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Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico resulted in the 19th century from widespread economic and political changes in Europe that made life difficult for the peasant and agricultural classes in Corsica and other territories. The Second Industrial Revolution drew more people into urban areas for work, widespread crop failure resulted from long periods of drought, and crop diseases, and political discontent rose. In the early nineteenth century, Spain lost most of its possessions in the so-called " New World" as its colonies won independence. It feared rebellion in its last two
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean S ...
colonies: Puerto Rico and Cuba. The Spanish Crown had issued the
Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 The Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 (Spanish: ''Real Cédula de Gracias'') is a legal order approved by the Spanish Crown in the early half of the 19th century to encourage Spaniards and, later, Europeans of non-Spanish origin, to settle in and pop ...
(''Real Cédula de Gracias'') which fostered and encouraged the immigration of European
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, even if not of Spanish origin, to its
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean S ...
colonies. Hundreds of families emigrated from
Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast o ...
to Puerto Rico. Corsicans and those of Corsican descent played an instrumental role in the development of the economy of the island, especially in the coffee industry.


First documented Corsican immigrants

Juan Fantauzzi was the first documented Corsican to immigrate to Puerto Rico. He was born about 1734 in Morsiglia, Corsica. He immigrated to what is now Aguadilla in the 1760s, where he married Josefa Martínez. Two known children of theirs are Francisco and Juan María Fantauzzi. He died November 5, 1798. His death certificate confirms his Corsican origin. Antonio Silvestri was a Corsican who immigrated to Puerto Rico and settled in Cabo Rojo in 1762. He married Maria Francisca de Rivera in that town sometime in the 1770s and had a total of 16 children. He died in Cabo Rojo on May 18, 1820 at the age of 74 years old. Marcos Rotuli was a Corsican who came to Puerto Rico in the year of 1763 with the infantry Regiment of Navara during the Seven Years' War with England. He later served in the Fijo battalion and the Milicias Disiplinadas in San Juan until the year of 1795. He later moved to Yauco where he had a relative named Domingo Capas who was a coffee farmer in the area. He died on November 20, 1802 in Yauco at the age of 72 years old. Pedro Antonio de Paula Antonetti was a Corsican who settled in the town of Yauco and married Isabel Rodriguez on May 2, 1787. He died in Yauco on January 30, 1810 at the age of 100 years old. Antonio Juliani was a Corsican soldier in the Regiment of Naples. He was born in Ajaccio and married Maria Abad de Burgos in San Juan on February 1, 1790.


19th century Corsica

Corsica is an island located west of Italy and southeast of mainland France. Corsica belonged to the Republic of Genoa (before Genoa became part of Italy) and in 1768 was ceded to France to pay off debt. The island's people relied largely on an agricultural economy for survival. From the end of the 18th century through the beginning of the 19th century, changes occurred in Europe that would greatly affect the lives of the French and the people of Corsica. With the Second Industrial Revolution, many former agricultural workers began to move to the larger cities with hopes of finding better-paying jobs and making better lives. A widespread crop failure took place because of long periods of drought and crop diseases (e.g., the
Phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...
epidemic destroyed the Corsican wine industry and much of the French). A
cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
epidemic had high mortality and there was a general deterioration of economic conditions. Many of the farms in Corsica began to fail. The resulting widespread political discontent erupted in bitter armed conflict between the people and their governments, particularly in the
Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...
. King Louis-Philippe of France was overthrown in that revolution and a republic was declared with a Provisional Government. Three new political groups emerged during that era: they were the liberals, radicals, and the
socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the econ ...
. The combination of man-made and natural disasters in Corsica left an acute feeling of hopelessness. All this came about at a time when Spain was growing fearful of the possibility of a rebellion in her Caribbean colonies, Puerto Rico and Cuba.


