their citizenship.

On November 6, 2012, the people of Puerto Rico voted in a referendum on the status of Puerto Rico to change the status of Puerto Rico to a state of the United States . This would mean that Puerto Ricans would have all constitutional rights in addition to US citizenship and would be the 51st state to be the 51st state electors for the US presidential election.

A new referendum was held on June 11, 2017. In the non-binding referendum, around 97 percent were in favor of the US outer territory, which also includes the Spanish Virgin Islands, becoming a fully fledged US state. However, because of a boycott by the opposition, the turnout was only around 23 percent of the total of 2.3 million eligible voters.

Financial crisis and Hurricane Maria

With the Jones – Shafroth Act of 1917, Puerto Rico was allowed to use bonds to get money whose interest gains did not have to be taxed, which makes them attractive to investors. The governments of Puerto Rico made regular use of it and got into debt. Since 2006 the Puerto Rico has been in a recession ; debt from issuing bonds rose by 87 percent in 2006–2017. There was a falling birth rate and population decline , so in 2007 there were 3.8 million people on Puerto Rico, in 2017 only 3.4 million, a decrease of 400,000 people in ten years. There is also a talent drain , i.e. the emigration of educated sections of the population. For example, doctors on the mainland of the USA can earn significantly better than on the island, while teachers earn two to three times as much on the mainland.

In February 2014, Puerto Rico's credit rating was lowered to BB ( junk status) by the larger rating agencies .

In 2016 the state could no longer service its debts. The debt level in the financial markets was around $ 72 billion in May 2017, plus $ 49 billion for outstanding pension payments. Expenditure on schools and other public services had to be cut significantly. The unemployment rate is 11.5 percent.

A panel of US government experts has been monitoring the island's finances since summer 2016. Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy on May 3, 2017 .

On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated the island. Almost the entire electricity and mobile phone network was destroyed, and the drinking water supply for more than half of the population failed. The financial damage is estimated at $ 95 billion. The assistance from the Trump administration has often been criticized as being too slow and inadequate. In addition, around 3,000 people were killed. Around 200,000 people left the island in the year after the hurricane to settle on the US mainland, including many with higher education (" brain drain "). Only in 2019 did Puerto Rico see a small increase in population again.

The island relied on aid from Washington to deal with the aftermath of the hurricane. Of the $ 40 billion promised by the US Congress, around 11-14 billion had arrived in Puerto Rico by summer 2019. On July 10, 2019, the FBI arrested six people, including former Minister of Education Julia Keleher and the head of the health department. They are accused of embezzling over $ 15 million in federal funds in the past two years. Shortly thereafter, on July 13, 2019, the Center for Investigative Journalism published chat messages from a private telegram group led by Governor Ricky Rosselló . The news contained homophobic and sexist slurs and disrespectful remarks about the victims of Hurricane Maria. This scandal, called the Telegramgate , sparked the largest demonstrations in the country's history. In days of mass protests, the demonstrators demanded the resignation of the governor and expressed their anger over the longstanding recession, mismanagement and corruption. As a result, several members of the government resigned, and finally Rosselló announced that he would resign from his post as governor on August 2, 2019.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development withheld from the summer of 2019 aid funds approved by Congress for the reconstruction of houses and apartments. The Trump administration justified this with "alleged corruption", "financial irregularities" and the alleged inability of the Puerto Rican government to administer these aid funds. The opposition Democratic Party condemned this practice as illegal. Only shortly after a series of earthquakes hit the island in January 2020 and caused further damage to houses and infrastructure in the south, $ 8.2 billion was released.

