African immigration to Puerto Rico - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

African immigration to Puerto Rico (Afro-Puerto Rican history)
Notable Puerto Ricans of African Ancestry
First row Arturo Alfonso Schomburg Arturo Alfonso Schomburg Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, a.k.a. as Arthur Schomburg, , was a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and activist in the United States who researched and raised awareness of the great contributions that Afro-Latin Americans and Afro-Americans have made to society. He was an important intellectual figure... José Celso Barbosa José Celso Barbosa Dr. José Celso Barbosa was a medical Physician, sociologist, and political leader of Puerto Rico.Known within Puerto Rico's New Progressive Party as "The father of the Statehood for Puerto Rico movement", Barbosa was also the first Puerto Rican to be awarded an American medical degree.-Early... Pedro Albizu Campos Pedro Albizu Campos Don Pedro Albizu Campos was a Puerto Rican politician and one of the leading figures in the Puerto Rican independence movement. He was the leader and president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party from 1930 until his death... Second row Juan Morel Campos Juan Morel Campos Juan Morel Campos , sometimes erroneously spelled Juan Morell Campos, was a Puerto Rican composer, considered by many to be responsible for taking the genre of danza to its highest level.-Early years:... Juano Hernández Juano Hernández Juano Hernández was a Puerto Rican stage and film actor of African descent who was a pioneer in the African-American film industry. He made his debut in an Oscar Micheaux film, "The Girl from Chicago" which was directed at black audiences. Hernández also performed in a serious of dramatic roles in...
Black Puerto Ricans 461,997 - 1,713,862 Puerto Ricans (12.4 - 46% of Puerto Rican population) (the former represents Puerto Rico's "pure" black population, while the latter represents everybody mixed with African ancestry)
Regions Throughout the island (but more heavily concentrated in coastal northeast/east regions of the island)
Language Spanish Puerto Rican Spanish Puerto Rican Spanish is the Spanish language as characteristically spoken in Puerto Rico and by millions of people of Puerto Rican descent living in the United States and elsewhere...
Religions Predominantly Roman Catholic Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity... and Santeria Santería Santería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....
Related Criollos Criollo people The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans... MulattosLucumi Lucumi people The Lucumi people are an Afro-Cuban, Afro-Puerto Rican, and Afro-Dominican ethnic group. Many Lucumi claim to be of Yoruba ancestry.... African people African people African people refers to natives, inhabitants, or citizen of Africa and to people of African descent.-Etymology:Many etymological hypotheses that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":...

The history of African people in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

begins with the immigration of African free men who accompanied the invading Spanish Conquistador

Conquistador

Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...

s. The Spaniards enslaved the Taínos (the native inhabitants of the island), and many of them died as a result of Spaniards' oppressive colonization efforts. This presented a problem for Spain's royal government, which relied on slavery

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

to staff their mining and fort-building operations. Spain's 'solution': import enslaved west-Africans. As a result, the vast majority of the African peoples who immigrated to Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

did so as a result of the slave trade from many different societies of the African continent.

When the gold mines in Puerto Rico were declared depleted, the Spanish Crown no longer held Puerto Rico as a high colonial priority, and the island became a garrison for naval vessels. Africans from British and French possessions in the Caribbean were encouraged to emigrate to Puerto Rico, thereby providing a population base to support the Puerto Rican garrison. The Spanish decree of 1789 allowed the slaves to earn or buy their freedom, however this did little to help their situation. Throughout the years there were many slave revolts in the island. Slaves, who were promised their freedom, joined the short lived uprising against Spanish colonial rule in what is known as the "Grito de Lares

Grito de Lares

El Grito de Lares —also referred as the Lares uprising, the Lares revolt, Lares rebellion or even Lares Revolution—was the first major revolt against Spanish rule and call for independence in Puerto Rico...

". On on March 22, 1873, slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico. Their contributions to music, art, language, and heritage have become instrumental to Puerto Rican culture.

First Africans in Puerto Rico

When Ponce de León and the Spaniards arrived on the island of "Borinken

Puerto Rico

" (Puerto Rico), they were greeted by the Cacique Agüeybaná

Agüeybaná

Agüeybaná and Agüeybaná II , were the principal and most powerful caciques of the Taíno people in "Borikén" when the Spaniards first arrived on the island on November 19, 1493.- "The Great Sun" :...

, the supreme leader of the peaceful Taíno tribes on the island. Agüeybaná helped to maintain the peace between the Taínos and the Spaniards.

According to historian Ricardo Alegria

Ricardo Alegría

Ricardo Alegría was a Puerto Rican scholar, cultural anthropologist and archeologist known as the "Father of Modern Puerto Rican Archaeology".-Early years:...

, the first free African man set foot on the island in 1509—Juan Garrido, a conquistador

Conquistador

in Juan Ponce de León

Juan Ponce de León

Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named...

's entourage. Garrido was born on the West African coast, the son of an African king. In 1508, he joined Juan Ponce de Leon to explore Puerto Rico and prospect for gold, and in 1511, he fought under Ponce de Leon to repress the Caribs and the Taínos who had joined forces in Puerto Rico in a great revolt against the Spaniards. Garrido went on to join Hernan Cortes

Hernán Cortés

Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...

in the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

Another free African man who accompanied de León was Pedro Mejías. Mejías married a Taíno

Taíno people

The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...

woman chief (a cacica) by the name of Yuisa. Yuisa was baptized Luisa (hence the name of the town of Loíza

Loíza, Puerto Rico

Loíza is a small town and municipality in the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, north of Canóvanas; east of Carolina; and west of Río Grande. Loíza is spread over 5 wards and Loíza Pueblo...

) so that she could marry Mejías.

The peace between the Spaniards and the Taínos was short-lived. The Spaniards took advantage of the Taínos' good faith and enslaved them, forcing them to work in the gold mines and in the construction of forts. Many Taínos died as a result either of the cruel treatment that they had received or of smallpox

Smallpox

Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...

which became epidemic on the island. Other Taínos committed suicide or left the island after the failed Taíno revolt of 1511.

Friar Bartolomé de las Casas

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Bartolomé de las Casas O.P. was a 16th-century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians"...

, who had accompanied Ponce de León, was outraged at the treatment by the Spaniards of the Taínos and, in 1512, protested in front of the council of Burgos at the Spanish Courts. He fought for the freedom of the natives and was able to secure their rights. The Spanish colonists, fearing the loss of their labor force, also protested before the courts. They complained that they needed manpower to work in the mines, the fortifications and the thriving sugar industry. As an alternative, Las Casas suggested the importation and use of black slaves. In 1517, the Spanish Crown permitted its subjects to import twelve slaves each, thereby beginning the slave trade in their colonies.

According to historian Luis M. Diaz, the largest contingent of African slaves came from the Gold Coast

Gold Coast (British colony)

The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, and Dahomey

Dahomey

Dahomey was a country in west Africa in what is now the Republic of Benin. The Kingdom of Dahomey was a powerful west African state that was founded in the seventeenth century and survived until 1894. From 1894 until 1960 Dahomey was a part of French West Africa. The independent Republic of Dahomey...

, and the region known as the area of Guineas, the Slave Coast

Slave Coast

The Slave Coast is the name of the coastal areas of present Togo, Benin and western Nigeria, a fertile region of coastal Western Africa along the Bight of Benin. In pre-colonial time it was one of the most densely populated parts of the African continent...

. However, the vast majority were Yorubas

Yoruba people

The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

and Igbos

Igbo people

Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

, ethnic groups from Nigeria, and the Bantu/Kongo

Kongo people

The Bakongo or the Kongo people , also sometimes referred to as Kongolese or Congolese, is a Bantu ethnic group which lives along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire to Luanda, Angola...

people from the Guineas. The number of slaves in Puerto Rico rose from 1,500 in 1530 to 15,000 by 1555. The slaves were stamped with a hot iron on the forehead, a branding which meant that they were brought to the country legally and prevented their kidnapping.

African slaves were sent to work in the gold mines to replace the lost Taíno manpower, or to work in the fields in the island's ginger and sugar industry. They were allowed to live with their families in a bohio

Hut (dwelling)

A hut is a small and crude shelter, usually used for dwelling. Its design favors local techniques and materials to allow for swift and inexpensive construction.-Modern use:...

(hut) on the master's land, and were given a patch of land where they could plant and grow vegetables and fruits. Africans had little or no opportunity for advancement, and faced discrimination from the Spaniards. African slaves were educated by their owners and soon learned to speak their language, educating their own children in the new language as well. They enriched the "Puerto Rican Spanish

Puerto Rican Spanish

Puerto Rican Spanish is the Spanish language as characteristically spoken in Puerto Rico and by millions of people of Puerto Rican descent living in the United States and elsewhere...

" language by adding African words of their own. The Spaniards considered the Africans superior to the Taínos, since the Taínos were unwilling to assimilate into the Spanish invaders' popular culture. The African slaves, in contrast, had no choice but to convert to Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

; they were baptized by the Catholic Church and assumed the surnames of their owners. Many African slaves were subject to harsh treatment, at times including rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

. The majority of the Conquistadors and farmers who settled the island had arrived without women, and many of them intermarried with the Africans or Taínos. This mixture formed the basis of the early Puerto Rican population.

In 1527, the first major slave rebellion occurred in Puerto Rico as dozen of slaves fought against the colonist in a brief revolt. The few slaves who escaped retreated to the mountains where they resided as maroons

Maroon (people)

Maroons were runaway slaves in the West Indies, Central America, South America, and North America, who formed independent settlements together...

with surviving Taínos. By 1873, over twenty slave revolts had been carried out, including some of great political importance such as the Ponce and Vega Baja conspiracies.

By 1570, the gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

mines were declared depleted of the precious metal. After gold mining came to an end on the island, the Spanish Crown bypassed Puerto Rico by moving the western shipping routes to the north. The island became primarily a garrison for those ships that would pass on their way to or from richer colonies. A Spanish edict of 1664 offered freedom and land to African people from non-Spanish colonies, such as Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

and St. Dominique (Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

), who immigrated to Puerto Rico and provided a population base to support the Puerto Rican garrison and its forts. Those freeman who settled the western and southern parts of the island soon adopted the ways and customs of the Spaniards. Some joined the local militia which fought against the British in their many attempts to invade the island. The escaped African slaves kept their former masters surnames; the free Africans who had emigrated from the West Indies had European surnames from those colonists, too. Such surnames tended to be either British or French. Even by the end of the 20th Century, it was common for Puerto Ricans of African ancestry to have non-Spanish surnames.

Royal Decree of Graces of 1789

After 1784, the method of hot branding the slaves forehead was suspended and they were permitted to obtain their freedom under the following circumstances:

A slave could be freed in a church or outside of it, before a judge, by testament or letter in the presence of his master.
A slave could be freed against his master's will by denouncing a forced rape, by denouncing a counterfeiter, by discovering disloyalty against the king, and by denouncing murder against his master.
Any slave who received part of his master's estate in his master's will automatically became free.
If a slave were left as guardian to his master's children he also became free.
If slave parents in Hispanic America had ten children, the whole family went free.

In 1789, the Spanish Crown issued the "Royal Decree of Graces of 1789", which set new rules pertaining to the commercialization of slaves and added restrictions to the granting of freeman status. The decree granted its subjects the right to purchase slaves and to participate in the flourishing business of slave trading in the Caribbean. Later that year a new slave code, also known as "El Código Negro" (The Black code), was introduced.

In accordance to "El Código Negro" the slave could buy his freedom, in the event that his master was willing to sell, by paying the price sought. Slaves were allowed to earn money during their spare time by working as shoemakers, by cleaning clothes, or by selling the produce they were allowed to grow in the small patch of land given to them by their masters. Slaves were able to pay for their freedom by installments. They could make payments in installments for a new born child, not yet baptized, at a cost of half the going price for a baptized child. Many of these freeman started settlements in the areas which became known as Cangrejos (Santurce), Carolina

Carolina, Puerto Rico

Carolina is a city located in the northern part of Puerto Rico, bordering the Atlantic Ocean; it lies north of Gurabo and Juncos; east of Trujillo Alto and San Juan; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over 12 wards plus Carolina Pueblo...

, Canóvanas

Canóvanas, Puerto Rico

Canóvanas is a municipality in Puerto Rico, located in the northeastern region, north of Juncos and Las Piedras; south of Loíza; east of Carolina; and west of Río Grande. Canóvanas is spread over 7 wards and Canóvanas Pueblo...

, Loíza

Loíza, Puerto Rico

Loíza is a small town and municipality in the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, north of Canóvanas; east of Carolina; and west of Río Grande. Loíza is spread over 5 wards and Loíza Pueblo...

, and Luquillo

Luquillo, Puerto Rico

Luquillo is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northeast coast, northwest of Fajardo; and east of Rio Grande. Luquillo is spread over 5 wards and Luquillo Pueblo...

and some became slave owners themselves.
The native-born Puerto Ricans (criollos) who wanted to serve in the regular Spanish army petitioned the Spanish Crown to this effect. In 1741, the Spanish government established the Regimiento Fijo de Puerto Rico. Many of the former slaves, now freeman, either joined the Fijo or the local civil militia. Puerto Ricans of African ancestry played an instrumental role in the defeat of Sir Ralph Abercromby

Ralph Abercromby

Sir Ralph Abercromby was a Scottish soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was noted for his services during the Napoleonic Wars, and served as Commander-in-Chief, Ireland.He twice served as MP for Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire, and was...

in the British

Kingdom of Great Britain

The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

invasion of Puerto Rico in 1797.

Notable Puerto Rican Freeman

Rafael Cordero

Rafael Cordero (educator)

Rafael Cordero , known as "The Father of Public Education in Puerto Rico", was a self-educated Puerto Rican who provided free schooling to children regardless of their race or social standing.-Early years:...

(1790–1868), was a freeman born in San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

. He became known as "The Father of Public Education in Puerto Rico". Cordero was a self-educated Puerto Rican who provided free schooling to children regardless of their race. Among the distinguished alumni who attended Cordero's school were future abolitionists Román Baldorioty de Castro

Román Baldorioty de Castro

Román Baldorioty de Castro distinguished himself as one of Puerto Rico's foremost abolitionists and spokesman for the island's right to self-determination...

, Alejandro Tapia y Rivera

Alejandro Tapia y Rivera

Alejandro Tapia y Rivera was a Puerto Rican poet, dramaturg, essayist and writer. Tapia is considered to be the father of Puerto Rican literature and as the person who has contributed the most to the cultural advancement of Puerto Rico's literature...

, and José Julián Acosta

José Julián Acosta

José Julián Acosta Calbo , born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was a distinguished journalist and a fervent advocate of the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico.-Early years:...

. Cordero proved that racial and economic integration could be possible and accepted in Puerto Rico. In 2004, the Roman Catholic Church, upon the request of San Juan Archbishop Roberto González Nieves

Roberto González Nieves

Roberto Octavio González Nieves, OFM is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Puerto Rico and the current Archbishop of San Juan.-Early life and education:...

, began the process of Cordero's beatification.

José Campeche

José Campeche

José Campeche , born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is the first known Puerto Rican visual artist and considered by many as one of the best rococo artists in the Americas.-Early years:...