Spanish Royal Decree of Graces

By 1825, Spain had lost the entirety of her territories in Mexico, Central and South America. It struggled to prevent rebellion in the Caribbean colonies. It decided to encourage immigration to the islands by European Catholics, for instance from Ireland, Corsica, and Italy, thinking they could establish a loyal base grateful for the opportunity. In 1815, the Spanish Crown had issued the Royal Decree of Graces (Real Cédula de Gracias) which fostered the immigration of non-Spanish European Catholics to its Caribbean colonies. Archivo General de Puerto Rico: Documentos
Retrieved August 3, 2007
As the island of Puerto Rico is very similar in geography to Corsica, it appealed to new immigrants. Under the Spanish Royal Decree of Graces, the Corsicans and other immigrants were granted land and initially given a "Letter of Domicile" after swearing loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Catholic Church. After five years they could request a "Letter of Naturalization" and become Spanish subjects.


Influence in coffee industry

Hundreds of Corsicans and their families immigrated to Puerto Rico from as early as 1830, and their numbers peaked in the early 1900s. The first Spanish settlers had settled and owned the land in the coastal areas, as they wanted access to the sea. The Corsicans tended to settle the mountainous southwestern region of the island, primarily in the towns of
Adjuntas Adjuntas (, ) is a small mountainside town and municipality in Puerto Rico located central midwestern portion of the island on the Cordillera Central, north of Yauco, Guayanilla, and Peñuelas; southeast of Utuado; east of Lares and Yauco; a ...
, Lares,
Utuado Utuado () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central mountainous region of the island known as the '' Cordillera Central''. It is located north of Adjuntas and Ponce; south of Hatillo and Arecibo; east of Lares; and west ...
, Ponce,
Coamo Coamo (, ) is a town and municipality founded in 1579 in the south-central region of Puerto Rico, located north of Santa Isabel; south of Orocovis and Barranquitas; east of Villalba and Juana Díaz; and west of Aibonito and Salinas. Co ...
,
Yauco Yauco () is a town and municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco is located south of Maricao, Lares and Adjuntas; east of Sabana Grande ...
,
Guayanilla Guayanilla (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located on the southern coast of the island, bordering the Caribbean Sea, south of Adjuntas, east of Yauco; and west of Peñuelas and about west of Ponce. Guayanilla is spread over 16 ...
, and Guánica.
Yauco Yauco () is a town and municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco is located south of Maricao, Lares and Adjuntas; east of Sabana Grande ...
, with a rich agricultural area, attracted the majority of the Corsican settlers. The three main commodity crops in Yauco were coffee, sugar cane and
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus ''Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the chie ...
. The new settlers dedicated themselves to the cultivation of these crops and within a short period of time some began to save enough money to own and operate their own grocery stores. Coffee was the means by which some made their fortunes. Cultivation of coffee in Yauco originally began in the Rancheras and Diego Hernández sectors, and later extended to the Aguas Blancas, Frailes and Rubias sectors. By the 1860s the Corsican settlers were the leaders of the coffee industry in Puerto Rico: seven out of ten coffee plantations were owned by Corsicans. The Mariani family of Yauco used two tactics to strengthen their position in the coffee industry. First, they converted a
cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...
in order to use it for mechanical dehusking of coffee cherries, a labor-intensive process. Second, they sent two of their family as representatives to visit the important European coffee buying centers and establish connections. The visit to Europe was a success and Mariania led Puerto Rico to become an important member of the worldwide coffee industry. The descendants of the Corsican settlers also became influential in the fields of education, literature, journalism and politics. Historian Colonel Héctor A. Negroni, (USAF-Retired), researched the Corsican-Puerto Rican connection and has documented substantial information about Puerto Rico's ties with Corsica. Today the town of Yauco is known as both the "Corsican Town" and "The Coffee Town". A memorial was installed in Yauco with the inscription, "To the memory of our citizens of Corsican origin, France, who in the 19th Century became rooted in our village, who have enriched our culture with their traditions and helped our progress with their dedicated work – the municipality of Yauco pays them homage." Corsican surnames such as Paoli, Negroni and Fraticelli are common in the island.


Landmarks in Yauco and Ponce

Several properties in Yauco and Ponce, which once belonged to Corsican immigrants, are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
.


Casa Franceschi Antongiorgi

The Casa Franceschi Antongiorgi (Franceschi Antongiorgi House) was built in 1907 by the French architect André Troublard for Alejandro Franceschi Antongiorgi, a rich landowner and lover of the
arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...
. He frequently held
banquets A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...
,
concerts A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...
and meetings with visiting artists in his house.