See also

literature

  • Pedro Angel Cabán: Constructing a colonial people: Puerto Rico and the United States, 1898-1932. Westview Press, Boulder, Col. 1999, ISBN 0-8133-3692-9 .
  • Francesco Cordasco: The Puerto Rican Experience: A Sociological Sourcebook. Littlefield Adams & Co., Totowa, NJ 1973, ISBN 0-87471-162-2 .
  • James L. Dietz: Economic History of Puerto Rico. Princeton Univ. Pr., Princeton, NJ 1987, ISBN 0-691-02248-8 .
  • Jorge Duany: The Puerto Rican Nation on the Move: Identities on the Island and in the United States. The University of North Carolina Pr., Chapel Hill u. a. 2002, ISBN 0-8078-5372-0 .
  • Ronald Fernández: The Disenchanted Island: Puerto Rico and the United States in the Twentieth Century. 2nd ed., Praeger, New York a. a. 1996, ISBN 0-275-95227-4 .
  • Olga Jiménez de Wagenheim & Kal Wagenheim: The Puerto Ricans: A Documentary History. Markus Wiener Publishers 2002. ISBN 1-55876-291-4 .
  • Robert D. Johnson, Anti-Imperialism And The Good Neighbor Policy: Ernest Gruening and Puerto Rican Affairs, 1934-1939 , in: Journal of Latin American Studies 29: 1 (1997), 89-110.
  • Arturo Morales Carrión: Puerto Rico: A Political and Cultural History . New York: Norton 1983. ISBN 0-393-30193-1
  • Francisco L. Rivera Batiz & Carlos E. Santiago: Island Paradox: Puerto Rico in the 1990s , Russell Sage Foundation Publications 1998. ISBN 0-87154-751-1
  • RA van Middledyk: The History of Puerto Rico, IndyPublish 2004. ISBN 1-4142-3037-0

Web links

Commons : History of Puerto Rico  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