(1751–1809), was another Puerto Rican of African ancestry who contributed greatly to the island's culture. Campeche's father Tomás Campeche, was a freed slave born in Puerto Rico, and María Jordán Marqués, his mother, came from the Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

. Because of this mixed descent, he was identified as a mulatto, a common term during his time. Campeche is the first known Puerto Rican artist and is considered by many as one of its best. He distinguished himself with his paintings related to religious themes and of governors and other important personalities.

Capt. Miguel Henriquez (c. 1680–17??), was a former pirate who became Puerto Rico's first black military hero when he organized an expeditionary force which fought and defeated the British in the island of Vieques. Capt. Henriques was received as a national hero when he returned the island of Vieques back to the Spanish Empire and to the governorship of Puerto Rico. He was awarded "La Medalla de Oro de la Real Efigie" and the Spanish Crown named him "Captain of the Seas" awarding him a letter of marque and reprisal which granted him the privileges of a privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

Royal Decree of Graces of 1815

**"Puerto Rican population in thousands according to Spanish Royal Census"**
Year	White	Mixed	Free Blacks	Slaves
1827	163	100	27	34
1834	189	101	25	42
1847	618	329	258	32

The Royal Decree of Graces of 1815

Royal Decree of Graces of 1815

The Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 is a legal order approved by the Spanish Crown in the early half of the 19th century to encourage Spaniards and later Europeans of non-Spanish origin to settle and populate the colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico....

was a legal order approved by the Spanish Crown in the early half of the 19th century to encourage Spaniards and later Europeans of non-Spanish origin to settle and populate the colonies of Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

and Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

. The decree encouraged slave labor to revive agriculture and attract new settlers. The new agricultural class now immigrating from other countries of Europe sought slave labor in large numbers and cruelty became the order of the day. It is for this reason that a series of slave uprisings occurred on the island, from the early 1820s until 1868 in what is known as the Grito de Lares

Grito de Lares

. The 1834 Royal census of Puerto Rico established that 11% of the population were slaves, 35% were colored freemen and 54% were white.

Rose Clemente, a black Puerto Rican columnist, wrote "Until 1846, Blacks on the island had to carry a notebook (Libreta system) to move around the island, like the passbook system in apartheid South Africa."

An interesting anecdote to consider was that during this whole period, Puerto Rico had laws like the Regla del Sacar or Gracias al Sacar where a person of black ancestry could be considered legally white so long as they could prove that at least one person per generation in the last four generations had also been legally white. Therefore people of black ancestry with known white lineage were classified as white, the opposite of the "one-drop rule" in the United States.

Abolitionists

During the mid-19th century, a committee of abolitionists was formed in Puerto Rico that included many prominent Puerto Ricans. Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances

Ramón Emeterio Betances

Ramón Emeterio Betances y Alacán was a Puerto Rican nationalist. He was the primary instigator of the Grito de Lares revolution, and as such, is considered to be the father of the Puerto Rican independence movement...

(1827–1898), whose parents were wealthy landowners, believed in the abolition of slavery, and together with fellow Puerto Rican abolitionist Segundo Ruiz Belvis

Segundo Ruiz Belvis

Segundo Ruiz Belvis , was a dedicated abolitionist who also fought for Puerto Rico's right to independence.-Early years:...

(1829–1867) founded a clandestine organization called "The Secret Abolitionist Society". The objective of the society was to free slave children by the sacrament of baptism

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

. The event, which was also known as "aguas de libertad" (waters of liberty), was carried out at the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Cathedral in Mayagüez

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

Mayagüez is the eighth-largest municipality of Puerto Rico. Originally founded as "Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria" it is also known as "La Sultana del Oeste" , "Ciudad de las Aguas Puras" , or "Ciudad del Mangó"...

. When the child was baptized, Betances would give money to the parents which they in turn used to buy the child's freedom from his master.

José Julián Acosta

José Julián Acosta

José Julián Acosta Calbo , born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was a distinguished journalist and a fervent advocate of the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico.-Early years:...

(1827–1891) was a member of a Puerto Rican commission, which included Ramón Emeterio Betances, Segundo Ruiz Belvis, and Francisco Mariano Quiñones

Francisco Mariano Quiñones

Francisco Mariano Quiñones was a proponent of the abolition of slavery and of the self-determination of Puerto Rico.-Early years:...

(1830–1908). The commission participated in the "Overseas Information Committee" which met in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, Spain. There, Acosta presented the argument for the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico. On November 19, 1872, Román Baldorioty de Castro

Román Baldorioty de Castro

Román Baldorioty de Castro distinguished himself as one of Puerto Rico's foremost abolitionists and spokesman for the island's right to self-determination...

(1822–1889) together with Luis Padial

Luis Padial

Brigadier General Luis Padial , was a soldier, politician and one of the most important figures who was responsible for the abolishment of slavery in Puerto Rico.-Early years:...

(1832–1879), Julio Vizcarrondo

Julio Vizcarrondo

Julio Vizcarrondo Coronado was a Puerto Rican abolitionist, journalist, politician and religious leader. He played an instrumental role in the development and passage of the Moret Law which in 1873 abolished slavery in Puerto Rico...

(1830–1889) and the Spanish Minister of Overseas Affairs, Segismundo Moret (1833–1913), presented a proposal for the abolition of slavery. On March 22, 1873, the Spanish government approved the proposal which became known as the Moret Law

Moret Law

The Moret Law was a form of freedom of wombs approved in Spain on July 4, 1870 for application in the colonies as a result of the efforts of Roman Baldorioty de Castro, Luis Padial, Julio Vizcarrondo, and Segismundo Moret...

. This edict granted freedom to slaves over 60 years of age, those belonging to the state, and children born to slaves after September 17, 1868. Most importantly for genealogy purposes, the Moret Law established the Central Slave Registrar which in 1872 began gathering the following data on the island's slave population: name, country of origin, present residence, names of parents, sex, marital status, trade, age, physical description, and master's name.

The Spanish government had lost most of its possessions in the Americas by 1850. After the successful slave rebellion against the French in St Dominique (Haiti) in 1803, the Spanish Crown became fearful that the "Criollos" (native born) of Puerto Rico and Cuba

Cuba

, her last two remaining possessions, may follow suit. Therefore, the Spanish government issued the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815

Royal Decree of Graces of 1815

, attracting European immigrants from non-Spanish countries to populate the island believing that these new immigrants would be more loyal to Spain. However, they did not expect the new immigrants to racially intermarry as they did and identify themselves completely with their new homeland. On May 31, 1848, the Governor of Puerto Rico Juan Prim, in fear of an independence or slavery revolt imposed draconian laws, "El Bando contra La Raza Africana", to control the behavior of all Black Puerto Ricans, slave or free. On September 23, 1868, slaves, who were promised their freedom, participated in the short failed revolt against Spain which became known in the history books as "El Grito de Lares" or "The Cry of Lares". Many of the participants were imprisoned or executed.

Abolition of Slavery

On March 22, 1873, slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico. Slave owners were to free their slaves in exchange of a monetary compensation. The majority of the freed slaves continued to work for their former masters with the difference that they were now freeman and received what was considered a just pay for their labor.

