PRIOR TO 1508
PRE-EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT
|
3000–
2000 BCE
|
The Ortoiroid people settle the archipelago of Puerto Rico.
|
430 BCE– 1000 CE
|
Other tribes, including the Saladoid and Arawak, now inhabit the island
|
1493
|
(November 19) Working for Spain, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus discovers the island on his second voyage. He names it San Juan Bautista in honor of Saint John the Baptist. At the time, an estimated 30,000-60,000 Tainos, the dominant indigenous culture, populate the island. The Taino natives die out during the latter half of the 16th century due to exploitation by Spanish settlers and diseases introduced by Europeans. The Spaniards who first arrive in Puerto Rico also take many Taino women as wives.
|
1508-1699
SPANISH AND ENGLISH COLONIZATION
|
1508
|
(August 12) Juan Ponce de Leon arrives and conquers the island for Spain. His crews enslave the indigenous Taino people for work on Hispaniola. Ponce de Leon serves as governor of Puerto Rico from 1509–1512.
|
1511
|
Taino warriors drown Spanish soldier Diego Salcedo to determine whether the Spaniards are immortal. Taino warriors keep watch over his body for three days to confirm his death before Ponce de Leon's soldiers retaliate.
Diego Columbus, the firstborn son of Christopher Columbus, takes political control of the island. The governorship passes down the Columbus line until 1536.
|
1512
|
The first cathedral in Puerto Rico is built. The island becomes the first ecclesiastical headquarters of the New World and the general headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition during the reign of Pope Leo X.
|
1513
|
Following the decline of the Taino population, African slaves are brought to the island as part of the colonization process. The slaves are branded with a hot iron on the forehead to show they were brought to the region legally.
|
1521
|
The Caparra colony, founded by Spanish conquistadores, relocates to the entrance of San Juan Bay. The island takes the name of Puerto Rico ("rich port") while the port becomes San Juan.
|
1523
|
A Dominican convent is built in San Juan. The convent later serves as a shelter from Carib native raids, and after the Spanish-American War, the U.S. uses it as an Army headquarters.
|
1527
|
Recognizing the strategic value of Puerto Rico, the French sack and burn the southwestern town of San German. They also destroy many of the island’s first settlements before the local militia forces them to retreat. French corsairs would again raid San German in 1538 and 1554.
The first major slave rebellion occurs in Puerto Rico as dozens of slaves fight against the colonists in a brief revolt. The few slaves who escape retreat to the mountains where they reside as maroons with surviving Tainos.
|
1533
|
The Governor’s Mansion, La Fortaleza, is built on the southwestern edge of San Juan overlooking the bay to defend the harbor of San Juan. It is now the oldest executive mansion in the New World.
|
1536
|
The Columbus family relinquishes political rights to the island, selling them back to the Spanish Crown.
|
1538
|
The El Morro watchtower is built, followed by the El Morro Fortress in 1539. The fortress guards against land approaches by England, as Spain engages in war with the country.
|
1595
|
Queen Elizabeth I of England sends Sir Francis Drake to capture treasure from a wrecked Spanish galleon stored at La Forteleza. Drake fails and returns to Panama.
|
1598
|
(June 15) Sir George Clifford, the third Earl of Cumberland, lands near San Juan and viciously attacks the settlement. Four hundred of his English troops subsequently die of dysentery when their food spoils. Those who survive burn what remains of the city and set sail.
|
1599
|
Spain sends 400 soldiers, 46 cannons, and a new governor to rebuild San Juan after the British attack.
|
1625
|
(September 25) The Dutch sail a fleet of 17 ships in San Juan, attacking and holding the city under siege for three weeks. This infuriates the Spanish, who mount an impressive defense and force the Dutch to retreat.
|
1634
|
Philip IV of Spain fortifies Fort San Cristobal, along with six fortresses linked by a line of sandstone walls surrounding the city. The walls are up to 20 feet thick and 40 feet tall.
|
1639
|
The San Juan Gate, one of six heavy wooden doors in the wall surrounding San Juan, is built as the entry to the city. For centuries the doors are closed at sundown to protect it from invaders.
|
1700–1799
THE SPANISH GALLEON ERA
|
1765
|
The Spanish crown hires Irishmen Colonel Thomas O’Daly and Field Marshall Alexander O’Reilly to upgrade the defenses of all of Spain’s Caribbean ports. They expand and improve El Morro and San Cristobal.
|
1779
|
Spain sides with the colonies in the American Revolution, hoping it will dilute England’s power.
|
1797
|
In San Juan, scores of women dressed as soldiers parade through the streets in an attempt to scare off a threatening English arsenal of 64 warships holding 7,000 men. The English fall for the bluff and retreat. An annual parade later commemorates the event.
|
1800–1899
AN EMERGING U.S. TERRITORY
|
1815
|
(August 10) The Royal Decree of Graces allows foreigners to enter Puerto Rico and opens a port to trade with nations other than Spain. This is the beginning of agriculture-based economic growth, with sugar, tobacco, and coffee being the main products. The decree also gives free land to anyone who swears their loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church. Thousands of families escape the harsh economic times of Europe, lured by the offer of free land in Puerto Rico.
|
1820
|
Slavery is banned in Puerto Rico, but the ban is rarely if ever enforced.
|
1845
|
The English ban the slave trade and pressure Spain to do so as well.
|
1849
|
A system of forced labor is set up to harness peasant labor and the large population of squatters. All who do not own land are required to gather outside of towns to wait for work. However, the law is abolished in 1873 due to difficulties of enforcement.
|
1858
|
Samuel F.B. Morse installs a line in the town of Arroyo and the telegraph is introduced to the island.
|
1873
|
(March 22) Spain officially abolishes slavery. Under pressure from Puerto Rico, the Spanish government agrees to compensate owners for their freed slaves.
|
1897
|
(November 25) Spain grants Puerto Rico self rule according to the Charter of Autonomy. Under the treaty, Puerto Rico becomes a commonwealth of the Spanish crown with an elected Parliament capable of making its own trade laws. The following year, the Treaty of Paris negates the charter.
|
1898
|
(May 12) During the onset of the Spanish-American War, a U.S. fleet shells El Morro and San Cristobal for two hours before heading to Cuba.
