| |
|---|---|
 Afro-Puerto Rican women inBomba dance wear | |
| Total population | |
| 228,711-1,000,000[1][2] (Includes Afro-Puerto Ricans living outside of Puerto Rico) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Puerto Rico (more heavily concentrated in coastal Northeast regions of the island) | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| PredominantlyCatholicism;Protestantism;Rastafari and otherAfro-diasporic religion (mainlySantería) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Yoruba people,Arará,Fang people,Bubi people,Afro-Cubans,Afro-Dominicans,Afro-Haitians,Haitian Cuban otherAfro-Latin American andAfro-Caribbean ethnic groups |
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Afro-Puerto Ricans (Spanish:Afropuertorriqueños), most commonly known asAfroboricuas, but also occasionally referred to asAfroborinqueños,Afroborincanos,[a][3] orAfropuertorros,[b][4] arePuerto Ricans of full or partialsub-Saharan African origin, who are predominately the descendants ofslaves,freedmen, andfree Blacks original toWest andCentral Africa.[5][6] The termAfro-Puerto Rican is also used to refer to historical or cultural elements inPuerto Rican society associated with this community, includingmusic,language,cuisine,art, andreligion.
The history of Afro-Puerto Ricans traces its origins to the arrival of freeWest African Black men, orlibertos (freedmen), who accompaniedSpanishConquistadorJuan Ponce de León at the start of thecolonization of theisland ofPuerto Rico.[7] Upon landing and settling, theSpaniards enslaved and exploited theindigenousTaíno natives to work in the extraction ofgold. When theTaíno forced laborers were exterminated primarily due toOld Worldinfectious diseases, theSpanish Crown began to rely onsub-Saharan Africanslavery emanating from differentethnic groups withinWest andCentral Africa to staff theirmining,plantations, andconstructions.[8][9]
While there was slavery in Puerto Rico, the island received lesssub-Saharan enslaved laborers than otherSpanish and other European colonies in theCaribbean and theAmericas. The need for direct enslaved labor brought through theAtlantic slave trade was greatly reduced by the depletion of gold inPuerto Rico in the 16th century, and the island began to serve primarily as astrategic and military outpost to support, protect, and defend trade routes ofSpanish ships traveling betweenSpain and territories within thecontinental Americas. However, theSpanish, hoping to destabilize the neighboring colonies of competingworld powers, encouraged enslaved fugitives andfree people of color from other European colonies in the Caribbean to emigrate to Puerto Rico. As a result, Puerto Rico indirectly received large numbers ofsub-Saharan Africans from neighboringBritish,Danish,Dutch, andFrench colonies seeking freedom and refuge from slavery.[10]
In the 19th century, slavery inPuerto Rico was increased, as theSpanish, facing economic decline with the loss of all of itscolonial territories in the Americas aside fromCuba andPuerto Rico, established and expandedsugar cane production in the island. Since 1789, slaves in Puerto Rico were allowed to earn or buy their freedom. Throughout the years, there were severalslave revolts in the island. Promised their freedom, slaves participated in the 1868Grito de Lares revolt againstSpanish rule. On March 22, 1873, slavery was officially abolished in Puerto Rico, amidst growing abolitionist movements that had grown to include prominent local figures. Freed slaves and their descendants were also widespread throughout Puerto Rico and included notable figures likeRomán Baldorioty de Castro,Ramón Emeterio Betances andJosé Celso Barbosa.[11][12]
Recent DNA analysis has revealed that nearly 70% of the Puerto Rican population has Taino ancestry. This finding contradicts the narrative of the extermination of the Taino people and presents a different perspective of the cultural mixture between the Spanish and the Taino.[13] The contributions ofPuerto Ricans of full or mostlysub-Saharan African descent to music, art, language, and heritage have been instrumental in shaping theculture of Puerto Rico.
