History History

The first inhabitants of the island would come from the ortoiroid Amerindian culture. In 1990, the discovery on the island of Vieques of the remains of the bones of the man from Puerto Ferro, a man who belonged to this people, confirms this thesis

Another Amerindian people, the Saladoides, forced the Ortoiroids to leave the island. The Taino community, originally from Venezuela, then developed. Historians estimate that there were between 30,000 and 60,000 Tainos in Puerto Rico at the end of the 15th century

Christopher Columbus discovered Puerto Rico during his second voyage to the New World in 1493. He took possession of the island on behalf of the Spanish crown. At that time, the island was unofficially named Borikén, an indigenous word translated into Spanish as Borinquenet, which means "Land of the Brave Ones". The island was then populated by Taino Indians. In 1508, Juan Ponce de León became the first governor of the island and introduced the first Spanish colonies. This was followed by the first sugar cane plantations and the arrival of the first slaves from Africa. Puerto Rico soon became an important port for the Spanish Empire. The Spaniards founded San Juan in 1519 which officially became San Juan de Puerto Rico in 1521.

On several occasions, the English and the Dutch tried to seize the territory, but in vain. In 1589, fifty years after the first stone was laid, Fort San Felipe del Morro, designed to protect the city from maritime attacks, was completed. The construction of the walls around San Juan continued until 1630 and lasted 48 years. Spanish victory against final British assaults in 1797.

In the 19th century, the port of San Juan was one of the most influential in the region. Puerto Rico became a province of the Kingdom of Spain in 1809. The King of Spain, Fernando VII, ordered several decrees that liberalized trade with Puerto Rico. Its stronger attachment to Europe guaranteed it many economic contracts. However, after the independence gained by all the South and Central American countries until the mid-1960s, Puerto Rico and Cuba were the last two territories in the region still belonging to Spain. And ideas of independence are stirring in the minds of some Puerto Ricans.

Foundation of the Puerto Rico Revolutionary Committee. Tired of the lack of political and economic freedoms, hundreds of Puerto Ricans of all classes joined the movement. In this context, on September 23, 1868, the famous "El Grito de Lares" (The Cry of Lares) broke out, an uprising of a part of the population that demanded the independence of Puerto Rico. The movement was led by Manuel Rojas. Officially, some 475 rebels were taken prisoner, including the leader. All of them were sentenced to death, but the new governor appointed in 1869, José Laureano Sanz, pardoned them and released them. In spite of the failure, "El Grito de Lares" remained positive in that it brought, at the time, more autonomy to Puerto Rico

The Spanish administration recognized the creation of the Liberal Reform Party and the Liberal Conservative Party as the first two political parties in Puerto Rico in 1870. On March 22, 1873, the Spanish crown abolished slavery on the island.

In March, Ramón Baldorioty de Castro launched the Autonomist Party, with the goal of creating a political identity of its own in Puerto Rico.

Washington worked for the commercial supremacy of the United States in the Caribbean. On December 7, 1896, the American government threatened to intervene in Cuba if Spain failed to restore calm. In 1897, Luis Muñoz Rivera and other activists convinced the Spanish crown to respect the new Charter of Autonomy, which recognized Cuba and Puerto Rico as Spanish overseas provinces. In March 1898, a new government was partially elected in Puerto Rico under the terms of the treaty. That same year, Spain went to war with the United States. The Puerto Rican identity was then totally challenged

In March, Julio J. Henna and Robert H. Todd, leaders of the Puerto Rican section of the Party of the Cuban Revolution in Havana, demanded that Puerto Rico be included in any action taken in Cuba. On March 29, Washington issued an ultimatum asking Spain to leave Cuba. Madrid rejected it on April 1. On April 11, U.S. President William McKinley requested authorization from Congress to intervene in Cuba against the revolutionaries and the Spanish army. Congress will formulate a resolution authorizing the American army to intervene, without the objective of administering Cuba at the end of the conflict. On May 12, an American fleet bombed San Juan, as part of the war with Spain. On July 25, American troops landed under the command of General Nelson Miles. On December 10, 1898, the Treaty of Paris ensured the transfer of Puerto Rico's sovereignty from Spain to the United States

Reorganization of political parties, under American supervision, and appointment of the first American civilian governor. He was chosen by the president at the time, William McKinley. On November 11, 1906, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt made an official visit to San Juan, and in a speech he recommended that Puerto Ricans become citizens of the United States. Economically, coffee became the most profitable crop in Puerto Rico.

Foundation of the first party that wants nothing more than the independence of Puerto Rico. Although it was short-lived, it has the merit of inspiring many ideological currents defending Puerto Rico's autonomy.

