Puerto Rico History - Nationalism
If the criollo society was not conscious of itself by the end of the 18th century, it was not long before a succession of important events served to awaken a sense of identity. With the invasion of the peninsula by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Spanish people, following the heroic example set in Madrid on May 2, 1808, launched the struggle to redeem national independence. Memorable for its spontaneity, given the profound patriotic feeling of the Spanish people as the determining factor, the war of independence soon became the vehicle for a powerful political reform movement directed against the inveterate abuses of an absolute monarchy, as well as a struggle against the foreign invasion.
According to one eminent Spanish historian, the thought of political reform was inspired by a series of considerations, among them : the reorganization of the war and the small triumphs of the Spaniards; the concept of a political constitution, and the crucial importance of the involvement of the entire nation in the struggle to assure that once independence had been won, there would be popular demand for changes in the policies governing the franchise and individual rights.
If indeed the heroism and sacrifices of the Spanish people were not to be lost, the leaders of new national movement realized that such a national effort demanded reforms as an integral part of independence. To attain their goals, the Spanish nation spared no effort, taxing their resources to the limit.
But the harsh realities of the struggle against such an experienced adversary forced Spain to look to the American Colonies for assistance. It was not long before the New World began to feel the powerful impact of events on the Spanish peninsula. Puerto Rico's initial involvement in the peninsular crisis occurred with the arrival on July 24, 1808, of sloop-of-war Intrepida, bringing Captains Manuel Francisco Jauregui and Juan Jabat to the port of San Juan as representatives of the Junta of Seville, the first of the provincial Spanish juntas to declare war against Napoleon and to raise the banner of political reform.
Delivering various official dispatches to Governor Montes, the two commissioners gave notice of the events on the peninsula, requesting Montes' personal intercession in order to obtain economic aid from the islanders in the cause of the mother country. The result of the Governor's enthusiastic response came the following day, as the declaration of war against Napoleon by the Junta of Seville was proclaimed throughout the city. A solemn oath of allegiance to Ferdinand VII was made, and in a special appearance by the Governor and the two commissioners in the central square, the people were exhorted to lend their support to the Spanish cause.
The pronouncement was followed by cheers, cannon volleys, and the peal of church bells as the island prepared to join the effort for Spanish independence. The end of August 1808, witnessed the arrival of the Marquis of the Royal Treasury in San Juan, who, having requested financial assistance once again, proceeded to describe the events and decisions which had led to the Spanish resistance to Bonaparte, the ensuing struggle in defense of King and honor, and the advantages gained in Zaragoza,Valencia, and Bailen ; the news was published immediately in a special edition of the Gazeta de Puerto Rico at the request of the Governor and was circulated profusely throughout the island.
Shortly thereafter the various provincial juntas were replaced by a Supreme Council or Junta of Spain and the Indies, and in January 1809, in recognition of their support and assistance, the colonies were declared to be an integral part of the Spanish monarchy, with the right of representation in the Supreme Council. This decree, expression of the reformist tendency embraced by the leaders of the war of independence, reflected the generous modifications of the traditional concept of colonial rights, praised in England by Bacon, Smith, Wilberforce, and Fox; in France by Montesquieu and Rousseau; in Holland by Dirkvan Hagendrop ; and in Spain herself by the Count Aranda, the Marquis of Sonora, don Bernardo Ward,and don Gaspar Melchordie Jovellanos.
It was this line of thinking which marked the passing of the ancient colonial system of the administrative type, by which the colony was run for the benefit of the metropolis, and its replacement by a new system of assimilation, by which the colony was to become an integral part of the metropolis, operating within a juridical framework which would insure direct participation of the colony in the central government.
Under the circumstances it was no wonder that the great majority of the islanders as well as some of the more generous Spaniards received the 1807 decree with such enthusiasm. The clear-cut imbalance between harsh reality and the concessions and promises formulated by the Supreme Junta, as well as the psychological tendency already at work in Puerto Rico to seek higher goals of culture and progress, were sufficient to stimulate the island to immediate action.
The hope was that the new Spanish policy was directed toward establishing justice as well as the recognition of equal rights in both colony and metropolis, and equal participation in the government of the island. At the end of April 1809, Governor Montes released an extensive memorandum discussing the contents of the decree and exhorting the five municipal governments - San Juan, San German, Aguada, Arecibo, and Coamo - to fulfill their responsibilities, including that of electing an island representative to the Supreme Council.
In the election held the following June, don Ramon Power Giral, a liberal, was the victor. A Puerto Rican soldier who was born in San Juan in 1775, had studied in France and Spain, and traveled extensively throughout America, Power's reformist ideas were well known. At the time of his election, Power Giral was in Santo Domingo, fighting in the war between the Spanish and the French. He was immediately recalled to Puerto Rico by the new Governor, Meléndez Bruna, who, despite his own conviction that the attainment of distinction by criollo leaders was a potential threat to the Crown, congratulated the young Power on his fine qualities which would serve him well in his new position.