Since the beginning of the European colonization, free slaves also took residence in the Americas, despite their historic presence being less studied.[14] When Ponce de León and the Spaniards arrived on the island ofBorinquen (Puerto Rico), they were greeted by theCaciqueAgüeybaná, the supreme leader of the peaceful Taíno tribes on the island. Agüeybaná helped to maintain the peace between theTaíno and the Spaniards. According to historianRicardo Alegria, in 1509Juan Garrido was the first free African man to set foot on the island; he was aconquistador who was part ofJuan Ponce de León's entourage.[15] Garrido was born on the West African coast, the son of an African king. In 1508, he joined Juan Ponce de León to explore Puerto Rico and prospect for gold. In 1511, he fought under Ponce de León to repress the Carib and the Taíno, who had joined forces in Puerto Rico in a great revolt against the Spaniards.[16] Garrido next joinedHernán Cortés in the Spanish conquest of Mexico.[17] Another free African man who accompanied de León was Pedro Mejías. Mejías married aTaíno woman chief (a cacica), by the name of Yuisa. Yuisa was baptized as Catholic so that she could marry Mejías.[16] She was given the Christian name of Luisa (the townLoíza, Puerto Rico, was named for her). Francisco Piñon, who arrived in similar fashion, is believed by historian Sued Badillo to be the namesake ofPiñones inLoíza.[18]
Spanish FriarBartolomé de las Casas, who had accompanied Ponce de León, was outraged at the treatment of the Taíno. In 1512 he protested at the council of Burgos at the Spanish Court. 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, build forts, and supply labor for the thriving sugar cane plantations. As an alternative, Las Casas suggested the importation and use of African slaves. In 1517, the Spanish Crown permitted its subjects to import twelve slaves each, thereby beginning the Africanslave trade in their colonies.[19] Free black women arrived from Spain and performed several jobs, mostly related to housekeeping.[20] On August 4, 1526,Carlos V of Spain ordered the building of a brothel at San Juan where Spanish both white and black Spanish women were held along Taínas.[21]
In 1527, the first major slave rebellion occurred in Puerto Rico, as dozen of slaves fought against the colonists in a brief revolt.[22] The few slaves who escaped retreated to the forests and mountains, where they resided asmaroons with surviving Taínos. During the following centuries, by 1873 slaves had carried out more than twenty revolts. Some were of great political importance, such as the Ponce and Vega Baja conspiracies.[23]
By 1570, the colonists found that thegold mines were depleted. After gold mining ended 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. The cultivation of crops such as tobacco, cotton, cocoa, and ginger became the cornerstone of the economy. With the scale of Puerto Rico's economy reduced, colonial families tended to farm these crops themselves, and the demand for slaves was reduced.[24]
With rising demand for sugar on the international market, major planters increased their cultivation and processing of sugar cane, which was labor-intensive. Sugarplantations supplanted mining as Puerto Rico's main industry and kept demand high for African slavery. Spain promoted sugar cane development by granting loans and tax exemptions to the owners of the plantations. They were also given permits to participate in the African slave trade.[24] By the 1600s, Taínos had been removed from the census, which only classified Spaniards and free blacks.[25] During his administration, governor Juan Pérez de Guzmán released a group of slaves that escaped from St. Croix and provided housing and food for them.[26] In 2007, historian David Stark claimed that this began a policy where slaves from foreign lands were granted asylum and freedom.[26] The Council of the Indies allowed easy residence to these individuals, who were only asked to become Catholic and swear allegiance to the Crown.[27] The received terrains to settle at Puerta de Tierra in San Juan. Several Royal Decrees promoted this practice throughout the following centuries.[28]
In Puerto Rico, slaves were allowed to buy their freedom by paying the price that was assigned to them, either at once or in installments as agreed with their owners, with included working in their free days or asking for loans to collect the amount.[29] However, they would regularly continue to work to free their families.[27] These were time consuming and most slaves would rather flee into the jungle, becomingcimarrones. These would be labelled as fugitives, and the practice extended for centuries.[30] Owners also freed slaves for a number of reasons, economic or personal, and the liberation of slaves in testaments became common in Puerto Rico.[31] Some would be named beneficiaries in these documents.[31] Some would use the money granted to them to purchase terrains, while other became slave owners themselves as was the case of a woman named Juana María.[32] Occasionally, owners would free slaves that denounced uprising attempts.[27] Third parties would also purchase slaves for the sole purpose of freeing them.[33]
Provided ways by which slaves could obtain freedom:
As the different races began mingling, the classification ofpardos andmulattos were created (frequently used interchangeably), to refer to mixed race black descendants and blacks, as part of the caste system.[35] The black population was not only classified by their parentage, but also their status as a slave and or the manner in which they acquired their liberty.[35] The local population of free mulatos was becoming influential within Puerto Rican society.[36] Among these wasMiguel Enríquez, considered one of the most successful privateers in service of the Spanish Crown, andJosé Campeche, considered the most distinguished Puerto Rican artist of the Spanish era and sculptor Felipe Espada.
The native-born Puerto Ricans (criollos) who wanted to serve in the regular Spanish army petitioned the Spanish Crown for that right. In 1741, the Spanish government established the Regimiento Fijo de Puerto Rico. Many of the former slaves, now freedmen, joined either the Fijo or the local civil militia. Puerto Ricans of African descent played an instrumental role in the defeat ofan invasion of Puerto Rico in 1797 by British forces underSir Ralph Abercromby.[37] As the mixing of races increased, so did the population of free blacks during the first three centuries of European presence, outnumbering the whites.[38] In general, the formal recording of their contributions, as with women, was limited due to sociocultural elements. Relevant documents have been preserved in the political, religious and academic archives.[39] By the first half of the 19th Century, free slaves outnumbered both whites and black slaves in general.[40] Consequently, Miguel de Muesas proposed the establishment of a town for them, leading to the foundation of the agrarian community of San Mateo de Cangrejos.[28]
The measures proposed byCharles III of Spain to increase the population of Puerto Rico led to Spanish military men arriving in the island and marrying black or mixed race women, resulting in a boom in the free population.[41] This resulted in confrontation between the higher military and the Church, with the first feeling that blacks were inferior. After Alejandro O'Reilly's visit, the population of white and free blacks continued growing exponentially.[42] This functionary noted an homogenous racial composition of 44,883 registered persons, and more racial tolerance than in Europe or other colonies. Free women outnumbered the men, complemented by slave men outnumbering women by more than twice, with free children outnumbering both groups.[43]
In 1776, Fray Iñigo Abbad y Lassiera notes that it was common to see free individuals among the blacks born in Puerto Rico.[44] While white men outnumbered the mixed race men, women from the second group outnumbered the European and as consequence, their children were also more numerous.[45] Free blacks numbered 2,803 registered individuals. Towards the end of the 18th Century, some free blacks lived in the properties belonging to others, keeping the grounds that were used for agriculture.[46] The need to provide lands for black families became evident and most settled in empty terrains.
