Page 14 - Boca ViewPointe - September '20
P. 14

Page 14, Viewpointe                                                September 2020
      Puerto Rico: The History Of A Beautiful Island




      By Tina Fernandez                                  colonies, with just one representative at the Cortes and no   who immigrated to Puerto Rico) and followers of Spanish
                                                         solid separatist movement (yet). In other words, Spain did   colonial policy (large merchants, clergy, military, and
         I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, having moved to   not think granting Puerto Rico their 22 wishes would lead   landowners whose markets were predominantly in Spain). In
      Boca Raton merely two years ago. My beautiful island has   to any huge upheaval.                     short, the ideological division between “Puerto Ricans” and
      always enchanted me; I’ve fallen in love with its beaches,      As separatist sentiment continued to gain traction, Puerto   “Spaniards” became increasingly evident every day. What a
      rainforests, and people. One thing, however, that I did not   Ricans began to embrace the idea of autonomy. In 1868,   few decades prior was perceived as unthreatening was now
      pay much attention to was its history. It wasn’t until last   Puerto Rico’s only and briefly successful revolution took   a fervent movement that challenged Spain’s established
      year that I began having insightful conversations with my   place- the Grito de Lares. This movement was organized   authority day by day.
      friends about Puerto Rican’s political history and current   by Ramón Emeterio Betances and carried out by workers      By the last decades of the 19th century, Spain grew desperate
      circumstances. Although I still have a lot to learn, I’d like   connected to the coffee economy. Like most revolutionaries   and even conceded to Cuba and Puerto Rico’s equal rights
      to share with you all a series of articles on the history of   at the time, Betances’ influence derived from Simón Bolivar   to their Spanish counterparts, under Title I of the Spanish
      Puerto Rico. I’ll begin by giving an overview on Puerto   and other independence movements in the rest of the   Constitution. An exciting accomplishment for Puerto Ricans
      Rico’s colonial roots, a period from 1493 to 1898.   Americas, such as the Haitian Revolution of 1791. Betances   was the approval of the Autonomic Charter, which occurred on
         Like many other islands in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico   wrote The Ten Commandments of Free Men, in which he   November 25, 1897 and bestowed self-government to Puerto
      was colonized by Spain in the 15th century. With the   demanded, among other things, the abolition of slavery,   Rico, prompting the island’s first elections. The elections
      Capitulations of Santa Fe signed by the Catholic Monarchs   freedom of speech, religion, and commerce, and the right of   were held on March 1898, with the Liberal Party receiving the
      of Spain, Christopher Columbus was given the money,   Puerto Ricans to elect their authorities. Although the Spanish   majority. Unfortunately, autonomy was extremely short lived;
      ships, and men to embark on an exploration of the New   found out about the rebellion in time to stop it, Betances   eight days later the United States invaded Puerto Rico due to the
      World. Columbus arrived in the already-habited island of   still carried it out, and while not completely successful, its   Spanish-American War of 1898. Puerto Rico, as well as Cuba,
      Puerto Rico in November 19, 1493, while on his second   effects would later on have a profound impact on the island.   Guam, and the Philippines, would be relinquished by Spain
      trip. He named the island San Juan Bautista, although the      For example, the uprising pressured Spain into granting   and given to the United States as part of the peace treaty to end
      island’s natives- the Tainos- had their own name for it:   Puerto  Rico more  political rights. These  consisted  of   the war. Just as Puerto Ricans were making significant progress
      Borikén. It was not until 1508, however, that the conquest   being able to send 14 more representatives to the Spanish   towards sovereignty, they became colonized all over again.
      of Puerto Rico actually began. Juan Ponce de León, one of   Cortes. On another hand, the possibility of more freedom      Puerto Rico’s history is rich in common themes and
      the conquistadores of Hispaniola (present-day Dominican   continued to fuel Puerto Rican political thinking, and the   continuity. Under American rule, the island saw many
      Republic and Haiti) decided to conquer Puerto Rico because   first political parties were organized in November 1870:   transformations that defined its 20th century self. I hope to
      he had heard of abundant amounts of gold there. Gold was   the Liberal Reform Party (Partido Liberal Reformista,   write about this period in my next article.
      vital to the economic system that defined Spain at the time.   renamed the Puerto Rican Autonomist Party in 1887) and
      When Juan Ponce de León arrived at the island, he met with   the Conservative Party (Partido Conservador). The rise   Sources:
      Agüeybaná, the leading cacique in the island.  The conquest   of political parties reflected the divergence of economic
                                          1
      was surprisingly peaceful; Agüeybaná welcomed Ponce de   interests between the Spanish and the creole Puerto Ricans.   Dietz, James. Economic History of Puerto Rico: Institutional Change
      León and his 50 men. For the first couple of decades, the   The Liberal Reform Party favored greater autonomy and   and Capitalist Development. Princeton University Press, 2018. Print.
      island thrived as a source of gold, forcing labor upon the   supported the expansion of trade between other nations;
      Tainos, which underwent constant abuse and exploitation.   it catered to the interests of the creole farmers (both sugar   Solá García, Cesar J., and Juan R. Hernández García. Puerto Rico:
      After 1518, Spaniards began bringing African slaves to   and coffee producers). In contrast, the Conservative Party   The Story of an Island and Its People. Edited by Pedro L. San Miguel
      compensate for the declining Taino population, which had   supported the interests of peninsulares (native Spaniards   and Jane Ramirez, Santillana Educación, 2015 
      been heavily decreasing due to European diseases.  As time
                                              2
      passed, the gold eventually ran out, transforming Puerto                                                                                   B’H
      Rico into an agrarian society which cultivated anything from                            Sabra Wall Decor
      ginger and sugar to cassava, coffee, and tobacco, although
      never in significantly large quantities. Puerto Rico held an
      important strategic and military role, but the island did not   EstimatEs
      have a powerful export economy (probably due to its small
      size), making it unprofitable to the monarchy.
         During the 19th century, Puerto Rico saw many important   Painting & More ...
      economic and political changes take place. For instance, the
      cultivation of coffee, which had begun in 1736, expanded
      strongly in the last third of the 19th century. Coffee was   •   Popcorn Ceiling                  •      Wallpaper Removal
      frequently cultivated alongside plantains and bananas, which
      provided shade to the coffee plants. And while sugarcane   •   Knock Down
      plantations required much larger resources of labor- both   •   Drywall Repair
      land and workers, coffee could be cultivated with smaller
      pieces of land and less workers. In a way, coffee production             Cell: (954) 931-4716                            Licensed & Insured
      disincentivized the sugarcane plantation system, and                   Office: (561) 395-3057                             CC: 03-11120-P-K
      empowered local peasants to become sustainable. To give
      exact statistics, in the 1890s, 41% of cultivated land was
      used for coffee production, and over half of all farms on the
      island were actively involved in coffee production of some                       Southwind S
      sort. Meanwhile, only 15% of the cultivated land was being
      used to produce sugarcane.


