Puerto Rico Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Politics of liberalism==== [[File:Intentona de Yauco.jpg|thumb|left|The flag flown by Fidel Vélez and his troops during the ''[[Intentona de Yauco]]'' revolt of 1897.]] In the early 19th century, Puerto Rico spawned an [[Independence movement in Puerto Rico|independence movement]] that, due to harsh persecution by the Spanish authorities, convened in the neighboring island of [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Thomas]]. The movement was largely inspired by the ideals of [[Simón Bolívar]] in establishing a [[United Provinces of New Granada]] and [[Venezuela]], that included Puerto Rico and Cuba. Among the influential members of this movement were Brigadier General [[Antonio Valero de Bernabé]] and [[María de las Mercedes Barbudo]]. The movement was discovered, and Governor [[Miguel de la Torre]] had its members imprisoned or exiled.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.raquelrosario.net/Historias%20Claridad%20Mercedes%20Bar.pdf |title=María de las Mercedes Barbudo; Primera mujer independentista de Puerto Rico; ''CLARIDAD''; December 1994; p. 19 |access-date=30 October 2011 |archive-date=25 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125005706/http://www.raquelrosario.net/Historias%20Claridad%20Mercedes%20Bar.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> With the increasingly rapid growth of independent former Spanish colonies in the South and Central American states in the first part of the 19th century, the Spanish Crown considered Puerto Rico and Cuba of strategic importance. To increase its hold on its last two New World colonies, the Spanish Crown revived the [[Royal Decree of Graces of 1815]] as a result of which 450,000 immigrants, mainly Spaniards, settled on the island in the period up until the American conquest. Printed in three languages—[[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[English language|English]], and [[French language|French]]—it was intended to also attract non-Spanish Europeans, with the hope that the independence movements would lose their popularity if new settlers had stronger ties to the Crown. Hundreds of non-Spanish families, mainly from [[Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico|Corsica]], [[French immigration to Puerto Rico|France]], [[German immigration to Puerto Rico|Germany]], [[Irish immigration to Puerto Rico|Ireland]], [[Italy]] and [[Scotland]], also immigrated to the island.<ref name="Graces"/> Free land was offered as an incentive to those who wanted to populate the two islands, on the condition that they swear their loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]].<ref name="Graces">{{cite web |url=http://www.ensayistas.org/antologia/XIXE/castelar/esclavitud/cedula.htm |title=Real Cédula de 1789 "para el comercio de Negros" |language=es |publisher=Ensayistas.org |access-date=30 October 2011 |archive-date=20 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720165149/https://ensayistas.org/antologia/XIXE/castelar/esclavitud/cedula.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The offer was very successful, and European immigration continued even after 1898. Puerto Rico still receives Spanish and European immigration. [[File:1868 Lares Revolutionay Flag.svg|thumb|The Lares revolutionary flag of 1868, also known as the "First Puerto Rican Flag" in Puerto Rico]] Poverty and political estrangement with Spain led to a small but significant uprising in 1868 known as ''[[Grito de Lares]].'' It began in the rural town of [[Lares, Puerto Rico|Lares]] but was subdued when rebels moved to the neighboring town of [[San Sebastián, Puerto Rico|San Sebastián]]. Leaders of this independence movement included [[Ramón Emeterio Betances]], considered the Father of the Puerto Rican independence movement, and other political figures such as [[Segundo Ruiz Belvis]]. Slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico in 1873, "with provisions for periods of apprenticeship".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-24160 |title=Ways of ending slavery |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=29 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309101044/http://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-24160 |archive-date=9 March 2013}}</ref> [[File:IMG 2972 - Abolition Park in Ponce, Puerto Rico.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Monument commemorating the [[Slavery in colonial Spanish America|1873 abolition of slavery]] in Puerto Rico, located in [[Ponce, Puerto Rico|Ponce]]]] Leaders of ''Grito de Lares'' went into exile to [[New York City]]. Many joined the [[Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee]], founded on 8 December 1895, and continued their quest for Puerto Rican independence. In 1897, [[Antonio Mattei Lluberas]] and the local leaders of the independence movement in Yauco organized another uprising, which became known as the ''[[Intentona de Yauco]]''. They raised what they called the [[Flag of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican flag]], which was adopted as the [[national flag]]. The local conservative political factions opposed independence. Rumors of the planned event spread to the local Spanish authorities who acted swiftly and put an end to what would be the last major uprising in the island to Spanish colonial rule.<ref name="HMPR">{{Cite book |title=Historia militar de Puerto Rico |first=Héctor Andrés |last=Negroni |author-link=Hector Andres Negroni |publisher=Sociedad Estatal Quinto Centenario |year=1992 |language=es |isbn=978-84-7844-138-9 }}</ref> In 1897, [[Luis Muñoz Rivera]] and others persuaded the liberal Spanish government to agree to grant limited self-government to the island by [[Decree|royal decree]] in the Autonomic Charter, including a [[Bicameralism|bicameral legislature]].<ref>[http://www.proyectosalonhogar.com/enciclopedia_ilustrada/Carta_Autonomica.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109192703/http://www.proyectosalonhogar.com/enciclopedia_ilustrada/Carta_Autonomica.htm|date=9 January 2015}} Retrieved: 8 January 2015. Carta Autonómica de Puerto Rico, 1897.</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=August 2021}} In 1898, Puerto Rico's first, but short-lived, autonomous government was organized as an "overseas province"{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} of Spain. This bilaterally agreed-upon charter maintained a governor appointed by the [[Monarchy of Spain|King of Spain]]—who held the power to annul any legislative decision{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}—and a partially elected parliamentary structure. In February, Governor-General [[Manuel Macías y Casado|Manuel Macías]] inaugurated the new government under the Autonomic Charter. General elections were held in March and the new government began to function on 17 July 1898.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.solboricua.com/history2.htm#usa |title=USA Seizes Puerto Rico |year=2000 |work=History of Puerto Rico |publisher=solboricua.com |access-date=30 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140515120148/http://www.solboricua.com/history2.htm#usa |archive-date=15 May 2014 }}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=August 2021}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.topuertorico.org/history4.shtml |title=History |access-date=1 October 2007 |author=Magaly Rivera |publisher=topuertorico.org |archive-date=12 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012174815/http://www.topuertorico.org/history4.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=August 2021}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/chronpr.html |title=Chronology of Puerto Rico in the Spanish–American War |work=The World of 1898: The Spanish–American War |publisher=Hispanic Division, Library of Congress |access-date=30 December 2017 |archive-date=4 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104123909/http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/chronpr.html |url-status=live }}</ref> {{Clear}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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