| Year | White | Mixed | Free Blacks | Slaves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1827 | 163 | 100 | 27 | 34 |
| 1834 | 189 | 101 | 25 | 42 |
| 1845 | 216 | 176 | -- | 51 |
TheRoyal Decree of Graces of 1815 was intended to encourageSpaniards and later other Europeans to settle and populate the colonies ofCuba andPuerto Rico. The decree encouraged the use of slave labor to revive agriculture and attract new settlers. The new agricultural class immigrating from other countries of Europe used slave labor in large numbers, and harsh treatment was frequent. The slaves resisted—from the early 1820s until 1868, a series of slave uprisings occurred on the island; the last was known as theGrito de Lares.[47]
The Royal Degree also allowed free blacks access to more terrains and even to possess their own slaves.[48] However, they received half of what was granted to whites.[49] Consequently, freed slaves and mulatto/pardo descendants had a significant presence among the working classes, in particular the coffee and sugar industries.[50] Some bought, inherited or received terrains, which were mostly used for farming and were passed to their children.[51] Other types of properties including businesses and animals were also owned.[52] The censuses carried between the 18th and 19th centuries had difficulties differentiating between the terms pardo, mulatto, moreno and black, with some individuals being classified under more than one of these classifications.[53] Eventually, a system based on castes and economic classes was adopted where most were classified as "jornaleros".[53]
Free blacks worked side by side with slaves in the haciendas (in agricultural and housekeeping tasks), tough and he pay was measly and this (along being forced into undignified work) led to them often leaving.[54]Hacendados, however, used debt and other measures to kept them employed until the matter was legally settled.[55]Agregados, members of the working class that had no proper terrains and lived with their employers, counted free blacks among them.[56] Other tasks such as craftsmanship and wood working were also common among them and led to the creation of guilds.[57] In rare cases, such as the descendants of the Miguel Michel Godreau and María Mónica marriage, who reached the status ofhacendados.[58] Despite their freedom, most freed blacks rarely escaped poverty.[59]
In July 1821, for instance, the slaveMarcos Xiorro planned and conspired to lead a slave revolt against the sugar plantation owners and the Spanish Colonial government. Although the conspiracy was suppressed, Xiorro achieved legendary status among the slaves, and is part of Puerto Rico's heroic folklore.[60] During the governorship ofMiguel de la Torre,Pedro Tomás de Córdova noted a pronounced growth in the population, including the amount of free blacks.[61] They, along other mixed-race individuals, continued to work in specialized military units in some municipalities and the military enclave of San Juan.[62] However, fearful of a slave rebellion supported by Haitian interests, De la Torre banned these.[62]
By 1828, the free population was estimated at 238,084 of which the percentage by race was not clear, tough it is known that the white population outnumbered the other groups.[63] The black population was abundant in the east and north east.[64] At no point during the 19th Century slaves represented more than 9% of a municipality's population.[65] Some free blacks requested terrains, such as a group that wanted to settle at Cedro in Ponce.[66] Meanwhile, they remained the majority in the San Mateo de Cangrejos community with 609 individuals (79.9%).[67]
During his stay in Puerto Rico, Jorge D. Flinter wrote two books (includingA view of the present condition of the slave population in the island of Puerto Rico under the Spanish government) in which he estimated the population trends between 1820 and 1830, in which whites (102,432-162,311) were outnumbered by free mulattos (212,920-254,574) and the slave population remained a minority (21,730-34,240).[68] In 1832, Flinter documented the predominance of free blacks within the farms.[52] The 1834 Royal Census of Puerto Rico established that 11% of the population were slaves, 35% were colored freemen (also known asfree people of color in French colonies, meaning freemixed-race/black people), and 54% were white.[69]
