Military Government of Porto Rico Gobierno Militar de Puerto Rico (Spanish) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898–1900 | |||||||||
| Motto: E Pluribus Unum "Out of Many, One" | |||||||||
| Anthem: Salve, Columbia "Hail, Columbia" | |||||||||
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| Status | United States military occupation (1898–1899) Unincorporated, unorganized territory[a] (1899–1900) | ||||||||
| Capital | San Juan | ||||||||
| Common languages | Spanish,English | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||
| Government | Military government | ||||||||
| Military governor | |||||||||
• 1898 | Nelson A. Miles | ||||||||
• 1898 | John R. Brooke | ||||||||
• 1898–1899 | Guy Vernor Henry | ||||||||
• 1899–1900 | George Whitefield Davis | ||||||||
| Historical era | Modern Era | ||||||||
| 25 July 1898 | |||||||||
| 10 December 1898 | |||||||||
| 12 April 1900 | |||||||||
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| History of Puerto Rico |
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 Puerto Rico portal |
TheMilitary Government of Porto Rico (Spanish:Gobierno Militar de Puerto Rico), was aprovisional military government inPuerto Rico that was established during theSpanish–American War in 1898.[1]
From 1898 to 1900, Puerto Rico was governed by four military officers: Commanding General Nelson A. Miles, Major General John R. Brooke, Major General Guy Vernon Henry, and Major General George Whitefield Davis. Miles, Brooke, and Henry were experienced veterans of theIndian Wars and, even though they were accustomed to the pacification and administration of theNative Americans, the U.S. Army had no previous experience in the administration of overseas territories.[2] Henry stated: "It was an entirely new duty for American Army officers. There was no precedent in the experience of these so suddenly placed in charge of this our first real colony, upon which their policy could be based."[2]
The administration of Puerto Rico was the responsibility of theUnited States Department of War'sDivision of Customs and Insular Affairs, which was modeled after theBureau of Indian Affairs. Almost immediately, the United States began the "Americanization" process of Puerto Rico. The U.S. occupation brought about a total change in Puerto Rico's economy andpolity and did not applyAmerican republicanism to the colony.
In 1899, U.S. SenatorGeorge Frisbie Hoar described Puerto Ricans as "uneducated, simple-minded and harmless people who were only interested in wine, women, music and dancing" and recommended that Spanish should be abolished in the island's schools and only English should be taught.[3] Schools became the primary vehicle of Americanization, and initially all classes were taught in English, which also made for a large dropout rate.
On January 15, 1899, the military government changed the name of Puerto Rico to Porto Rico (U.S. Congress would later change the name back to "Puerto Rico" on May 17, 1932) and the island's currency was changed from the Puerto Rican peso to the American dollar, integrating the island's currency into the U.S. monetary system.
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