The freed slaves were able to fully integrate themselves into Puerto Rico's society. It cannot be denied that racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

has existed in Puerto Rico. However, racism in Puerto Rico did not exist to the extent of other places in the New World, possibly because of the following factors:

In the 8th century, nearly all of Spain was conquered (711–718), by the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

who had crossed over from North Africa. The first blacks were brought to Spain during Arab domination by North African merchants. By the middle of the 13th century all of the Iberian peninsula had been reconquered. A section of the city of Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

, which once was a Moorish stronghold, was inhabited by thousands of blacks. Blacks became freeman after converting to Christianity and lived fully integrated in Spanish society. Black women were highly sought after by Spanish males. Spain's exposure to people of color over the centuries accounted for the positive racial attitudes that were to prevail in the New World. Therefore, it was no surprise that the first conquistadors who arrived to the island, intermarried with the native Taínos and later with the African immigrants.
The Catholic Church played an instrumental role in the human dignity and social integration of the black man in Puerto Rico. The church insisted that every slave be baptized and converted to the Catholic faith. In accordance to the church's doctrine, master and slave were equal before the eyes of God and therefore brothers in Christ with a common moral and religious character. Cruel and unusual punishment of slaves was considered a violation of the fifth commandment.
When the gold mines were declared depleted in 1570 and mining came to an end in Puerto Rico, the vast majority of the white Spanish settlers left the island to seek their fortunes in the richer colonies such as Mexico and the island became a Spanish garrison. The majority of those who stayed behind were either black or mulattos (of mixed race). By the time Spain reestablished her commercial ties with Puerto Rico, the island had a large multiracial population, that is up until the 1850s, when the Spanish Crown put the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 into effect which "whitened" the island's population by offering attractive incentives to non-Hispanic Europeans. The new arrivals continued to intermarry with the native islanders.

The racism that did exist and which Black Puerto Ricans were subject to was exposed by two Puerto Rican writers; Abelardo Diaz Alfaro

Abelardo Díaz Alfaro

Abelardo Díaz Alfaro was a Puerto Rican author who reached great fame throughout Latin America during the 1940s. Some say his actual year of birth was 1919, but officially it was always announced as 1916...

(1916–1999) and Luis Palés Matos

Luis Palés Matos

Luis Palés Matos was a Puerto Rican poet who is credited with creating the poetry genre known as Afro-Antillano.-Early years:...

(1898–1959) who was credited with creating the poetry genre known as Afro-Antillano.

Spanish-American War

After the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

of 1898, Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States by way of the Treaty of Paris of 1898

Treaty of Paris (1898)

The Treaty of Paris of 1898 was signed on December 10, 1898, at the end of the Spanish-American War, and came into effect on April 11, 1899, when the ratifications were exchanged....

. The United States took over control of the island's institutions and political participation by the natives was restricted. One Puerto Rican politician of African descent who distinguished himself during this period was José Celso Barbosa

José Celso Barbosa

Dr. José Celso Barbosa was a medical Physician, sociologist, and political leader of Puerto Rico.Known within Puerto Rico's New Progressive Party as "The father of the Statehood for Puerto Rico movement", Barbosa was also the first Puerto Rican to be awarded an American medical degree.-Early...

(1857–1921). On July 4, 1899, he founded the pro-statehood Puerto Rican Republican Party and became known as the "Father of the Statehood for Puerto Rico" movement. Another distinguished Puerto Rican of African descent, who in this case was an advocate of Puerto Rico's independence was Arturo Alfonso Schomburg

Arturo Alfonso Schomburg

Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, a.k.a. as Arthur Schomburg, , was a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and activist in the United States who researched and raised awareness of the great contributions that Afro-Latin Americans and Afro-Americans have made to society. He was an important intellectual figure...

(1874–1938). He is considered by some to be the "Father of Black History" in the United States and he coined the phrase "Afroborincano" meaning African-Puerto Rican.

Discrimination

After the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

approved the Jones Act

Jones-Shafroth Act

The Jones–Shafroth Act was a 1917 Act of the United States Congress by which Puerto Ricans were collectively made U.S. citizens, the people of Puerto Rico were empowered to have a popularly-elected Senate, established a bill of rights, and authorized the election of a Resident Commissioner to a...

of 1917, every Puerto Rican became a citizen of the United States. As citizens Puerto Ricans were eligible for the military draft and as such many were drafted into the armed forces of the United States, which at that time was segregated. Puerto Ricans of African descent were subject to the discrimination which was rampant in the U.S.

Black Puerto Ricans residing in the mainland United States were assigned to all-black units. Rafael Hernández

Rafael Hernández Marín

Rafael Hernández , was one of the most important composers of Puerto Rican popular music during the 20th century.-Early years:...

(1892–1965) and his brother Jesus along with 16 more Puerto Ricans were recruited by Jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

bandleader James Reese Europe

James Reese Europe

James Reese Europe was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African American music scene of New York City in the 1910s.-Biography:...

to join the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

's Orchestra Europe. They were assigned to the 369th Infantry Regiment, an African-American regiment which gained fame during World War I and was nicknamed "The Harlem Hell Fighters" by the Germans.

The United States also implemented the policy of military segregated units in Puerto Rico. Pedro Albizu Campos

Pedro Albizu Campos

Don Pedro Albizu Campos was a Puerto Rican politician and one of the leading figures in the Puerto Rican independence movement. He was the leader and president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party from 1930 until his death...

(1891–1965), who later became the leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party

Puerto Rican Nationalist Party

The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on September 17, 1922. Its main objective is to work for Puerto Rican Independence.In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party of Puerto Rico, felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and he...

, held the rank of lieutenant. He founded the "Home Guard" unit of Ponce and was later assigned to the 375th Infantry Regiment, an all black Puerto Rican

Black people

The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...

regiment, which was stationed in Puerto Rico and never saw combat action. According to Campos, the discrimination which he witnessed in the Armed Forces, influenced his political beliefs.

Puerto Ricans of African descent were not only subject to the racial discrimination that was common in the military and in everyday life in the U.S., but were also discriminated against in field of sports as well. Puerto Ricans who were dark-skinned and wanted to play Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

in the United States, were not allowed to do so because of the so-called codification of baseball's color line of 1892, barring not only African-American players, but any player from any country who was dark-skinned. This, however did not keep Puerto Ricans of African descent from participating in the sport. In 1928, Emilio "Millito" Navarro

Emilio Navarro

Emilio "Millito" Navarro was the first Puerto Rican to play baseball in the Negro Leagues. At age 105, Navarro was also the oldest living professional baseball player to have played in the Negro Leagues.-Biography:...

traveled to New York City and became the first Puerto Rican to play baseball in the Negro Leagues when he joined the Cuban Stars

Cuban Stars

Cuban Stars may refer to:*Cuban Stars , a team of Cuban baseball players that competed in the United States Negro leagues from 1907 to 1930...

. He was later followed by others such as Francisco Coimbre

Francisco Coimbre

Francisco "Pancho" Coimbre Atiles , more commonly known as Pancho Coimbre, was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player. He was born in the municipality of Coamo and moved to Ponce early in his life. It was in Ponce where he would begin to actively participate in sports, both in sprinting and...

who also played for the Cuban Stars. The persistence of these men paved the way for the likes of Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball right fielder. He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the youngest of seven children. Clemente played his entire 18-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He was awarded the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in...

and Orlando Cepeda

Orlando Cepeda

Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes is a former Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman.Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced his interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was...

who played in the Major Leagues after the colorline was broken by Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...

of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 and eventually were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Black Puerto Ricans also participated in other sports as international contestants. In 1917, Nero Chen

Nero Chen

Nero Chen , a.k.a. El Negro, was Puerto Rico's first professional boxer to gain international recognition.-Boxing career:Little is known about Chen's early years except that "Nero Chen" was his nickname, and that he was born in Puerto Rico. Chen moved to New York City and lived in Harlem.There he...

became the first Puerto Rican boxer to gain international recognition when he fought against (Panama) Joe Gan at the "Palace Casino" in New York. In the 1948 Summer Olympics (the XIV Olympics), celebrated in London, Juan Evangelista Venegas

Juan Evangelista Venegas

Juan Evangelista Venegas was the first Puerto Rican to win an Olympic medal.-Early years:Venegas was born in an underprivileged section of San Juan, Puerto Rico where fighting was a common way of life. Many of the youth at that time saw the sport of boxing as a way to a better life...

made Puerto Rican sports history by becoming Puerto Rico's first Olympic medal winner when he beat Belgium's representative, Callenboat, on points for a unanimous decision. He won the bronze medal in boxing in the Bantamweight

Bantamweight

Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...

division, falling short of the silver medal to Giovanni Zuddas

Giovanni Zuddas

Giovanni Battista Zuddas was a bantamweight professional boxer from Italy, who won the silver medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics, losing to Tibor Csik in the championship match.-Pro career:...

. The event was also historical because it was the first time that the island participated as a nation in an international sporting event. It was common for impoverished Puerto Rican to seek boxing as a way to earn an income and it would not be long before a Puerto Rican of African descent would become a world champion. On March 30, 1965, José "Chegui" Torres

José Torres

José Torres , was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur boxer, he won a silver medal in the junior middleweight at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. In 1965, he defeated Willie Pastrano to win the WBC and WBA light heavyweight championships...

defeated Willie Pastrano

Willie Pastrano

Wilfred Raleigh Pastrano was a light heavyweight boxer who held the world crown from 1963 until 1965.-Early life:...

by technical knockout and won the World Boxing Council

World Boxing Council

The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...

and World Boxing Association

World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

light heavyweight championships. He became the third Puerto Rican and the first one of African descent to win a professional world championship.

Among those who exposed the racism and discrimination which Puerto Ricans, especially Black Puerto Ricans were subject to, in the United States was Jesús Colón

Jesús Colón

Jesús Colón was a Puerto Rican writer known as the Father of the Nuyorican Movement.-Early years:Colón was born in Cayey, Puerto Rico after the Spanish-American War when the American Tobacco Company gained control of most of the tobacco producing land in Puerto Rico. His father was a baker and his...

. Colón, who is considered by many as the "Father of the Nuyorican

Nuyorican

Nuyorican is a portmanteau of the terms "New York" and "Puerto Rican" and refers to the members or culture of the Puerto Rican diaspora located in or around New York State especially the New York City metropolitan area, or of their descendants...

movement", told about his experiences in New York as a Black Puerto Rican in his book Lo que el pueblo me dice--: crónicas de la colonia puertorriqueña en Nueva York (What the people tell me---: Chronicles of the Puerto Rican colony in New York).

These critics maintain that a majority of Puerto Ricans are racially mixed, but that they do not feel the need to identify as such. They argue, furthermore, that Puerto Ricans tend to assume that they are of Black African, American Indian, and European ancestry and only identify themselves as mixed if having parents "appearing" to be of separate "races". It should also be noted that Puerto Rico underwent a "whitening" process while under U.S. rule. The census-takers at the turn of the 20th Century recorded a huge disparity in the number of "black" and "white" Puerto Ricans between the 1910 and 1920 censuses. "Black" suddenly began to disappear from one census to another (within 10 years' time), possibly due to redefinition of the term. It also appears that the "black" element within the culture was simply disappearing possibly due to the popular idea that in the U.S. one could only advance economically and socially if one were to pass for "white".

African influence in Puerto Rican culture

The descendants of the former African slaves became instrumental in the development of Puerto Rico's political, economic and cultural structure. They overcame many obstacles and have made their presence felt with their contributions to the island's entertainment, sports, literature and scientific institutions. Their contributions and heritage can still be felt today in Puerto Rico's art, music, cuisine, and religious beliefs in everyday life. In Puerto Rico, March 22 is known as "Abolition Day" and it is a holiday celebrated by those who live in the island.

Language

Some African slaves spoke "Bozal" Spanish, a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, and the language spoken in the Congo. The African influence in the Spanish spoken in the island can be traced to the many words from African languages that have become a permanent part of Puerto Rican Spanish

Puerto Rican Spanish

Puerto Rican Spanish is the Spanish language as characteristically spoken in Puerto Rico and by millions of people of Puerto Rican descent living in the United States and elsewhere...

Music

Puerto Rican musical instruments such barriles, drums with stretched animal skin, and Puerto Rican music-dance forms such as Bomba

Bomba

Bomba is one of the traditional musical styles of Puerto Rico. it is a largely African-derived music. The rhythm and beat are played by a set of floor drums, cuá and a maraca. Dance is an integral part of the music: the dancers move their bodies to every beat of the drum, making bomba a very...

or Plena

Plena

Plena is a folkloric genre native to Puerto Rico. Its creation was influenced by African and Spanish music.-History:The music is generally folkloric. The music's beat and rhythm are usually played using hand drums called panderetas, but also known as panderos or pleneras. The music is accompanied...

are likewise rooted in Africa. Bomba represents the strong African influence in Puerto Rico. Bomba is a music, rhythm and dance that was brought by West African slaves to the island of Puerto Rico.

Plena is another form of folkloric music of Puerto Rico of African origin. Plena was brought to Ponce

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...

by blacks who immigrated north from the English-speaking islands south of Puerto Rico. Plena is a rhythm that is clearly African and very similar to Calypso, Soca and Dance hall music from Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

and Jamaica

Jamaica

.

Bomba and Plena were played during the festival of Santiago (St. James), since slaves were not allowed to worship their own gods. Bomba and Plena evolved into countless styles based on the kind of dance intended to be used. These included leró, yubá, cunyá, babú and belén. The slaves celebrated baptisms, weddings, and births with the "bailes de bomba". Slaveowners, for fear of a rebellion, allowed the dances on Sundays. The women dancers would mimic and poke fun at the slave owners. Masks were and still are worn to ward off evil spirits and pirates. One of the most popular masked characters is the "Vejigante" (vey-hee-GANT-eh). The Vejigante is a mischievous character and the main character in the Carnivals of Puerto Rico.

Until 1953, Bomba and Plena were virtually unknown outside of Puerto Rico until Puerto Rican musicians Rafael Cortijo

Rafael Cortijo

Rafael Cortijo , was a Puerto Rican musician, orchestra leader, and composer.As a child, Cortijo became interested in Caribbean music and enjoyed the works of some of the era's most successful Plena music musicians...

(1928–1982), Ismael Rivera

Ismael Rivera

Ismael "Maelo" Rivera , was a renowned Puerto Rican composer and singer of salsa music.-Early life:Ismael Rivera was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, on October 5, 1931. He was the first of five children born to Luis and Margarita Rivera. His father, Luis, was a carpenter and his mother a housewife...

(1931–1987) and the El Conjunto Monterrey orchestra introduced Bomba and Plena to the rest of the world. What Rafael Cortijo did with his orchestra was to modernize the Puerto Rican folkloric rhythms with the use of piano, bass, saxophones, trumpets, and other percussion instruments such as timbales, bongos, and replacing the typical barriles (skin covered barrels) with congas.

Rafael Cepeda

Rafael Cepeda

Rafael Cepeda Atiles a.k.a. "The Patriarch of the Bomba and Plena" was the patriarch of the Cepeda family, known internationally as the exponents of Afro-Puerto Rican folk music.-Early years:...

(1910–1996), also known as "The Patriarch of Bomba and Plena", was the patriarch of the Cepeda Family. The family is one of the most famous exponents of Puerto Rican folk music, with generations of musicians working to preserve the African heritage in Puerto Rican music. The family is well known for their performances of the bomba and plena folkloric music and are considered by many to be the keepers of those traditional genres.

Sylvia del Villard

Sylvia Del Villard

Sylvia del Villard , was an actress, dancer, choreographer and Afro-Puerto Rican activist.-Early years:...

(1928–1990), was a member of the Afro-Borcua Ballet and participated in the following Afro-Puerto Rican productions, Palesiana y Aquelarre and Palesianisima. In 1968, she founded the Afro-Boricua El Coqui Theater, which was recognized by the Panamerican Association of the New World Festival as the most important authority of Black Puerto Rican culture. The Theater group were given a contract which permitted them to present their act in other countries and in various universities in the United States. In 1981, she became the first and only director of the office of the Afro-Puerto Rican affairs of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture

Institute of Puerto Rican Culture

The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture , or ICP, for short, is an institution of the Government of Puerto Rico responsible for the establishment of the cultural policies required in order to study, preserve, promote, enrich, and diffuse the cultural values of Puerto Rico...

. She was known to be an outspoken activist who fought for the equal rights of the Black Puerto Rican artist.

Cuisine

According to Nydia Rios de Colon, a contributor to the Smithsonian Folklife Cookbook who offers culinary seminars through the Puerto Rican Cultural Institute, she stated in Arts Publications the following:

"Puerto Rican cuisine also has a strong African influence. The melange of flavors that make up the typical Puerto Rican cuisine counts with the African touch. Pasteles, small bundles of meat stuffed into a dough made of grated green banana (sometimes combined with pumpkin, potatoes, plantains, or yautía) and wrapped in plantain leaves, were devised by African women on the island and based upon food products that originated in Africa."

"The salmorejo, a local land crab creation, resembles Southern cooking in the United States with its spicing. The mofongo, one of the island's best-known dishes, is a ball of fried mashed plantain stuffed with pork crackling, crab, lobster, shrimp, or a combination of all of them. Puerto Rico's cuisine embraces its African roots, weaving them into its Indian and Spanish influences."

Religion

In 1478, the Catholic Monarchs

Catholic Monarchs

The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...

of Spain, Ferdinand II of Aragon

Ferdinand II of Aragon

Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...

and Isabella I of Castile

Isabella I of Castile

Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...

, established an ecclesiastical tribunal known as the Spanish Inquisition

Spanish Inquisition

The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...

. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms.

The Inquisition maintained no rota or religious court in Puerto Rico. However, heretics were written up and if necessary remanded to regional Inquisitional tribunals in Spain or elsewhere in the western hemisphere. As a result Africans were not allowed to practice their native religious beliefs and therefore no single organized African religion survived intact from the times of slavery to the present in Puerto Rico. However, there is a plethora of spiritual beliefs that can be identified as being definitively African. Santería, more organized in Cuba, and Palo Mayombe, a Taíno-Kongo syncretic mix, are also practiced in Puerto Rico, the latter having arrived there at a much earlier time.

Palo Mayombe, or Congolese traditions, existed for several centuries before Santería came into existence (19th Century). Guayama

Guayama, Puerto Rico

Guayama is a municipality of Puerto Rico founded on January 29, 1736 and located on the Southern Coastal Valley region, bordering the Caribbean, south of Cayey; east of Salinas; and west of Patillas and Arroyo. Guayama is spread over 9 wards and Guayama Pueblo...

became nicknamed "the city of witches", because the religion was widely practiced in this town. While many like to believe that this originally came out of Cuba, the reality is that it was only organized in Cuba. Yoruba lived in many other places in the Caribbean and Latin America, and so, they took with them their traditions which were allowed to exist in many different forms and guises in other places like Puerto Rico or Trinidad where Christianity was dominant. Even though they were converted to Christianity, the captured Africans did not abandon their African religious practices altogether. Santería is a religion created between the diverse images drawn from the Catholic Church and the representational deities of the African Yoruba ethnic group of Nigeria

Nigeria

. Santería is widely practiced in the town of Loíza. This religious system formed in Cuba, and had sister traditions that emerged in their own peculiar ways on many of the smaller islands.

In Santería there are many deities who respond to one "top" or "head" God. These deities, which are said to have descended from heaven to help and console their followers, are known as "Orishas." According to Santería the Orishas are the ones who chooses the person whom it will watch over.

Unlike other religions where the a worshiper is closely identified with his sect (such as Christianity) the worshiper is not always a "Santero". Santeros are the priests and the only official practitioners ("Santeros" are not to be confused with Puerto Rico's craftsmen who carve and create religious statues from wood and are also called Santeros). A person becomes a Santero if he passes certain tests and has been chosen by the Orishas.

Current Demographics

As of the 2010 Census, 75.8% call themselves white, 12.4% are black, 0.5% Amerindian, 0.2% Asian, and 11.1% are mixed or other. Although only 12.4 consider themselves black, is it estimated that about 46% have African ancestry. The majority of blacks in Puerto Rican are Afro-Puerto Rican, meaning they have been in Puerto Rico for generations, usually since the slave trade, forming an important part of Puerto Rican culture and society. Newly arrived black immigrants have been coming to Puerto Rico, mainly from Dominican Republic

Dominican immigration to Puerto Rico

There's been movement of people from the territory of the Dominican Republic to its eastern neighbor Puerto Rico, and vice versa, since colonial times, but Dominican immigration to Puerto Rico has risen sharply in recent decades, with tens of thousands of arrivals since 1961...

, Haiti

Haiti

, as well as many other Latin American and Caribbean countries, and migrants from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

and the Virgin Islands

United States Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...

. Also Afro-Puerto Ricans have migrated out of Puerto Rico, namely to the United States, where they make up the bulk of the U.S. Afro-Latino population, as well as the Virgin Islands.

Puerto Rico had laws like the Regla del Sacar or Gracias al Sacar where a person of black ancestry could be considered legally white so long as they could prove that at least one person per generation in the last four generations had also been legally white. Therefore people of black ancestry with known white lineage were classified as white, the opposite of the "one-drop rule

One-drop rule

The one-drop rule is a historical colloquial term in the United States for the social classification as black of individuals with any African ancestry; meaning any person with "one drop of black blood" was considered black...

" in the United States.

Puerto Ricans tend to assume that they are of Black African, American Indian, and European ancestry and only identify themselves as mixed if having parents "appearing" to be of separate "races". It should also be noted that Puerto Rico underwent a "whitening" process while under U.S. rule. The census-takers at the turn of the 20th Century recorded a huge disparity in the number of "black" and "white" Puerto Ricans between the 1910 and 1920 censuses. "Black" suddenly began to disappear from one census to another (within 10 years' time), possibly due to redefinition of the term. It also appears that the "black" element within the culture was simply disappearing possibly due to the popular idea that in the U.S. one could only advance economically and socially if one were to pass for "white". Puerto Rico is now experiencing a resurgence in black affiliation, mainly due to famous Afro-Puerto Ricans promoting black pride among the Puerto Rican community.

The municipalities

Municipalities of Puerto Rico

The Municipalities of Puerto Rico number 78 and they make up the smallest electoral division of the Commonwealth. Each municipality is divided into barrios, though the latter are not vested with political authority.-Administrative divisions:...

with the largest black populations, as of the 2010 census, were

San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

: 73,538
Carolina
Carolina, Puerto Rico
Carolina is a city located in the northern part of Puerto Rico, bordering the Atlantic Ocean; it lies north of Gurabo and Juncos; east of Trujillo Alto and San Juan; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over 12 wards plus Carolina Pueblo...

: 40,310
Bayamón
Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Bayamón is a municipality of Puerto Rico located on the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas and Comerío; south of Toa Baja and Cataño; west of Guaynabo; and east of Toa Alta and Naranjito. Bayamón is spread over 11 wards and Bayamón Pueblo...

: 21,373
Loíza
Loíza, Puerto Rico
Loíza is a small town and municipality in the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, north of Canóvanas; east of Carolina; and west of Río Grande. Loíza is spread over 5 wards and Loíza Pueblo...