Pedro Tomás de Córdova compiled several population estimates in hisMemorias. These depicted the city of San Juan with a predominantly white population (4,147; 36.1%) followed by free blacks (3,171; 28.1%), white military (2,291; 19.9%) and a still abundant population of slaves (1,875; 16.3%) in 1828.[70] Of these, 1,502 were men and 1,178 were women. When weighing the white and free black populations, this pattern was repeated in placed such as Añasco (5,004; 50.7%), San Germán (28,292; 52%), Utuado (1,824; 42.3%), El Pepino (6,702; 70.8%), Mayagüez (7,758; 42.4%), Rincón (2,558; 56%), Cabo Rojo (4,201; 41%), Moca (3,607; 61%), Fajardo (1,671; 40.6%), Cayey (1,968; 54%), Caguas (3,252; 36.7%), Vega Baja (1,337; 51.3%), Aguadilla (5,483; 65.6%), Aguada (4,938; 78.9%), Arecibo (4,862; 48%), Yabucoa (1,608; 35.6%), Naguabo (1,468; 47.7%), Corozal (720; 36.2%), Luquillo (1,397; 59.6%), Juana Díaz (2,933; 63.9%), Las Piedras (1,994; 54.8%), Barranquitas (2,558; 74%), Camuy (1,680; 65.9%), Quebradillas (1,303; 30.7%), Cidra (1,648; 61.7%), Adjuntas (615; 53%), Isabela (2,310; 39.7%), Aibonito (650; 36%), Hatillo (1,493; 52%) and Trujillo Bajo (3,411; 41.4%).[71] Other areas, however, were more heavily populated by free blacks such as Coamo (60%), Trujillo Bajo (982; 57.8%), Río Piedras (1,486; 51%), Guaynabo (50.9%), Loíza (44.9%), Guayama (2,705; 34.2%), Ponce (5,910; 39.6%), Yauco (7,487; 67.9%), Vega Alta (645; 32.6%), Peñuelas (4,995; 76.8%), Humacao (2,045; 43.3%), Juncos (1,808; 55.4%), Maunabo (655; 44%), Trujillo Alto (1,241; 41%) and Patillas (1,979; 48.6%), in which the white population was a distinct minority.[72][73][74][75] However, the inclusion of a multi-racial and undefined category of "aggregates" could shift the balance in several areas.[73]
In 1836, the names and descriptions of slaves who had escaped, and details of their ownership were reported in theGaceta de Puerto Rico. If an African presumed to be a slave was captured and arrested, the information was published.[76] In the 1846 census of the Comisión de Estadísticas, whites were estimated to be 48.8% (≈216,083), morenos and free pardos 39.8% (≈175,791) and slaves 11.6% (≈51,265).[77]
Social dynamics continued to evolve during this century and the most prominent educational institution in Puerto Rico at the time, the Seminario Conciliar at San Juan, accepted free blacks and their descendants as well as Europeans.[78] Several free black families gained prominence, including the Cordero family, who were responsible for the education of a large portion of the San Juan population.[79] AtGuayama, poet and playwright Eleuterio Derkes also gained notoriety as a teacher.[80] In literature, Sotero Figueroa, Manuel Alonso Pizarro and Carlos Casanova Duperoy gained notoriety.[81] Within music, Felipe Gutiérrez Espinosa gained notoriety by becoming the first Caribbean-born composer to write an opera.[82] Juan Inés Ramos and a number of his descendants became well known musicians.[81]
With the establishment of theLibreta system, most of the free blacks served within it asjornaleros.[83] Planters became nervous because of the large number of slaves; they ordered restrictions, particularly on their movements outside a plantation. Rose Clemente, a 21st-century 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 inapartheid South Africa."[84] By 1866, the white population had become a majority at 52.7% (≈188,869) followed by free blacks at 35.2% (≈126,399) and slaves at 11.7% (≈41,818) .[85]
After the successful slave rebellion against the French in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) in 1803, establishing a new republic, the Spanish Crown became fearful that the "Criollos" (native born) of Puerto Rico andCuba, her last two remaining possessions, might follow suit. The Spanish government issued theRoyal Decree of Graces of 1815 to attract European immigrants from non-Spanish countries to populate the island, believing that these new immigrants would be more loyal to Spain than the mixed-race Criollos. However, they did not expect the new immigrants to racially intermarry, as they did, and to identify completely with their new homeland.[34] By 1850, most of the former Spanish possessions in the Americans had achieved independence.