Casa Antonio Mattei Lluberas

The Casa Antonio Mattei Lluberas, also called La Casona Césari (Césari House) was built in 1893 by Antonio Mattei Lluberas. This house is also known as "The House with Twelve Doors." Later, it was acquired by Ángel Césari Poggi, husband of Ángela Antongiorgi Rodríguez. The Césari Antongiorgi family was instrumental in the development of the sugar industry in the southern region of the island.


Chalet Amill

The Chalet Amill was built in 1914 by architect Tomás Olivari Santoni for Ángel Antongiorgi Paoli. Antongiorgi Paoli gave the chalet to his daughter Ana Lucía as a wedding gift when she married Juan Amill Rodríguez. The couple soon divorced. By the mid-1920s, the chalet was converted into a hotel, first named as the Auristela Hotel and then as the Paris Hotel. This hotel was owned by Lola Bartolomei, the daughter of Francisco Bartolomei. The Bartolomei family were first-generation Corsican immigrants who owned coffee plantations in this area.


Mansión Negroni

The Mansión Negroni (Negroni Mansion), also known as Casa Agostini (Agostini House), was built around 1850 by Antonio Francisco Negroni Mattei. Later it passed to the Agostini family through the marriage of María Victoria Negroni, daughter of Antonio Francisco, and Ignacio Agostini Felipi. The Agostini family made their fortune in the exportation of coffee. They were the owners of ''"Sobrinos de Agostini y Compañía"'' (Nephews of Agostini & Co.). Ángel Pedro Agostini Natali, a member of the family, is credited with inventing the coffee grinder. This machine revolutionized the coffee industry. As a consequence, the island was able to meet the huge demand for Puerto Rican coffee, which resulted in the "Golden Age" of Yauco's economy. This house was acquired for use by the Holy Rosary School in Yauco, and a
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
plaque describes its history.


Residencia Lluberas Negroni

The Residencia Lluberas Negroni, currently known as the Residencia González Vivaldi (González Vivaldi Residence), was built in 1880 by Arturo Lluberas for his wife Asunción Negroni. Most recently, it was acquired by the González Vivaldi family.


Casa Paoli

The Casa Paoli was built ca. 1864 and is located on 2648 Calle Mayor, Barrio Cuarto in Ponce. It is nationally significant as the birthplace of
Antonio Paoli Antonio Paoli (14 April 1871 – 24 August 1946) was a Puerto Rican tenor. At the height of his fame, he was known as "The King of Tenors and The Tenor of Kings." He is considered to be the first Puerto Rican to reach international fame i ...
Marcano, who became an internationally acclaimed tenor and opera singer. He performed and was widely praised in Europe and the Americas, including Caribbean islands. The house had been a wedding gift for Paoli's parents, who married at the
Ponce Cathedral Ponce may refer to: *Ponce (surname) * *Ponce, Puerto Rico, a city in Puerto Rico ** Ponce High School ** Ponce massacre, 1937 * USS ''Ponce'', several ships of the US Navy *Manuel Ponce, a Mexican composer active in the 20th century * British sla ...
after the birth of the first five of their eight children. (His maternal grandfather had initially opposed the marriage because his daughter was much wealthier than Paoli's immigrant Corsican father. The couple eloped together.) Antonio, their seventh child, was born in this house, as were two of his siblings. In 2009, Casa Paoli was included in the National Register of Historic Places.