: 19,314
Ponce
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...

: 14,896

The municipalities with the highest percentages of black people, as of 2010, were

Loíza: 64.3%
Río Grande
Río Grande, Puerto Rico
Río Grande is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Northern Coastal Valley, North of Las Piedras, Naguabo and Ceiba; east of Loíza and Canóvanas and west of Luquillo. Río Grande is spread over eight wards and Río Grande Pueblo...

: 24.6%
Carolina: 22.8%
Canóvanas
Canóvanas, Puerto Rico
Canóvanas is a municipality in Puerto Rico, located in the northeastern region, north of Juncos and Las Piedras; south of Loíza; east of Carolina; and west of Río Grande. Canóvanas is spread over 7 wards and Canóvanas Pueblo...

: 21.6%
Luquillo
Luquillo, Puerto Rico
Luquillo is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northeast coast, northwest of Fajardo; and east of Rio Grande. Luquillo is spread over 5 wards and Luquillo Pueblo...

: 20.8%

Notable Puerto Ricans of African ancestry

The following is a list of Puerto Ricans of African descent born in the island who have reached notability in their respective fields, either in Puerto Rico, the United States, and/or internationally:

Aviles, Rick
Rick Aviles
Rick Aviles was an American stand-up comedian and actor of Afro-Puerto Rican descent, who is best remembered for the role of Willie Lopez in the movie Ghost.-Early years:...

, actor and comedian
Dr. Barbosa, Jose Celso
José Celso Barbosa
Dr. José Celso Barbosa was a medical Physician, sociologist, and political leader of Puerto Rico.Known within Puerto Rico's New Progressive Party as "The father of the Statehood for Puerto Rico movement", Barbosa was also the first Puerto Rican to be awarded an American medical degree.-Early...

- was a medical Physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

, sociologist, and political leader of Puerto Rico.
Dr. Barbosa, Pilar
Pilar Barbosa
Dr. Pilar Barbosa de Rosario was an educator, historian and political activist.-Early years:Barbosa born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, was one of twelve children of Jose Celso Barbosa, also known as the "Father of the Puerto Rican Statehood Movement". Her father was a member of the Puerto Rican Senate...

- was an educator, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

and political activist.
Benitez, Wilfred
Wilfred Benitez
Wilfred Benítez , is a Puerto Rican boxer. He is remembered best as a skilled and aggressive fighter with exceptional defensive abilities who won world championships in three separate weight divisions, and was the youngest world champion in boxing history at the age of 17...

- boxer who won world championships in three separate weight divisions, and was the youngest world champion in boxing history.
Calderón, Tego
Tego Calderón
Tegui Calderón Rosario is a Puerto Rican rapper and actor.-Early life:Calderón was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, the son of Pilar Rosario Parrilla, a schoolteacher, and Esteban Calderón Ilarraza, a government worker for Puerto Rico's Department of Health. Moving at a young age from his native...

- reggaeton artist
Campeche, Jose
José Campeche
José Campeche , born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is the first known Puerto Rican visual artist and considered by many as one of the best rococo artists in the Americas.-Early years:...

- (Mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...

) the first known Puerto Rican artist and considered by many as one of the best rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...

artists in the Americas.
Campos, Juan Morel
Juan Morel Campos
Juan Morel Campos , sometimes erroneously spelled Juan Morell Campos, was a Puerto Rican composer, considered by many to be responsible for taking the genre of danza to its highest level.-Early years:...

- composer, was considered by many to be responsible for taking the genre of danza
Music of Puerto Rico
The music of Puerto Rico has been influenced by the Spanish, African, Taíno Indians, France, and the United States, and has become very popular across the Caribbean and across the globe...

to its highest level.
Dr. Campos, Pedro Albizu
Pedro Albizu Campos
Don Pedro Albizu Campos was a Puerto Rican politician and one of the leading figures in the Puerto Rican independence movement. He was the leader and president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party from 1930 until his death...

- lawyer, an advocate of Puerto Rican independence from the United States, and leader and president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on September 17, 1922. Its main objective is to work for Puerto Rican Independence.In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party of Puerto Rico, felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and he...

from 1930 until his death.
Dr. Canales, José Ferrer
José Ferrer Canales
Dr. José Ferrer Canales , was an educator, writer and a pro-independence political activist.-Early years:...

- educator, writer and a pro-independence political activist.
Capo, Bobby
Bobby Capó
Félix Manuel Rodríguez Capó , better known as Bobby Capó, was an internationally known singer and songwriter from Puerto Rico...

- internationally known singer and songwriter.
Cepeda, Orlando "Peruchin"
Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes is a former Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman.Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced his interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was...

- baseball player, inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
Cepeda, Rafael
Rafael Cepeda
Rafael Cepeda Atiles a.k.a. "The Patriarch of the Bomba and Plena" was the patriarch of the Cepeda family, known internationally as the exponents of Afro-Puerto Rican folk music.-Early years:...

- folk musician and composer, was the patriarch of the Cepeda family, known internationally as the exponents of Puerto Rican-African folk music.
Chen, Nero
Nero Chen
Nero Chen , a.k.a. El Negro, was Puerto Rico's first professional boxer to gain international recognition.-Boxing career:Little is known about Chen's early years except that "Nero Chen" was his nickname, and that he was born in Puerto Rico. Chen moved to New York City and lived in Harlem.There he...

- was the first Puerto Rican professional boxer to gain international recognition.
Clemente, Roberto
Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball right fielder. He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the youngest of seven children. Clemente played his entire 18-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He was awarded the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in...

- baseball player, first Latin American to be selected and the only current Hall of Famer for whom the mandatory five year waiting period was waived since the wait was instituted in 1954.
Colon, Jesus
Jesús Colón
Jesús Colón was a Puerto Rican writer known as the Father of the Nuyorican Movement.-Early years:Colón was born in Cayey, Puerto Rico after the Spanish-American War when the American Tobacco Company gained control of most of the tobacco producing land in Puerto Rico. His father was a baker and his...

- writer and politician known as the Father of the Nuyorican Movement
Nuyorican Movement
The Nuyorican Movement is a cultural and intellectual movement involving poets, writers, musicians and artists who are Puerto Rican or of Puerto Rican descent, who live in or near New York City, and either call themselves or are known as Nuyoricans...

.
Cordero, Rafael
Rafael Cordero (educator)
Rafael Cordero , known as "The Father of Public Education in Puerto Rico", was a self-educated Puerto Rican who provided free schooling to children regardless of their race or social standing.-Early years:...

- known as "The Father of Public Education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...

in Puerto Rico", was a self-educated Puerto Rican of African ancestry who provided free schooling to children regardless of their race.
Correria, Maritza
Maritza Correia
Maritza Correia is an Olympic-swimmer from the United States. When she qualified for the USA Olympic Team in 2004, she became the first Puerto Rican of African descent to be on the USA Olympic Swimming Team...

- the first Puerto Rican of African descent to be on the USA Olympic Swimming Team. She also became the first Black United States swimmer to set an American and World swimming record.
Cruz, Jose "Cheo"
José Cruz
José Cruz Dilan is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is also the former first base coach for the Houston Astros. During his 19-year baseball career, he played from 1970-1988 for three different teams, playing primarily for the Astros...

- baseball player, honored by the Astros, when the team retired his number, #25.
Curet Alonso, Tite
Tite Curet Alonso
Tite Curet Alonso was a renowned composer of over 2,000 salsa songs.- Early years :Born Catalino Curet Alonso in the southern town of Guayama in Puerto Rico. Alonso's mother was a seamtress and his father a Spanish teacher and musician in the band of Simon Madera...

