Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A depiction of the Haitian rebellion
Moments in History
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First Settlers
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San Juan Founded
It is thought that Puerto
Rico's earliest settlers may have
arrived from Florida about 5,000
years ago. These hunter-gatherers
were later displaced by the
Igneris, an Arawak tribe from the
Orinoco basin of South America.
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Taíno Arrival
In 1521 the first Spanish
settlement, Caparra, was
abandoned and Ponce de León
established a new town on a
peninsula that protected a huge
bay. San Juan was constantly
under pirate raids and was briefly
occupied by English forces in
1598. Fortifications were added
to safeguard the port.
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Haitian Rebellion
After a long migration up the
Caribbean chain, the Taíno people
arrived on the island, which they
called Borinquen, in around
500 BC. This peaceful society
lived on fishing and farming,
worshipped gods of nature, and
lived in villages led by chieftains.
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Columbus' Arrival
A slave rebellion in Haiti in
1791 led to the demise of the
island's French sugar trade. Fears
of a similar uprising in Puerto
Rico prompted Spain to loosen
the island's restrictive trade
laws, resulting in an economic
boom as US investors poured
money into the sugar industry.
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El Grito de Lares
The Genovese explorer first
set foot on the island during his
second voyage in 1493, and
christened it San Juan Bautista.
His discovery led to Spanish
rule of the island and the rapid
enslavement of the Taíno.
By 1521, the island had been
renamed Puerto Rico - Rich Port
- by conquistador
Ponce de León.
The
criollo
(island born) craved
independence from Spain, but
nationalist aspirations were brutally
suppressed.
Independentistas
launched “The Cry of Lares”
(see p68)
in September 1869,
which resulted in
liberal reforms.
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The Fight for
Autonomy
In 1895 Puerto Rican
exiles allied with
Cuban nationalists
during Cuba's second
war of independence
from Spain. A liberal
government took
over in Spain and
A mural depicting Columbus' arrival in Puerto Rico
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Preceding pages
El Yunque rain forest, Puerto Rico