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, free or slave.[86] However, Juan de la Pezuela replaced Prim that same year and facilitated the freedom of slaves by religious means, lowering the price to pay for slave baptism to 25 pesos macuquinos.[87]
In 1855, a colera epidemic that began at Spain reached Puerto Rico despite the measures taken by the local authorities. The poor population was the most affected, with free blacks (63.2%) and slaves (35%) suffering the most casualties in the region of Ponce.[88] This pattern was repeated in the municipalities of Arecibo, San Germán, Aibonito, Mayagüez and Morovis and combined with Ponce, free blacks (2,875 men, 1,475 women) and slaves (1,298 men, 709 women) outnumbered the deaths among whites (694 men, 307 women).[89] In December 1860, a census was carried out by Royal Decree, covering Puerto Rico and Vieques.[77] In it, free blacks and people of mixed race were 42.4% of the population, behind whites (51.5%) but outnumbering slaves (7.2%).[90] Free blacks were the only group where women outnumbered men.[91] By this time, free blacks represented a third of all property owners.[92]
On September 23, 1868, slaves, who had been promised freedom, participated in the short failed revolt against Spain which became known as "El Grito de Lares" or "The Cry of Lares". Many of the participants were imprisoned or executed.[93] Free blacks who had grown to resent the Libreta system, burned their assigned notebooks during the revolt.[94]
During this period, Puerto Rico provided a means for people to leave some of the racial restrictions behind: under such laws asRegla del Sacar orGracias al Sacar, a person of African ancestry could be considered legally white if able to prove they also had ancestors with at least one person per generation in the last four generations who had been legally white. Therefore, people of black ancestry with known white lineage became classified as white. This was the opposite of the later "one-drop rule" ofhypodescent in the United States, whereby persons of any known African ancestry were classified as black.[95]
By the second half of the century, free blacks outnumbered whites in barrios like Santa Bárbara and had taken over others like Cangrejos, also being more abundant in municipalities like Trujillo Alto, Guayama and Río Grande.[96] The ethnic divide in the Fajardo was balanced to begin the century, a pattern seen in Luquillo during the second half.[97] By 1868, Loíza presented a peculiar case, where free blacks outnumbered whites but were in turn outnumbered by black slaves, severa of which were owned by the former group.[97] San Mateo de Cangrejos was the first of its kind, being born from a decree allowing slaves from neighboring islands to become free in exchange for becoming Catholic, growing from this population which even came to have military affiliation.[98]
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During the mid-19th century, a committee ofabolitionists was formed in Puerto Rico that included many prominent Puerto Ricans. Dr.Ramón Emeterio Betances (1827-1898), whose mixed-race parents were wealthy landowners, believed in abolitionism, and together with fellow Puerto Rican abolitionistSegundo Ruiz Belvis (1829-1867), founded a clandestine organization called "The Secret Abolitionist Society".[87] The group also included José Basora and Salvador Brau.[87] The objective of the society was to free slave children by paying for freedom when they were baptized. The event, which was also known as"aguas de libertad" (waters of liberty), was carried out at theNuestra Señora de la Candelaria Cathedral inMayagüez. When the child was baptized, Betances would give money to the parents, which they used to buy the child's freedom from the master.[99]
José Julián Acosta (1827-1891) was a member of a Puerto Rican commission, which included Ramón Emeterio Betances, Segundo Ruiz Belvis, andFrancisco Mariano Quiñones (1830-1908). The commission participated in the "Overseas Information Committee" which met inMadrid, Spain. There, Acosta presented the argument for the abolition ofslavery in Puerto Rico.[100] On November 19, 1872,Román Baldorioty de Castro (1822-1889, a free mulatto himself), together withLuis Padial (1832-1879),Julio Vizcarrondo (1830-1889) and the Spanish Minister of Overseas Affairs, Segismundo Moret (1833-1913), presented a proposal for the abolition of slavery.[79]
On March 22, 1873, the Spanish government approved what became known as theMoret Law, which provided for gradual abolition.[101] 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.
The Moret Law established the Central Slave Registrar. In 1872 it 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. This has been an invaluable resource for historians and genealogists.[102]
The Moret Law led to all children born to slaves after September 17, 1868, to be automatically freed in exchange for a compensation.[87] Unregistered slaves and those older than 60 years of age where also freed.[103] On November 16, 1872, this law was extended to the Spanish colonies, due to the initiative of Pedro Cisa Cisa. On March 22, 1873, slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico, but with one significant caveat. The slaves were not emancipated; they had to buy their own freedom, at whatever price was set by their last masters. The law required that the former slaves work for another three years for their former masters, other people interested in their services, or for the state in order to pay some compensation.[104] The remaining slaves at the time of enactment, were estimated around 5% of the population (≈30,000), outnumbered by the quantity of free blacks and their descendants.[105]
The former slaves earned money in a variety of ways: some by trades, for instance as shoemakers, or laundering clothes, or by selling the produce they were allowed to grow, in the small patches of land allotted to them by their former masters. In a sense, they resembled the blacksharecroppers of the southern United States after theAmerican Civil War, but the latter did not own their land. They simply farmed another's land, for a share of the crops raised.[106] The government created the Protector's Office which was in charge of overseeing the transition. The Protector's Office was to pay any difference owed to the former master once the initial contract expired.