(July 25) American troops land on the southern coast of Puerto Rico at Guanica.
(August 12) The Treaty of Paris officially ends the Spanish-American War after three months and 22 days of fighting. The U.S. gains possession of the Philippines, Cuba, Guam, and Puerto Rico, paying Spain $20 million.
(October) The U.S. begins to officially govern Puerto Rico.
|
1899
|
(February 6) Puerto Rico becomes a U.S. Territory and the spelling of its name is changed to "Porto Rico" (it would be changed back to Puerto Rico in 1932).
|
1900–1929
THE TERRITORY OF PUERTO RICO AND WORLD WAR I
|
1900
|
The U.S. Congress establishes a Puerto Rican civil government and free commerce between the island and the U.S.
|
1904
|
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that Puerto Ricans may enter the United States freely but does not award them U.S. citizenship.
|
1906
|
(November 9) President Theodore Roosevelt leaves Washington, D.C., for a 17-day trip to Panama and Puerto Rico, becoming the first U.S. president to make an official visit.
(November 21) While in San Juan, President Roosevelt pledges American citizenship for the Puerto Rican people.
|
1917
|
(March 2) President Woodrow Wilson signs the Jones-Shafroth Act, which finally grants American citizenship to Puerto Ricans. The territorial government is reconfigured to match the three American branches of government: legislative, judicial, and executive. The act also allows conscription to be extended to the island, sending 20,000 Puerto Rican soldiers to the U.S. Army during the First World War.
|
1920s
|
The economy of Puerto Rico booms. A drastic increase in the price of sugar, Puerto Rico’s principal export, brings increasing revenues to the island. As a result, the island's infrastructure is steadily improved as new schools, roads, and bridges are constructed. However, the economic growth halts abruptly in 1929 with the U.S. stock market crash.
|
1929
|
Puerto Rico outlaws capital punishment.
|
1930–1949
GREAT DEPRESSION AND WORLD WAR II
|
1932
|
(May 17) The U.S. Congress changes the spelling of the territory's name back to "Puerto Rico."
(September 27) Hurricane San Ciprian strikes the island, killing 200 to 300 people and causing millions of dollars in property damage. Agricultural production on the island comes to a standstill.
|
1937
|
(March 21) The Ponce Massacre. A march is organized to commemorate the end of slavery in Puerto Rico and also protest the incarceration of nationalist leader Pedro Albizu Campos by the U.S. government. The protest results in the death of 17 unarmed civilians at the hands of the Insular Police, a force somewhat equivalent to a Puerto Rican National Guard.
|
1941
|
The U.S. Congress establishes two-thirds of the Island of Vieques as a military training ground.
|
1940s
|
Due to a flagging economy in Puerto Rico, many Puerto Ricans migrate to the continental U.S., particularly to New York City.
|
1950–PRESENT
MODERN PUERTO RICO
|
1952
|
(March 3) Puerto Rico becomes a self-governing commonwealth of the U.S. when it ratifies its first self-composed constitution.
|
1985
|
(October 7) Puerto Rico's worst disaster of the 20th century occurs when 129 people are killed in a mudslide in Ponce following Tropical Storm Isabel.
|
1989
|
(September 18) Extensive damage is caused as Hurricane Hugo, a Category 5 hurricane, reaches Puerto Rico. Nearly 28,000 people are left homeless by the storm, and banana and coffee crops are completely wiped out.
|
1993
|
The U.S. Navy drops 24 bombs of napalm on a target practice area on the island of Vieques. After years of denial, the navy admits to the drops in 1999.
|
1998
|
(June 24) Governor Pedro Rossello signs a law completing the $1.9 billion sale of Telefonica to a U.S. consortium led by GTE. The following day, protestors plant bombs, smash bank machines, and burn telephone lines in reaction to the privatization of the phone company.
(December 13) A referendum on U.S. statehood fails by a voting margin of 3.7 percent.
|
2000
|
Thousands in San Juan protest U.S. military bombing exercises on Vieques Island.
|
2001
|
(March 1) In response to the ongoing San Juan protest, the Pentagon suspends navy bombing on Vieques.
(April 26) A federal judge rules that military exercises may resume on Vieques Island.
(June 14) President Bill Clinton orders that the bombings be stopped, and the navy begins to use "dummy bombs."
(October 13) A U.S. federal appeals court rules that residents of Puerto Rico cannot vote in presidential elections unless the island becomes a state or the U.S. Constitution is amended.
|
2003
|
(April 30) The U.S. Navy withdraws its use of the Vieques bombing range.
(December 30) Miriam Naveira is sworn in as the new chief justice of Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court, making her the first woman to hold the post.
|
2005
|
(July 10) Puerto Ricans vote to endorse a referendum to modify the government to a one-house legislature.
|
2008
|
(August 29) The San Juan Star, Puerto Rico’s Pulitzer Prize–winning English language newspaper, closes due to declining revenue.
|
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder