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Many People, One Culture: A History of Immigration to Puerto Rico

February 2010 - Puerto Rico’s history of immigration may make Boricuas the most ethnically diverse people of the Caribbean. Puerto Ricans know about the three main ethnic backgrounds that make-up the Puerto Rican people: the indigenous Taíno Indians, Spaniards, and Africans. However other ethnicities have and continue to contribute to the Puerto Rican culture.

Spanish immigration to Puerto Rico began in 1493 when Christopher Columbus claimed the land for Spain. Juan Ponce de León, a lieutenant under Columbus who later became the first governor of Puerto Rico, founded the first Spanish settlement in 1508. Spanish is the predominant language among Puerto Rican islanders, however it contains many words of Taíno and African origin.

African immigration to Puerto Rico began with the slave trade. Later African people from non-Spanish colonies, such as Jamaica and Saint-Dominique (now Haiti) immigrated to Puerto Rico. Descendents of former African slaves have helped develop Puerto Rico's political and economic structure and shape the music, art, and heritage of its people.

In 1791, slaves in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) revolted against their French masters. Many of the French escaped to Puerto Rico via what is now the Dominican Republic and settled in the west coast of the island. When the British tried to invade Puerto Rico in 1797 many Frenchmen joined the Spanish in defense of the island. The invasion failed and a great number of Frenchmen who fought stay and live on the island.

By the early 19th century Spain had lost most of its possessions in the New World except for Puerto Rico and Cuba, who were demanding self-governance and had pro-independence movements. In hopes of securing these areas, Spain announced the Royal Decree of Graces in 1815, which granted the Caribbean territories the right to have commercial ties with countries that were in good standing with Spain. The decree also offered free land to any Spaniard who was willing to settle in those territories.

Hundreds of French (especially Corsican,) German, and Irish families soon immigrated to Puerto Rico. They were later followed by smaller waves of Dutch, Greek, Italian, Maltese, and Portuguese immigrants who adopted the language and customs of the island and were completely integrated into the society.

Corsica, which is west of Italy and part of France, was geographically similar to Puerto Rico. This was appealing to many Corsicans who wanted to start a "new" life. Hundreds of Corsicans immigrated to Puerto Rico and settled in the mountainous southwestern region of the island. However it was Yauco’s rich agricultural area that attracted the majority of Corsican settlers. They eventually became masters of cultivating coffee and leaders of the Puerto Rican coffee industry. Today the town of Yauco is known as both the "Corsican Town" and "The Coffee Town."

During the latter part of the 19th century, Spain and the rest of the Americas became industrialized and needed a larger workforce. Poor men from China where shipped to the Americas as cheap contract laborers. Many of these unskilled workers made it to Puerto Rico. When the United States enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which limited Chinese immigration after the end of the California Gold Rush, many Chinese in the U.S. mainland fled to Puerto Rico and worked in restaurants and laundries.

An increase of immigration to Puerto Rico occurred when the U.S. acquired the territory from the Spaniards after winning the Spanish-American War of 1898. Additional Chinese immigrants came to work in the island's sugar industry and worked in re-building Puerto Rico's infrastructure and rail systems. Irish-American soldiers who helped the U.S. seize the land were assigned to military bases in Puerto Rico and later chose to stay and live on the island.

With the passage of the Jones Act of 1917, which made Puerto Ricans U.S. citizens, many Boricuas were required to join the U.S. military. Puerto Ricans fought in Germany during World War II and many continued to serve in Germany as members of the regular Army after the war. A large number of these soldiers married and returned to Puerto Rico with German wives.

Immigrants to Puerto Rico also included Jewish communities that were fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe. Large groups of Jewish immigrants came in the 1930s and 1940s and after the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Almost all of Cuba's Jews went into exile, many fleeing to Florida and Puerto Rico. Today, Puerto Rico is home to the largest and wealthiest Jewish community in the Caribbean and the only island where all three major Jewish denominations are represented.

Other Cubans immigrated to Puerto Rico after the 1959 Cuban Revolution mainly because of “Operation Bootstrap,” the U.S. Puerto Rican industrialized program. Cuban immigration slowed in the 1980s but continues today with many opening businesses near San Juan.

Dominicans have lived on the island of Puerto Rico since colonial times. Many residents of Santo Domingo, now the Dominican Republic, left for Puerto Rico in 1795 after the Spanish ceded the land to the French. The Haitian invasions of 1801-1803 and Haitian occupation of 1822-1844 saw more Dominicans coming to Puerto Rico. Dominican immigration coincided with political upheavals including the 1961 assassination of Dominican President Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina and the 1965 Dominican Civil War. Today about 200,000 Dominicans live in Puerto Rico, a majority of them in San Juan, Carolina, and Bayamón.

The large number of undocumented residents in Puerto Rico has become a hot political issue. Since Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, the U.S. Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) handles immigration enforcement. But undocumented Dominicans, Jamaicans, and Haitians say local police harass them or turn them in to immigration authorities.

The U.S. has yet to begin a serious conversation about immigration reform, however it will be interesting to see how new regulations will affect immigration in Puerto Rico. If the U.S. tightens its southern borders a new wave of Mexican immigration may affect Puerto Rico. The recent devastating earthquake in Haiti is sure to affect further immigration of both Haitians and Dominicans to Puerto Rico.

In any event, U.S. and Puerto Rican officials should keep in mind that we have always been a nation of immigrants. Current U.S. citizens and political leaders should find ways to fairly welcome those seeking a better life and those who have already contributed greatly to the U.S. and Puerto Rican cultures.