The majority of the freed slaves continued to work for their former masters, but as free people, receiving wages for their labor.[107] If the former slave decided not to work for his former master, the Protectors Office would pay the former master 23% of the former slave's estimated value, as a form of compensation.[104]
The freed slaves became integrated into Puerto Rico's society.Racism has existed in Puerto Rico, but it is not considered to be as severe as other places in the New World, possibly because of the following factors:
Two Puerto Rican writers have written about racism;Abelardo Díaz Alfaro (1916-1999) andLuis Palés Matos (1898-1959), who was credited with creating the poetry genre known as Afro-Antillano.[110]
TheTreaty of Paris of 1898 settled theSpanish-American War, which ended the centuries-long Spanish control over Puerto Rico. Like with other former Spanish territories, it now belonged to the United States.[111][112] With the United States control over the island's institutions also came a reduction of the natives' political participation. In effect, the U.S. military government defeated the success of decades of negotiations for political autonomy between Puerto Rico's political class and Madrid's colonial administration.[113] Puerto Ricans of African descent, aware of the opportunities and difficulties for blacks in the United States, responded in various ways. The racial bigotry of theJim Crow Laws stood in contrast to the African-American expansion of mobility that theHarlem Renaissance illustrated.[114][115]
One Puerto Rican politician of African descent who distinguished himself during this period was the physician and politicianJosé Celso Barbosa (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 advocated Puerto Rico's independence, wasArturo Alfonso Schomburg (1874-1938). After emigrating to New York City in the United States, he amassed an extensive collection in preserving manuscripts and other materials of black Americans and the African diaspora. He is considered by some to be the "Father of Black History" in the United States, and a major study center and collection of the New York Public Library is named for him, theSchomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. He coined the termAfroborincano, meaning African-Puerto Rican.[116]
After theUnited States Congress approved theJones Act of 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted UScitizenship. As citizens Puerto Ricans were eligible for the military draft, and many were drafted into the armed forces of the United States during World War I. The armed forces were segregated until after World War II. Puerto Ricans of African descent were subject to the discrimination which was rampant in the military and the U.S.[117]
Black Puerto Ricans residing in the mainland United States were assigned to all-black units.Rafael Hernández (1892-1965) and his brother Jesus, along with 16 more Puerto Ricans, were recruited byJazz bandleaderJames Reese Europe to join theUnited States Army's Orchestra Europe. They were assigned to the 369th Infantry Regiment, an African-American regiment; it gained fame during World War I and was nicknamed "The Harlem Hell Fighters" by theGermans.[118][119]
The United States also segregated military units in Puerto Rico.Pedro Albizu Campos (1891-1965), who later became the leader of thePuerto Rican Nationalist Party, 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 regiment, which was stationed in Puerto Rico and never saw combat. Albizu Campos later said that the discrimination which he witnessed in the Armed Forces, influenced the development of his political beliefs.[120]
Puerto Ricans of African descent were discriminated against in sports. Puerto Ricans who were dark-skinned and wanted to playMajor League Baseball in the United States, were not allowed to do so. In 1892 organized baseball had codified a color line, barringAfrican-American players, and any player who was dark-skinned, from any country.[121] Ethnic African-Puerto Ricans continued to play baseball. In 1928,Emilio "Millito" Navarro traveled to New York City and became the first Puerto Rican to play baseball in theNegro leagues when he joined theCuban Stars.[122][123] He was later followed by others such asFrancisco Coimbre, who also played for the Cuban Stars.
The persistence of these men paved the way for the likes ofBaseball Hall of FamersRoberto Clemente andOrlando Cepeda, who played in the Major Leagues after the colorline was broken byJackie Robinson of theBrooklyn Dodgers in 1947; they were inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame for their achievements. Cepeda's fatherPedro Cepeda, was denied a shot at the major leagues because of his color. Pedro Cepeda was one of the greatest players of his generation, the dominant hitter in theProfessional Baseball League of Puerto Rico after its founding in 1938. He refused to play in theNegro leagues due to his abhorrence of the racism endemic to the segregated United States.[124]
Black Puerto Ricans also participated in other sports as international contestants. In 1917,Nero Chen became the first Puerto Rican boxer to gain international recognition when he fought against (Panama) Joe Gan at the "Palace Casino" in New York.[125] In the 1948 Summer Olympics (the XIV Olympics), celebrated in London, boxerJuan Evangelista Venegas made 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 theBantamweight division.[126] The event was also historic because it was the first time that Puerto Rico had participated as a nation in an international sporting event. It was common for impoverished Puerto Ricans to use boxing as a way to earn an income.