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  2. ↑ Cheryl Mahaffy. Vieques Island - What lies beneath . Edmonton Journal ( October 11, 2007 memento on the Internet Archive ). January 28, 2006
  3. ^ Ronald Blackburn Moreno. Brief Chronology of Puerto Rico . ASPIRA Association, Inc. ( Memento February 17, 2006 on the Internet Archive ). February 2001.
  4. ^ Prehistory of the Caribbean Culture Area , Southeast Archaeological Center, National Park Service , accessed December 25, 2014.
  5. ^ Ivonne Figueroa. Taínos . July 1996
  6. ↑ Chief Pedro Guanikeyu Torres. The Dictionary of the Taíno Language ( Memento of February 13, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) .
  7. ^ The second voyage of Columbus . World Book, Inc. ( Memento from June 28, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  8. ↑ Brenda A. Mari. The Legacy of Añasco: Where the Gods Come to Die . Puerto Rico Herald . April 22, 2005
  9. ^ WA Jones. Porto Rico . Catholic Encyclopedia
  10. ↑ Puerto Rico: A Guide to the Island of Boriquén . Federal Writers Project ( Memento October 10, 1999 on the Internet Archive ) 1940
  11. ^ Puerto Rico and the Death Penalty . Death Penalty Information Center ( Memento of May 4, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ a b National Parks Services (ed.). La Fortaleza / San Juan National Historic Site, Puerto Rico
  13. ^ Paul G. Miller. Historias de Puerto Rico . 1947. pp. 221-237
  14. ↑ The Life of Sir Francis Drake
  15. ↑ The exact numbers are uncertain. The figures vary between 60 and 64 ships and 7,000 and 13,000 soldiers. Further information from María M. Alonso: The Eighteenth Century Caribbean & The British Attack on Puerto Rico in 1797. ISBN 1-881713-20-2 .
  16. ^ María M. Alonso: The Eighteenth Century Caribbean & The British Attack on Puerto Rico in 1797 . Chapter XIV Abercromby's Victories
  17. ^ Iñigo Abbad y Lasierra. Historia Geográfica, Civil y Política de Puerto Rico . ISBN 0-8477-0800-4
  18. ↑ Aspectos políticos en Puerto Rico: 1765-1837
  19. ↑ Howard B. Grose. Advance in the Antilles .
  20. ^ A b c d e Chronology of Puerto Rico in the Spanish-American War . Library of Congress
  21. ↑ The American commission consisted of William R. Day , Sen. Cushman Davis , Sen. William P. Frye , Sen. George Gray, and the Hon. Whitelaw Reid . Senate President Eugenio Montero Ríos led the Spanish commission, which was supported by French diplomat Jules Cambon.
  22. ^ Military Government in Puerto Rico . Library of Congress
  23. ^ Hurricane San Ciriaco . Library of Congress
  24. ↑ a b c Foraker Act (Organic Act of 1900) . Library of Congress
  25. ↑ The Puerto Ricans were José Celso Barbosa, Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón, José de Diego, Manuel Camuñas and Andrés Crosas. The United States representatives included General Manager William H. Hunt, Treasurer Jacob Hollander, Chartered Accountant JR Garrison, Secretary of the Interior WB Eliot, Attorney General James A. Harlan, and Secretary of Education Dr. Martin Grove Brumbaugh.
  26. ^ An American Empire: Relations with Territories gained in the Treaty of Paris 1898 . National Center for History in the Schools Standards ( Memento of May 29, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  27. ↑ a b c Jones Act . Library of Congress
  28. ↑ Earthquake of 1918 . Puerto Rico Seismic Network.
  29. ^ Allison L. Sneider: Suffragists in an Imperial Age. US Expansion and the Women Question 1870-1929. Oxford University Press, New York, 2006, ISBN 978-0-19-532116-6 , p. 134.
  30. ↑ a b June Hannam, Mitzi Auchterlonie, Katherine Holden: International Encyclopedia of Women's Suffrage. ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford 2000, ISBN 1-57607-064-6 , pp. 246-247.
  31. ^ Truman Clark: Puerto Rico and the United States 1917-1933. Pittsburgh 1975, ISBN 0-8229-3299-7
  32. ^ Allison L. Sneider: Suffragists in an Imperial Age. US Expansion and the Women Question 1870-1929. Oxford University Press, New York, 2006, ISBN 978-0-19-532116-6 , p. 117.
  33. ↑ Puerto Rico: A Guide to the Island of Boriquén . Agriculture chapter . Federal Writers' Project ( Memento of 14 February 2006 at the Internet Archive ). 1940
  34. ↑ Puerto Rico: A Guide to the Island of Boriquén . Chapter Industry, Commerce, and Labor . Federal Writers Project ( Memento October 10, 1999 on the Internet Archive ). 1940
  35. ↑ Michael E. Hodgson & Risa I. Palm. Natural Hazards in Puerto Rico: Attitudes, Experience, and Behavior of Homeowners . 1993
  36. ^ Puerto Rico: Migrating to a new land . Library of Congress
  37. ^ American Friends Service Committee / Johnny Irizarry, Maria Mills-Torres, Marta Moreno Vega & Anita Rivera. Resistance in Paradise: Rethinking 100 Years of US Involvement in the Caribbean and the Pacific ( Memento from February 22, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  38. ↑ Luis Muñoz Marín Foundation ( Memento of September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  39. ↑ Juan Gonzáles. FBI Files on Puerto Ricans ( January 13, 2006 memento in the Internet Archive )
  40. ↑ FBI . Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts Section ( Memento of May 24, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 2.9 MB)
  41. ^ Elections in Puerto Rico: Results 1967 Plebiscite
  42. ^ Lawyers Protest US Base In Puerto Rico, Carmelo Ruiz
  43. ↑ The complete statistics are available from Elections in Puerto Rico: Results .
  44. ^ New York Times
  45. ↑ Moody's places Puerto Rico's credit rating in watchlist for a possible downgrade . Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico ( Memento dated May 5, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
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  55. ↑ Puerto Rico population increases for 1st time since 2005. In: apnews.com . December 31, 2019, accessed January 1, 2020.
  56. ↑ Andreas Evelt: Resignation of Puerto Rico's governor - The new power of the people. In spiegel.de . July 26, 2019, accessed July 28, 2019.
  57. ^ After mass protests: Puerto Rico's governor resigns. In: orf.at . July 25, 2019, accessed July 25, 2019.
  58. ^ Nicole Acevedo: House Democrats slam Trump admin for 'illegally withholding' Puerto Rico hurricane aid. In: NBC . December 5, 2019, accessed January 15, 2020.
  59. ↑ Katy O'Donnel: Trump to lift hold on $ 8.2B in Puerto Rico disaster aid. In: politico.com . January 15, 2020, accessed on January 15, 2020.