Isabel II barrio-pueblo ''(referred to as Isabel Segunda in Spanish)'' is a barrio and the administrative center ( seat) in the downtown area in the island-municipality of

Vieques, Puerto Rico Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ...

. Its population in 2010 was 1,354.

The central plaza and its church

As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a barrio which contains a central plaza, the municipal buildings (city hall), and a Catholic church. Fiestas patronales (patron saint festivals) are held in the central plaza every year. The central plaza, or square, is a place for official and unofficial recreational events and a place where people can gather and socialize from dusk to dawn. The

Laws of the Indies The Laws of the Indies ( es, Leyes de las Indias) are the entire body of laws issued by the Spanish Crown for the American and the Asian possessions of its empire. They regulated social, political, religious, and economic life in these areas. T ...

, Spanish law, which regulated life in Puerto Rico in the early 19th century, stated the plaza's purpose was for "the parties" (celebrations, festivities) ( es, a propósito para las fiestas), and that the square should be proportionally large enough for the number of neighbors ( es, grandeza proporcionada al número de vecinos). These Spanish regulations also stated that the streets nearby should be comfortable portals for passersby, protecting them from the elements: sun and rain. Located across the central plaza in Isabel II barrio-pueblo is the , a Roman Catholic church, which was first built in 1844.

History

Puerto Rico was ceded by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in the aftermath of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

under the terms of the

Treaty of Paris of 1898 The Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain, commonly known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898 ( fil, Kasunduan sa Paris ng 1898; es, Tratado de París de 1898), was a treaty signed by Spain and the United Stat ...

and became an

unincorporated territory of the United States Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sover ...

. In 1899, the

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, ...

conducted a

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of Puerto Rico finding that the combined population of Pueblo and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

barrios was 2,646. In July 2020,

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

appropriated funds for repairs to Vieques' plaza.

Sectors

Barrios (which are roughly comparable to

minor civil divisions A minor civil division (MCD) is a term used by the United States Census Bureau for primary governmental and/or administrative divisions of a county or county-equivalent, typically a municipal government such as a city, town, or civil township. MCD ...

) in turn are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores (''sectors'' in English). The types of ''sectores'' may vary, from normally ''sector'' to ''urbanización'' to ''reparto'' to ''barriada'' to ''residencial'', among others. The following sectors are in Isabel II barrio-pueblo: , and .

Historic sites and features

Isabel II barrio-pueblo is the location of several historic sites listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

, including: * Fuerte de Vieques (El Fortín Conde de Mirasol) * Casa Alcaldia de Vieques * Casa Augusto Delerme * Casa Delerme-Anduze No. 2 * Casa de Jaime Puig Lemoine * Delerme-Anduze House * Las Tumbas de J. J. Maria le Guillou * Rafael Acevedo House * Smaine-Ortiz House

Gallery

Places in Isabel II barrio-pueblo: Fortin Conde de Mirasol Vieques PR.jpg, El Fortín Conde de Mirasol 300-year-old Ceiba Tree in Isabel II, Vieques, Puerto Rico.jpg, 300-year-old Ceiba Tree Street in Isabel II barrio-pueblo, Vieques, Puerto Rico.jpg, Street Statue of Simon Bolivar in Isabel II, Vieques, Puerto Rico.jpg, Statue of Simon Bolivar Casa Alcaldía Isabel Segunda, Vieques PR.jpg, The City Hall 20080720 155752 Festival Viequense 2008.jpg, Patron saint festival celebration in 2008

References