On March 30, 1965,José "Chegui" Torres defeatedWillie Pastrano by technical knockout and won theWorld Boxing Council andWorld Boxing Associationlight heavyweight championships. He became the third Puerto Rican and the first one of African descent to win a professional world championship.[127]
Among those who exposed the racism and discrimination in the US which Puerto Ricans, especially Black Puerto Ricans, were subject to, wasJesús Colón. Colón is considered by many as the "Father of theNuyorican movement". He recounted his experiences in New York as a Black Puerto Rican in his bookLo 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).[128]
Critics of discrimination say that a majority of Puerto Ricans are racially mixed, but that they do not feel the need to identify as such. They argue that Puerto Ricans tend to assume that they are of Black African, American Indian, and European ancestry and only identify themselves as "mixed" only if they have parents who appear to be of distinctly different "races". Puerto Rico underwent a "whitening" process while under U.S. rule. There was a dramatic change in the numbers of people who were classified as "black" and "white" Puerto Ricans in the 1920 census, as compared to that in 1910. The numbers classified as "Black" declined sharply from one census to another (within 10 years' time). Historians suggest that more Puerto Ricans classified others as white because it was advantageous to do so at that time. In those years, census takers were generally the ones to enter the racial classification. Due to the power of Southern white Democrats, the US Census dropped the category of mulatto or mixed race in the 1930 census, enforcing the artificial binary classification of black and white. Census respondents were not allowed to choose their own classifications until the late 20th and early 21st centuries. It may have been that it was popularly thought it would be easier to advance economically and socially with the US if one were "white".[129]
The descendants of the former slaves became instrumental in the development of Puerto Rico's political, economic and cultural structure. They overcame many obstacles and have contributed 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.[130] In Puerto Rico, March 22 is known as "Abolition Day" and it is a holiday celebrated by those who live in the island.[131] The Spanish's limited focus on assimilating the black population, and maroon communities established from slave plantations, contributed to the majority African influence in black Puerto Rican culture.[132] High amounts of interracial marriage and reproducing, since the 1500s, is the reason why the majority of Puerto Ricans are mixed-race European, African, Taino, but only a small number are of predominant or full African ancestry.[133]
The first black people in the island came alongside Europeancolonists as workers from Spain and Portugal known asLadinos.[134][135] During the 1500s, the slaves that Spain imported to Puerto Rico and most of its other colonies, were mainly from theUpper Guinea region.[130] However, in the 1600s and 1700s, Spain imported large numbers of slaves fromLower Guinea and theCongo.[136] According to various DNA studies, majority of the African ancestry among black and mixed-race Puerto Ricans comes from a number of ethnic groups forcibly brought to the island. These include theWolof,Mandinka, Fon-Dahomey,Fang,Bubi,Yoruba,Igbo, andBakongo. Correlating to the modern-day countries ofSenegal,Mali,Benin,Equatorial Guinea,Nigeria, andAngola.[137][138][139] Slaves came from all parts of the western coast of Africa, from Senegal to Angola. The Yoruba and Congolese made the most notable impacts to Puerto Rican culture.[140] There's been evidence of intercolonial migration between Puerto Rico and its neighbors during the 1700s and 1800s, which consisted of migration of free blacks and purchases of slaves from neighboring islands.[141]
Many African slaves imported to Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico spoke"Bozal" Spanish, aCreole language that was Spanish-based, with Congolese and Portuguese influence.[142] Although Bozal Spanish became extinct in the nineteenth century, the African influence in the Spanish spoken in the island is still evident in the manyKongo words that have become a permanent part ofPuerto Rican Spanish.[143]
| External audio | |
|---|---|
 You may listen to the"Bomba Puertorriqueña" as performed at the Nuyorican Cafe in Puerto Ricohere | |
| and to a"Potpourri of Plenas" interpreted by Rene Ramoshere. |
Puerto Rican musical instruments such as barriles, drums with stretched animal skin, and Puerto Rican music-dance forms such asBomba orPlena 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.[144] Hisorically the genre and its dance were popular among both slaves and free blacks.[145]
Plena is another form of folkloric music of African origin. Plena was brought toPonce 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 fromTrinidad andJamaica.[146]
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 includedleró, yubá, cunyá, babú andbelén. 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 theVejigante (vey-hee-GANT-eh). TheVejigante is a mischievous character and the main character in the Carnivals of Puerto Rico.[147]
Until 1953, Bomba and Plena were virtually unknown outside Puerto Rico. Island musiciansRafael Cortijo (1928-1982),Ismael Rivera (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 replace the typical barriles (skin covered barrels) with congas.[148]
Nydia Rios de Colon, a contributor to theSmithsonian Folklife Cookbook, also offers culinary seminars through the Puerto Rican Cultural Institute. She writes of the cuisine:
Puerto Rican cuisine also has a strong African influence. The melange of flavors that make up the typicalPuerto 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."—Nydia Rios de Colon,Arts Publications
Similarly, Johnny Irizarry and Maria Mills have written:
"The salmorejo, a local land crab creation, resembles Southern cooking in the United States with its spicing. Themofongo, 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."[149][150]
In 1478, theCatholic Monarchs of Spain,Ferdinand II of Aragon andIsabella I of Castile, established an ecclesiastical tribunal known as theSpanish Inquisition. It was intended to maintainCatholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms.[151]
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. Africans were not allowed to practice non-Christian, native religious beliefs. No single organized ethnic African religion survived intact from the times of slavery to the present in Puerto Rico. But, many elements of African spiritual beliefs have been incorporated intosyncretic ideas and practices.Santería, aYoruba-Catholic syncretic mix, andPalo Mayombe, Kongolese traditions, are also practiced in Puerto Rico, the latter having arrived there at a much earlier time. A smaller number of people practiceVudú, which is derived fromDahomey mythology.[152]
Palo Mayombe, or Congolese traditions, existed for several centuries before Santería developed during the 19th century.Guayama became nicknamed "the city of witches", because the religion was widely practiced in this town.Santeria is believed to have been organized in Cuba among its slaves. The Yoruba were brought to many places in the Caribbean and Latin America. They carried their traditions with them, and in some places, they held onto more of them. In Puerto Rico and Trinidad Christianity was dominant. Although converted to Christianity, the captured Africans did not abandon their traditional religious practices altogether.Santería is a syncretic religion created between the diverse images drawn from the Catholic Church and the representational deities of the African Yoruba ethnic group ofNigeria. Santería is widely practiced in the town of Loíza.[153] Sister traditions emerged in their own particular ways on many of the smaller islands. Similarly, throughout Europe, early Christianity absorbed influences from differing practices among the peoples, which varied considerably according to region, language and ethnicity.