      1  In Taino society, Caciques were the most powerful and respected
      members. Essentially the leaders of their communities.
      2  A government-conducted census showed that there were only 1,553
      Tainos living in Puerto Rico in 1530, a sharp decline from the 50 to
      70,000 of them at the start of colonization in 1508.

         Politically speaking, the nineteenth century also saw
      the birth of Puerto Rico’s first political parties, which
      were strongly influenced by separatist and anti-Spanish
      sentiments. In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte forced Spanish
      King Charles IV to abdicate his throne, taking him and
      his son Ferdinand VII as prisoners. As a result of French
      occupation, the Junta Suprema formed in Spain, with the
      purpose of fighting against France and restoring Ferdinand
      VII to the throne. In 1809, the Junta Suprema helped organize
      the Cortes, the first Spanish parliament. This committee   Enjoy the sunsets on the wrap around patio overlooking the golf course of this 2 bedroom, 2 bath first
      granted representation to the colonies, most likely in an   floor Aruba model in Southwinds. Double door entry and unique layout makes this feel more like a
      effort to ensure they would remain loyal to Spain. Puerto   house than a condo. Beautifully updated kitchen with granite counters and SS appliances. Large master
      Ricans chose Ramón Power y Giralt as their representative,         bedroom with stunning remodeled master bath and 2 extra large closets.
      excited at the opportunity to finally have a voice in political                                 $329,000
      discourse. Once in Spain, Ramón Power y Giralt brought to
      the committee a list of 22 proposals he wanted the Cortes
      to enforce. These proposals reflected the growing liberal
      sentiments in Puerto Rico and the rising tensions between                       Stephanie Scheller
      creoles and Spanish immigrants (peninsulares). Some of
      the requests included in the list were lower taxes and the                      Broker Associate
      appointment of native Puerto Ricans to public posts. The                        LoKation Real Estate
      proposals would essentially benefit the creole classes at the
      expense of Spanish plantation owners. Spain agreed to the                       954-494-8490
      proposals, mostly as an act of desperation; their power was
      in decline and Puerto Rico was one of their last remaining
   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19