The victory of Palo Hincado was still fresh when Power Giral returned to San Juan; his reception by both the people and the authorities was that accorded a true leader. "Hymns, feasts, arches of triumph, and allegorical and commemorative paintings," said a contemporary, "were an expression of the general rejoicing."
Power responded warmly to such manifestations. He was invited to a meeting in La Fortaleza and attended a session of the municipal government during which he was accorded an official title. A short time later, in return for a farewell visit to the Council of Ecclesiastics at San Juan, a public ceremony was offered in his honor. For Power, it was an opportunity to express his determination to represent the interests and welfare of the island, an attitude which received full support and encouragement from Bishop Arizinendi, the first native-born clergyman to occupy the bishopric of Puerto Rico.
It was this ceremony, attended by leading figures of both Spanish and local origin, which represented the awakening consciousness of a Puerto Rican identity, a unique society born of three centuries of a common insular existence. It was at this time that Puerto Rico could no longer be considered a mere collection of ethnographic elements and began to manifest traits of social coherence.
The pronoun "we" acquired a national sense throughout the island, that spirit of unity being manifested which is termed by Montesquieu "l'esprit de nation".(Ranke calls it, "a spiritual breeze which airs everything." Stuart Mill calls it, "mutual sympathy." Gidding calls it, "conscience of affinity." Gumplowiec calls it, "syngenism." Sumnercalls it, "ethnocentrism." Pareto calls it, "persistence of unity." Moses calls it,"national cult." Pillburg calls it, "conscience of unity." Kohn calls it, "the will of a living and active corporation." Cooley calls it, "us-sense." Brinton calls it, "territorial grouping." Geyl calls it, "a sense of belonging together.")
When calling oneself and feeling oneself Puerto Rican takes shape as a sense of being a people, they become conscious of a common history and the cult of the native land acquires a broad reach and finds many deeply felt expressions. It was this devotion to the cause of "Puerto Ricanness" that in 1810 spurred don Pedro Irazarri, as it spurred Power and Arizmendi before, to call Puerto Rico the "beloved fatherland" and to hold it to be a sacred duty of the Puerto Rican to labor for its good and it s happiness.
It was this devotion which in 1814 moved the Reverend Father don Jose Antonio Bonilla to state, "My design is to serve my fellowmen, the Puerto Ricans." It is this devotion which in 1822 impelled don Jose Andino Amezquite to request the voting citizens to support Puerto Rican candidates. It is this which, at the same time, led some native writers to sign their works with such pseudonymsas, "A Son of the Country" and "The Puerto Rican," and others to direct their writings to "the Puerto Rican people" and to "my Puerto Rican compatriots."
It is this which inspired the lawyer, don Juan Mauricio Ramos, when, upon presenting a petition to be given a copy of the Act of Beatification of St. Rose of Lima, justified his interest by adding that each aspires to praise his country and has a contracted obligation with the land that sheltered him at birth, to do it honor and to augment its achievements and greatness. It is this that moved doctor don Emigclio Antique when he offered to give a course in medicine in "the desire to be useful to my country."
It is this that carried dona Maria Mercedes Barbudo, on the eve of political exile, to call Puerto Rico "the beloved country." And it is this which, during a reception feast celebrated at the Philharmonic Society, incited don Francisco Pastrana to greet the despotic Governor, General don Juan Prim, "on behalf of this land which proudly I call my Country * * *."
Henceforth, Puerto Ricans defined their country in terms of its geography. For don Jose Julian Acosta, don Manuel Corchado Juarbe, don José Ramón Freyre, don Francisco Mariano Quinones, don Mario Braschi Rodriguez, and don Salvador Carbonell Toro, Puerto Rico was the native land, our country, the beloved country-land ; for don Bonocio Tio Segarra, don Antonio Ruiz Quinones, don Julio Vizearrondo Coronado, don Luis Padial Viscarrondo, don Jose Facundo Cintrón, don Manuel Maria Sama, don Jose Maria Monge, and don Antonio Cortón Toro, the beloved native land, the beloved island, our Boricuan country.
And, for don Roman Baldorioty de Castro, don Ramon Emeterio Betances, don Eugenio Marria de Hostos, don Salvador Brau Asencio, don Rosendo Matienzo Cintran, don Mariano Abril Ostalo, don Jose de Diego, don Luis Munoz Rivera, and many other representative personalities, Puerto Rico was the sacred native soil, the idolized country. Consequently, the personality or identity of Puerto Rico was recognized by natives and foreigners as a real and true entity.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