Notable Yaucano(a)s of Corsican descent

The following is a list of some of the notable people from Yauco of Corsican descent: * Agostini, Amelia (1896–1996) – anthologist, poet, educator, professor at Columbia University *
Mariana Bracetti Mariana Bracetti Cuevas (also spelled Bracety) (1825–1903) was a patriot and leader of the Puerto Rico independence movement in the 1860s. She is attributed with having knitted the flag that was intended to be used as the national emblem of Pu ...
- revolutionary * Franquiz, José A. (1906–1967) – poet * Gilormini, Mihiel "Mike" (1918–1988) – World War II hero and founder of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard. Retired as Brigadier General in the Air National Guard * Giovannetti, José Antonio – educator, poet * Mariani, Pedro Domingo (1880–1925) – poet, journalist * Mariani Ortiz, Lydia – educator, Puerto Rican rights activist * Masini Molini, José Antonio "El Corso" (1913–1987) –
agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the U ...
. Director, Land Authority of Puerto Rico (1969–1972) – Director, Sugar Corporation of Puerto Rico (1977–1984); * Mattei, Andrés (1863–1925) – poet, journalist; * Mattei Lluberas, Antonio (1857–1908) – Leader of the
Intentona de Yauco The ''Intentona de Yauco'' (the "Attempted Coup of Yauco") of March 1897 was the second and final major revolt against Spanish colonial rule in Puerto Rico, staged by the island's pro-independence movement in the second half of the nineteenth ce ...
, revolt of 1897 and mayor of Yauco from 1904 to 1906; * Mignucci Calder, Carlos Armando (1889–1954) – politician, mayor of Yauco (1944–52), member of Puerto Rico's Constitutional Assembly (1952); * Negroni, Héctor Andrés – First Puerto Rican graduate of the US Air Force Academy, US Air Force Colonel, fighter pilot, senior Aerospace Executive and historian; * Negroni, Julio Alberto – Electrical engineer who served as the First President for the Water Works Authority in Puerto Rico; * Negroni, Santiago – journalist, educator and poet; * Negroni Lucca, Santos (1851–1920) – Puerto Rican patriot and one of the 16 prisoners in El Morro Castle in 1887; * Negroni Mattei, Francisco (1897–1939) – poet, journalist; * Olivari Santoni, Tomás (1902–1904) – Architect and mayor of Yauco; * Olivieri Gómez, Luis A. (1937) Baptist minister, musician,
choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
conductor, professor at UIA-Metro (1979–present); * Olivieri Rodríguez, Ulises – poet, journalist; * Paoli, Antonio - opera singer * Pietrantoni Blasini, Julio (1935–2006) – lawyer, banker, president of Puerto Rico Government Development Bank from 1978 to 1985, vice-president of Banco Roig until acquisition by Banco Popular in 1997; * Rojas Tollinchi, Francisco (1911–1965) – poet, civic leader and journalist;"JUSTIPRECIACIÓN DE LA OBRA DE FRANCISCO ROJAS TOLLINCHI"; by Ada Hilda Martínez de Alicea; Dept. Estudios Hispánicos Pontificia Universidad Católica de PR. * Semidei Rodríguez, José (1868–1958) – Brigadier General in the Cuban Liberation Army;"Historia militar de Puerto Rico"; by Héctor Andrés Negroni (Author); Page 476; Publisher: Sociedad Estatal Quinto Centenario (1992); Language: Spanish; ;


