History from the beginning with Obvious points on how Puerto Rico is still under invasion and how Puerto Rico (Boriken or Borinquen) still belongs to our Taino People. The same way North America (USA) still belongs to the Native Americans: XV century : Taíno [Glos.] Indians who inhabited the territory, called the island Boriken or Borinquen which means: the great land of the valiant and noble Lord or land of the great lords. Today this word -used in various modifications- is still popularly used to designate the people and island of Puerto Rico. The Taíno Indians, who came from South America, inhabited the major portion of the island when the Spaniards arrived. The Taíno Indians, lived in small villages, organized in clans and led by a Cacique, or chief. They were a peaceful people who, with a limited knowledge of agriculture, lived on such domesticated tropical crops as pineapples, cassava, and sweet potatoes supplemented by seafood. 1492 On April 17, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain signed the agreement to finance and set the terms of Columbuss voyage to the Indies. The document is known as the Capitulations of Santa Fe. The agreement established that Columbus would become the viceroy and governor of all discovered land and rights to 10% of all assets brought to Spain, among other terms. On August 3, the fleet of three ships --the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María-- set forth from Palos, Spain. The first sighting of land came at dawn on October 12. They landed at San Salvador, in the Bahamas. Thinking he had reached the East Indies, Columbus referred to the native inhabitants of the island as Indians, a term that was ultimately applied to all indigenous peoples of the New World. 1493 After the success of Columbuss first voyage, he had little trouble convincing Ferdinand and Isabela of Spain, to follow up immediately with a second voyage. Unlike the exploratory first voyage, the second voyage was a massive colonization effort. On September 25, Christopher Columbus set sail from Cádiz, Spain with 17 ships and almost 1,500 men. The second voyage brought European livestock (horses, sheep, and cattle) to America for the first time. Christopher Columbus On November 19, Christopher Columbus discovered the island in his second voyage to the New World. He found the island populated by as many as 50,000 Taíno or Arawak Indians. The Taíno Indians who greeted Columbus made a big mistake when they showed him gold nuggets in the river and told him to take all he wanted. Originally the newcomers called the island San Juan Bautista, for St. John the Baptist and the town Puerto Rico because of its obvious excellent potentialities. It was not until later that the two names were switched. Thanks in part to the enthusiasm of ambitious Juan Ponce de León, [Glos.] a lieutenant to Columbus, the city of Puerto Rico (rich port) quickly became Spains most important military outpost in the Caribbean. 1873 The Spanish Constitutional Monarchy is replaced by a republican government. The Spanish Crown abolished slavery in Puerto Rico. Leaders of the Puerto Rican abolitionist movement, including José Julián Acosta, Francisco Mariano Quiñones, Julio L. de Vizcarrondo, Ramón Emeterio Betances and Segundo Ruiz Belvis, waged a long struggle to end slavery on the island. On March 22, the Spanish National Assembly finally abolished slavery in Puerto Rico. The owners were compensated with 35 million pesetas per slave, and slaves were required to continue working for three more years. 1893 On August 16, Hurricane Saint Roque strikes the island. Electrical lighting is established in San Juan. On October 5, the Banco Popular de Puerto Rico is founded. It is the largest bank on the island. 1895 The Puerto Rican flag is first used on December 22nd and adopted as a national symbol. 1897 On November 25, the Carta Autonómica (Autonomic Charter) is approved in which Spain concedes political and administrative autonomy to the island. It allowed the island to retain its representation in the Spanish Cortes, and provided for a bicameral legislature. This legislature consisted of a Council of Administration with eight (8) elected and seven (7) appointed members, and a Chamber of Representatives with one (1) member for every 25,000 inhabitants. The telephone service is inaugurated in San Juan. The Partido Autonomista Ortodoxo (Orthodox Autonomist Party) is founded, led by José Celso Barbosa and Manuel Fernández Juncos. 