- composer, composer of over 2,000 salsa
Music of Puerto Rico
The music of Puerto Rico has been influenced by the Spanish, African, Taíno Indians, France, and the United States, and has become very popular across the Caribbean and across the globe...

songs.
Delgado, Carlos
Carlos Delgado
Carlos Juan Delgado Hernández is a retired Puerto Rican professional baseball player. With 473 home runs and 1,512 RBI, he holds the all-time home run and RBI records among Puerto Rican players....

- baseball player, a Major League Baseball first baseman.
Del Villard, Sylvia
Sylvia Del Villard
Sylvia del Villard , was an actress, dancer, choreographer and Afro-Puerto Rican activist.-Early years:...

- was an actress, dancer, choreographer and Afro-Puerto Rican activist.
Feliciano, Jose "Cheo"
Cheo Feliciano
José Feliciano, better known as Cheo Feliciano , is a composer and singer of salsa and bolero music.-Early years:...

- composer and singer of salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...

and bolero
Music of Puerto Rico
The music of Puerto Rico has been influenced by the Spanish, African, Taíno Indians, France, and the United States, and has become very popular across the Caribbean and across the globe...

music.
Fernández, Ruth
Ruth Fernández
Ruth Fernández, a.k.a. Titi Ruth , is a Puerto Rican singer and former member of the Puerto Rican Senate. According to the "Comisiones Nacionales para la Celebración del Quinto Centenario" is said to be one of three artists whose contributions have helped unite Latin America...

- singer and actress, the first Latina singer of romantic music to sing in the Scandinavian countries
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

and the first Latina to record with a North American band.
Flores, Pedro
Pedro Flores (composer)
Pedro Flores born was one Puerto Rico's best known composers of Ballads and Boleros.-Early years:Flores was one of 12 children born into a poor family in the town of Naguabo, Puerto Rico. Flores' father died when he was only nine years old and therefore, he was forced to work at a young age...

- composer, one Puerto Rico's best known composers of Ballads and Boleros.
Hernandez, Juano
Juano Hernández
Juano Hernández was a Puerto Rican stage and film actor of African descent who was a pioneer in the African-American film industry. He made his debut in an Oscar Micheaux film, "The Girl from Chicago" which was directed at black audiences. Hernández also performed in a serious of dramatic roles in...

- actor, the first Puerto Ricans of African descent to become a major star in the United States and one of the first "new style" black screen actors, who neither sang nor danced but played straight dramatic roles.
Hernández, Rafael
Rafael Hernández Marín
Rafael Hernández , was one of the most important composers of Puerto Rican popular music during the 20th century.-Early years:...

- musician and composer, considered by many to be the greatest composer of Puerto Rican music
Music of Puerto Rico
The music of Puerto Rico has been influenced by the Spanish, African, Taíno Indians, France, and the United States, and has become very popular across the Caribbean and across the globe...

.
Kolthoff, Erick
Erick Kolthoff
Erick Kolthoff-Caraballo is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico.Prior to being appointed on February 4, 2009 to the Supreme Court by Governor Luis Fortuño he had been appointed by former Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá as a Superior Court judge, for which he was unanimously...

- Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico is the highest court of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority within Puerto Rico to interpret and decide questions of Commonwealth law. As the highest body of the judicial branch of the Puerto Rican government, it is analogous to one of the...
Navarro, Emilio "Millito"
Emilio Navarro
Emilio "Millito" Navarro was the first Puerto Rican to play baseball in the Negro Leagues. At age 105, Navarro was also the oldest living professional baseball player to have played in the Negro Leagues.-Biography:...

- baseball player, the first Puerto Rican to play baseball in the Negro Leagues.
Omar, Don
Don Omar
Don Omar, also known as El Rey Don Omar, also known as El Rey Don Omar, also known as El Rey (born William Omar Landrón Rivera; February 10, 1978, is a Puerto Rican Reggaetón singer and actor.-Early life:...

- reggaeton artist
Pellot, Victor
Victor Pellot
Victor Pellot a.k.a. "Vic Power" was the second black Puerto Rican to play in Major League Baseball and the first Puerto Rican to play in the American League...

- baseball player, the second black Puerto Rican to play in Major League Baseball and the first Puerto Rican to play in the American League.
Ramos Antonini, Ernesto
Ernesto Ramos Antonini
Ernesto Ramos Antonini was the President of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico and co-founder of the Partido Popular Democrático de Puerto Rico .-Early years:...

- was the President of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico and co-founder of the "Partido Popular Democrático de Puerto Rico" (Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico).
Richardson, Carmen Belen
Carmen Belen Richardson
Carmen Belen Richardson is an actress and a comedian considered to be a pioneer of Puerto Rican television.- Early years :Richardson was born in Santurce, San Juan...

- actress and a comedian considered to be a pioneer of Puerto Rican television.
Rivera, Ismael
Ismael Rivera
Ismael "Maelo" Rivera , was a renowned Puerto Rican composer and singer of salsa music.-Early life:Ismael Rivera was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, on October 5, 1931. He was the first of five children born to Luis and Margarita Rivera. His father, Luis, was a carpenter and his mother a housewife...

- salsa artist
Rosa Nales, Pedro
Pedro Rosa Nales
Pedro Rosa Nales is a journalist and a recognized martial artist. Born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, he started working at radio station WMDD at Fajardo when he was just 13...

- News anchor/ Reporter - journalist he has received over 200 awards.
Santos-Febres, Mayra
Mayra Santos-Febres
Mayra Santos-Febres is a Puerto Rican author, poet, novelist, professor of literature, and literary critic who has garnered fame at home and abroad....

- writer, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and college professor who has garnered recognitions in Puerto Rico and abroad.
Schomburg, Arturo Alfonso
Arturo Alfonso Schomburg
Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, a.k.a. as Arthur Schomburg, , was a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and activist in the United States who researched and raised awareness of the great contributions that Afro-Latin Americans and Afro-Americans have made to society. He was an important intellectual figure...

- historian, writer and activist in the United States who researched and raised awareness of the great contributions that Afro-Latin Americans and African Americans have made to society.
Trinidad, Felix
Félix Trinidad
Félix 'Tito' Trinidad, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, considered one of the best in Puerto Rico's history. After winning five National Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, he debuted as a professional when he was 17. He won his first world championship when he defeated Maurice Blocker...

- professional boxer, considered as one of the best boxers in that archipelago's history.
Venegas, Juan Evangelista
Juan Evangelista Venegas
Juan Evangelista Venegas was the first Puerto Rican to win an Olympic medal.-Early years:Venegas was born in an underprivileged section of San Juan, Puerto Rico where fighting was a common way of life. Many of the youth at that time saw the sport of boxing as a way to a better life...

- boxer, was the first Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

to win an Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

medal.
Warrington, Otilio "Bizcocho"
Otilio Warrington
Otilio Warrington, known popularly as Bizcocho is a comedian, best known for his roles of "Bizcocho" and "Cuca Gómez".-Early years:...

- comedian and actor, best known for his roles of "Bizcocho" and "Cuca Gomez".
Williams, Bernie
Bernie Williams
Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and Puerto Rican musician.-Early life:...

- former Major League Baseball outfielder and a professional jazz musician.

External links

Sugar and Slavery in Puerto Rico

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First Africans in Puerto Rico

Royal Decree of Graces of 1789

Notable Puerto Rican Freeman

Royal Decree of Graces of 1815

Abolitionists

Abolition of Slavery

Spanish-American War

Discrimination

African influence in Puerto Rican culture

Language

Music

Cuisine

Religion

Current Demographics

Notable Puerto Ricans of African ancestry

See also

Further reading

External links