Corsican influence in Puerto Rican and popular culture

Besides having distinguished careers in agriculture and the military, Puerto Ricans of Corsican descent have made many other contributions to the Puerto Rican way of life. Their contributions can be found in, but are not limited to, the fields of education, commerce, politics and entertainment. The Vivoni family has four notable members: Carlos Vivoni, the former Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce and, as well, former Secretary of Housing, Pedro Santos Vivoni, the first mayor of Lajas, Pierre Vivoni, a Judge and former Police Commissioner, and José Antonio Vivoni Ramírez de Arellano, the former mayor of San Germán. Other Puerto Ricans of Corsican descent who have led notable political careers were
Ernesto Ramos Antonini Ernesto Ramos Antonini (April 24, 1898 – January 9, 1963) was the President of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico and co-founder of the Partido Popular Democrático de Puerto Rico (Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico). Early yea ...
, who was the first President of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico and co-founder of the Partido Popular Democrático de Puerto Rico (Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico), Jaime Fuster Berlingeri, an associate justice of the
Puerto Rico Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ( es, Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico) is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme cou ...
and former Resident Commissioner, Jorge Farinacci, the head of the Puerto Rican Socialist Party, and Jorge Santini, the former mayor of San Juan. One of the first Puerto Rican entertainers to achieve world-wide fame was
Antonio Paoli Antonio Paoli (14 April 1871 – 24 August 1946) was a Puerto Rican tenor. At the height of his fame, he was known as "The King of Tenors and The Tenor of Kings." He is considered to be the first Puerto Rican to reach international fame i ...
Marcano, an opera singer known as "The King of Tenors" and as "The Tenor of Kings." He was the first operatic artist to record an entire opera when he participated in a performance of '' Pagliacci'' by Ruggiero Leoncavallo in Italy in 1907. (19 pages, with maps and b&w historic photos and 5 recent color photos). Registration Form #2280 (NRHP# 09000769). Page 5. The Palmieri brothers, Charlie and Eddie Palmieri, were band leaders in the United States.Palmieri
/ref> Rock N Roll Hall of Famer
Joe Negroni Joe Negroni (September 9, 1940 – September 5, 1978) was an American singer of Puerto Rican descent. He was a rock and roll pioneer and founding member of the rock and roll group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. Early years Negroni's family ...
was a member of the rock and roll group ''The Teenagers.''Rockabilly
/ref> Both Américo BoschettiAmérico Boschetti
/ref> and Vicente Carattini were singers and composers. Carattini composed Puerto Rican Christmas-related songs.Vicente Caratini
/ref>
Carmen Delia Dipiní Carmen Delia Dipiní (November 18, 1927 – August 4, 1998), was a Puerto Rican singer of boleros. In 2002, Carmen Delia Dipiní was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame. Early years Dipiní was born in Naguabo, Puerto Rico t ...
was also a notable singer of
boleros Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...
.PR
/ref>


Surnames of the first Corsican families in Puerto Rico

The following is a list of some of the surnames of the first Corsican families who immigrated to the Adjuntas, Yauco, Guayanilla, and Guánica areas of Puerto Rico in the 19th Century. This list was compiled by genealogist and historian Colonel (USAF Ret.) Héctor A. Negroni who has done exhaustive research on the Corsican
migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
and origins of his Negroni family name.Corsican immigrants to Puerto Rico
Retrieved August 3, 2007


See also

* Chinese immigration to Puerto Rico * French immigration to Puerto Rico *
German immigration to Puerto Rico German immigration to Puerto Rico began in the early part of the 19th century and continued to increase when German businessmen immigrated and established themselves with their families on the island. However, it was the economic and political s ...
*
Irish immigration to Puerto Rico Irish immigration to Puerto Rico began during the period of Spanish colonization of the island, continuing through 19th century to the present day. During the 16th century, many Irishmen, who were known as " Wild Geese", deserted from the Engl ...
*
Jewish immigration to Puerto Rico The Jewish immigration to Puerto Rico began in the 15th century with the arrival of the ''anusim'' (variously called ''conversos'', ''Crypto-Jews'', ''Secret Jews'' or ''marranos'') who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage. A ...
*
Spanish immigration to Puerto Rico Spanish settlement of Puerto Rico began in the early 1500s shortly after the formation of the Spanish state in 1493 (continuing until 1898 as a colony of Spain) and continues to the present day. On 25 September 1493, Christopher Columbus set s ...
* Cultural diversity in Puerto Rico * List of notable Puerto Ricans *
Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 The Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 (Spanish: ''Real Cédula de Gracias'') is a legal order approved by the Spanish Crown in the early half of the 19th century to encourage Spaniards and, later, Europeans of non-Spanish origin, to settle in and pop ...
* Corsican immigration to Venezuela *
Corsican people The Corsicans ( Corsican, Italian and Ligurian: ''Corsi''; French: ''Corses'') are a Romance ethnic group. They are native to Corsica, a Mediterranean island and a territorial collectivity of France. Origin The island was populated since ...


References


External links


Corsican surnames in Puerto Rico (486 surnames)








* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090511165703/http://www.corsosportorico.com/ Corsican Association of Puerto Rico / Asociación de Corsos de Puerto Rico (In Spanish) {{French diaspora Corsican diaspora Corsican European Puerto Rican Immigration to Puerto Rico Social history of Puerto Rico History of Corsica *