1898 On February 9, the new government officially opened for business in the spring of 1898. Governor General Manuel Macías inaugurated the new government of Puerto Rico under the Autonomous Charter which gave town councils complete autonomy in local matters. Subsequently, the governor had no authority to intervene in civil and political matters unless authorized to do so by the Cabinet. On March 10, Dr. Julio J. Henna and Robert H. Todd, prominent leaders of the Puerto Rican section of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, began to correspond with United States President McKinley and Senate in hopes that they would consider including Puerto Rico in whatever intervention is planned for Cuba. Henna and Todd also provided the U.S. government with information about the Spanish military presence on the island. On April 24, Spanish Minister of Defense Segismundo Bermejo sent instructions to Spanish Admiral Cervera to proceed with his fleet from Cape Verde to the Caribbean, Cuba and Puerto Rico. On May, Lt. Henry H. Whitney of the Fourth Artillery is sent to Puerto Rico on a reconnaissance mission, sponsored by the Armys Bureau of Military Intelligence. He provided maps and information on the Spanish military forces to the U.S. government prior to the invasion. On May 10, Spanish forces in the fortress of San Cristóbal in San Juan exchanged fire with the U.S.S. Yale under the command of Capt. William Clinton Wise. On May 12, A squadron of 12 U.S. ships commanded by Rear Adm. William T. Sampson bombarded San Juan. On June 25, the U.S.S. Yosemite arrived off San Juan harbor, Puerto Rico, to blockade the port. On July 18, General Nelson A. Miles, commander of the invading forces, received orders to sail for Puerto Rico. On July 21, convoy of 3,300 soldiers and nine transports escorted by the U.S.S. Massachusetts sailed for Puerto Rico from Guantánamo, Cuba. On July, 25 General Nelson Miles came ashore with the first contingent of 16,000 American troops, landed unopposed at the town of Guánica in the South of Puerto Rico. Upon arrival, the ship met with Spanish resistance the morning of July 26. By August, the whole island was practically invaded. On August 8, the Spanish-American War, conflict between the United States and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin American. On August 12, peace protocols were signed in Washington, D.C. On September 9, U.S. and Spanish Commissions met in San Juan, Puerto Rico to discuss the details of the withdrawal of Spanish troops and the cession of the island to the United States. On September 29, Governor Macías officially announced that Puerto Rico had been ceded to the United States. On October 1, the Spanish and United States commissioners held their initial meeting in Paris to draft the Peace Treaty. On October 18, the Spanish withdrawal from Puerto Rico is completed as the final troops left San Juan for Spain. General John R. Brooke became the first American military governor. On December 10, Treaty of Paris is signed (ratified by the U.S. Senate Feb. 6, 1899), treaty concluding the Spanish-American War. The American peace commission consisted of William R. Day, Sen. Cushman K. Davis, Sen. William P. Frye, Sen. George Gray, and the Honorable Whitelaw Reid. The Spanish commission is headed by Don Eugenio Montero Rios, the President of the Senate. Jules Cambon, a French diplomat, also negotiated on Spains behalf. Spain renounced all claim to Cuba, ceded Guam and Puerto Rico and its dependent islets to United States, and transferred sovereignty over the Philippines to the United States for $20,000,000. 1899 On January 15, the first boxing match is held in Puerto Rico. The federal military forces changed the name of the island to Porto Rico. Currency is exchanged, Puerto Rican peso to the dollar. On May, General George W. Davis succeeded to Island command. Freedom of assembly, speech, press, and religion were decreed and an eight-hour day for government employees was established. A public school system is started and the U.S. Postal service is extended to the Island. The highway system was enlarged, and bridges over the more important rivers were constructed. The government lottery was abolished, cockfighting was forbidden, and a beginning was made toward the establishment of a centralized public health service. On July 4, José Celso Barbosa founded the Partido Republicano (Puerto Rican Republican Party) in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. The party embraced the idea of annexation to the US as a solution to the colonial situation. On August 8, Hurricane San Ciriaco strikes the island. It rained for 28 days straight and the winds reached speeds of 100 miles per hour. The loss of life and property damage were immense. Approximately 3,400 people died in the floods and thousands were left without shelter, food, or work. The sugar and coffee industry was devastated. On August 22, a hurricane strikes the island. Luis Muñoz Rivera founded the newspaper El Territorio. On October, the Partido Federal Americano (American Federal Party) is founded, led by Luis Muñoz Rivera.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 21:06:44 +0000
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