Santería has many deities said to be the "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 choose the person each will watch over.[154]
Unlike other religions where a worshiper is closely identified with a sect (such asChristianity), the worshiper is not always a "Santero". Santeros are the priests and the only official practitioners. (These "Santeros" are not to be confused with the Puerto Rico's craftsmen who carve and create religious statues from wood, which are also called Santeros). A person becomes a Santero if he passes certain tests and has been chosen by the Orishas.[153]
The role of freed slaves has been analyzed in documents, with particular theses taking a socio critical approach.[155] Most of the literature and investigations, however, center around those that remained slaves.[155] InHistoria de la Esclavitud Negra en Puerto Rico, Luis Díaz Soler dedicated a chapter to free blacks.[14] Fernando Picó touched upon the sudject inLibertad y Servidumbre.La Esclavitud Urbana en San Juan (Mariano Negrón, Raúl Mayo) andLiteratura Negra del Siglo XIX also explore how free blacks influenced Puerto Rico.[14]
Considering the 2020 Census is the first to allow respondents to apply multiple races in their responses, there is considerable overlap that while appearing contradictory is in reality reflective of Puerto Rico's mixed history and population. As of the 2020 Census, 17.1% of Puerto Ricans identify as white, 17.5% identify as black or black in combination with another race, 2.3% as Amerindian, 0.3% as Asian, and 74% as "Some Other Race Alone or in Combination."[156] Although estimates vary, most sources estimate that about 60% of Puerto Ricans have significant African ancestry.[95] The vast majority of black people in Puerto Rico 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.[157][158] Recent black immigrants have come to Puerto Rico, mainly from the[159]Dominican Republic,Haiti, and other Latin American and Caribbean countries, and to a lesser extent directly fromAfrica as well. Many black migrants from the United States and theVirgin Islands have moved and settled in Puerto Rico.[160][161] Also, many Afro-Puerto Ricans have migrated out of Puerto Rico, namely to the United States. There and in the US Virgin Islands, they make up the bulk of theU.S. Afro-Latino population.[162]
Under Spanish and American rule, Puerto Rico underwent a whitening process. Puerto Rico went from around 50% of its population classified as black and mulatto in the first quarter of the 19th century, to nearly 80% classified white by the middle of the 20th century.[163][129][164][165][166] Under Spanish rule, Puerto Rico had laws such asRegla del Sacar orGracias al Sacar, which classified persons of mixed African-European ancestry as white, which was the opposite of "one-drop rule" in US society after the American Civil War.[95] Additionally, the Spanish government'sRoyal Decree of Graces of 1815 encouraged immigration from other European countries. Heavy European immigration swelled Puerto Rico's population to about one million by the end of the 19th century, decreasing the proportion Africans made of Puerto Rico. In the early decades under US rule, census takers began to shift from classifying people as black to "white" and the society underwent what was called a "whitening" process from the 1910 to the 1920 census, in particular. During the mid 20th century, the US government forcefully sterilized Puerto Rican women, especially non-white Puerto Rican women.[167]
Afro-Puerto Rican youth are learning more of their peoples' history from textbooks that encompass more Afro-Puerto Rican history.[129][168][169] The 2010 US census recorded the first drop of the percentage white people made up of Puerto Rico, and the first rise in the black percentage, in over a century.[170] Many of the factors that may possibly perpetuate this trend include: more Puerto Ricans may start to identify as black, due to increasing black pride and African cultural awareness throughout the island, as well as an increasing number of black immigrants, especially from the Dominican Republic and Haiti, many of whom are illegal immigrants,[171] and increasing emigration of white Puerto Ricans to the mainland US.[172][173][174][175][176][177][178][179][180]
The following lists only include only the number of people who identify as black and do not attempt to estimate everyone with African ancestry. As noted in the earlier discussion, several of these cities were places where freedmen gathered after gaining freedom, establishing communities.
Themunicipalities with the highest percentages of residents who identify as black, as of 2020, were:[181]
Loiza: 64.7%Canóvanas: 33.4%Maunabo: 32.7%Rio Grande: 32%Culebra: 27.7%Carolina: 27.3%Vieques: 26%Arroyo: 25.8%Luquillo: 25.7%Patillas: 24.1%Ceiba: 23.8%Juncos: 22.9%San Juan: 22.2%Toa Baja: 22.1%Salinas: 22.1%Cataño: 21.8%
A landmark study published in 2023 and focused exclusively on studying the genome of self-identified Afro-Puerto Ricans discovered that, as indicated by mitochondrial haplogroups, their average matrilineal lineage is 66% African, 29% Indigenous American and 5% European. Along the Y chromosome, 52% had African, 28% had Western European, 16% had Eurasian, and, notably, 4% had Indigenous American patrilines, which until that point had been believed to be extinct in the modern population of Puerto Rico.[182]
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