On December 5, 1916, U.S. President Wilson urged Congress to quickly draft a law giving Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship through the Jones-Shafroth Act. This was done in 1917, but they had neither the right to vote for the president of the United States nor the duty to pay federal taxes. They had no representatives or senators on Capitol Hill. The U.S. Supreme Court declared Puerto Rico a territory, rather than a part of the Union. This decision implies that the U.S. Constitution cannot be applied to Puerto Rico

17 pro-independence activists are shot by the police

Puerto Ricans can now elect their governor. Operation Bootstrap was implemented in 1948 to ensure the transition from an agriculture-based economy to an industry-based economy

In 1949, Luis Muñoz Marín became the first governor elected by the people of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico became an associated state. On May 13, 1950, Antonio Fernos Isern, commissioned by the Puerto Rican government, presented a bill before the U.S. House of Representatives to authorize the drafting of a constitution. That same year, Public Law 600 was passed, which recognized Puerto Rico's right to choose its government and established the course of action for the drafting of the Constitution. The people of Puerto Rico approved the constitutional relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States in a referendum with 76.5% of the votes cast. On July 25, 1952, Puerto Rico became a Commonwealth of the United States. The Puerto Rican flag was officially recognized.

60% of Puerto Ricans voted that they did not want to change Puerto Rico's status as a Commonwealth. They thus refused independence. A period of negotiations between San Juan and Washington will follow, to guarantee the free determination of the Puerto Rican state

Puerto Rico is not spared. Unemployment exploded and concerned 21% of the active population. The sugar industry went bankrupt. To help Puerto Rico get out of the economic crisis, the U.S. Congress passed Clause 936 of the Internal Revenue Service Act, offering numerous tax benefits to national companies wishing to set up in Puerto Rico and employing workers there

San Juan asked the U.S. Congress for a resolution authorizing a plebiscite to determine whether the people wanted Puerto Rico to become a federal state. But the House of Representatives refused, going against the advice of U.S. President George Bush himself. To boost the economy, tax measures were adopted to attract companies in the electronics and biology industries to set up shop in Puerto Rico

On January 24, 1993, a huge demonstration invaded the streets of San Juan. The Neo-Progressive Party, which had just won the elections two months earlier, and which was in favor of incorporating Puerto Rico into the United States, put forward the idea of making English the only official language. This was a serious mistake, and the streets of San Juan, as well as all the other major cities on the island, were to make it known. In the end, English and Spanish were recognized as the two official languages of Puerto Rico. That same year, a plebiscite on the island's political status revealed that 48% of voters favored keeping Puerto Rico as a "Commonwealth," while 46% of voters wanted Puerto Rico to become a "federal state" of the United States. The choice of the Puerto Ricans was respected, but the U.S. Congress gradually withdrew tax benefits to U.S. companies that set up shop in Puerto Rico.

The U.S. House of Representatives authorized Puerto Rico to begin the process of deciding whether Puerto Ricans preferred independence, Commonwealth status or federal statehood. On December 13, the popular plebiscite confirmed Puerto Rico's status as a Commonwealth. 50.3% of voters were in favour, while 46.5% wanted Puerto Rico to become the 51st state of the United States. Only 2.5 percent of voters wanted Puerto Rico to become an independent country

Sila María Calderón became the first female governor of Puerto Rico. Also that year, demonstrations were held to protest the U.S. military's naval activities around Vieques Island. The US Navy abandoned its bases on Vieques Island in 2003.

Puerto Rico went into debt and plunged into a deep economic and financial crisis. Companies are filing for bankruptcy and deserting the archipelago, taxes are increasing. The island tries to pay off its debts with new loans, a never-ending circle. A state of fiscal emergency is declared

Barack Obama visits Puerto Rico on June 14, 2011. The last tenant of the White House who had made the trip was Kennedy in 1961. The following year, the governor of Puerto Rico organized a referendum to extend the current status of Commonwealth until 2020. 65% of voters were in favor of a change in status that would allow Puerto Rico to become a state of the United States

The government declared itself in default. This generates the beginning of a massive exodus of Puerto Ricans to the United States with a departure of more than 70,000 people in 2015, aggravating the economic crisis

The new governor, Ricardo Rosselló, organized a non-binding consultative referendum to support the desire of the Puerto Ricans to make their island the 51st state of the United States. Boycotted by the population and the opposition, it gathered only 23% of the voters. At the same time, pro-independence activist Oscar Lopez Rivera was released from prison in the United States after 36 years behind bars.

In May 2017, Puerto Rico declared itself out of breath and launched a bankruptcy process. In September of the same year, Hurricanes Irma and Maria (category 5) devastate the island, deepening the economic crisis.

Giant demonstrations push the governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello, to leave. This one is implied in a scandal mixing corruption and homophobic remarks.

San Juan, the "capital" of Puerto Rico, is celebrating its 500th anniversary. The newly elected governor, Pedro Pierluisi, pleads for the Caribbean archipelago to become the 51st state of the United States. With the arrival of Joe Biden in the White House, a congressional delegation was elected to go to Washington to plead for the territory's full integration into the United States

The island is just recovering from the economic crisis related to the Covid-19 pandemic. A federal judge also approved a plan to restructure Puerto Rico's public debt. A relief for the island which will be able to get out of the state of bankruptcy declared five years ago.