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Afro–Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Afroboricuas, but also occasionally referred to as ''Afroborinqueños,'' ''Afroborincanos'', or ''Afropuertorros,'' are
Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Puerto Rico#Etymology, Boricuas, but also occasionally referred to as '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borinqueños'', '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borincan ...
of full or partial
sub-Saharan African Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
origin, who are predominately the descendants of
slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
,
freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...
, and free Blacks original to
West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
and
Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...
. The term ''Afro-Puerto Rican'' is also used to refer to historical or cultural elements in Puerto Rican society associated with this community, including
music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
,
language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
,
cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...
,
art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
, and
religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
. The history of Afro-Puerto Ricans traces its origins to the arrival of free
West African West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...
Black men, or ''libertos'' (freedmen), who accompanied
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
Conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León ( – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and ''conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Puerto Rico in 1508 and Florida in 1513. He was born in Santervás de Campos, Valladolid, Spain, in ...
at the start of the
colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...
of the
island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
of
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
. Upon landing and settling, the
Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...
enslaved and exploited the
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
Taíno natives to work in the extraction of
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
. When the
Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...
forced laborers were exterminated primarily due to
Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...
infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...
s, the
Spanish Crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...
began to rely on
sub-Saharan African Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
emanating from different
ethnic groups An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...
within
West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
and
Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...
to staff their
mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
,
plantations Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...
, and constructions. Recent DNA analysis has revealed that nearly 70% of the Puerto Rican population has Taino ancestry. This finding contradicts the narrative of the extermination of the Taino people and presents a different perspective of the cultural mixture between the Spanish and the Taino. While there was slavery in Puerto Rico, the island received less sub-Saharan enslaved laborers than other
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
and other European colonies in the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
and the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
. The need for direct enslaved labor brought through the
Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...
was greatly reduced by the depletion of gold in
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
in the 16th century, and the island began to serve primarily as a strategic and military outpost to support, protect, and defend trade routes of
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
ships traveling between
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and territories within the continental Americas. However, the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
, hoping to destabilize the neighboring colonies of competing world powers, encouraged enslaved fugitives and
free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who we ...
from other European colonies in the Caribbean to emigrate to Puerto Rico. As a result, Puerto Rico indirectly received large numbers of
sub-Saharan Africans Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the African countries and territ ...
from neighboring
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
, Danish,
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
, and
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
colonies seeking freedom and refuge from slavery. In the 19th century, slavery in
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
was increased, as the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
, facing economic decline with the loss of all of its colonial territories in the Americas aside from
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
and
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, established and expanded
sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
production in the island. Since 1789, slaves in Puerto Rico were allowed to earn or buy their freedom. Throughout the years, there were several
slave revolts A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by Slavery, slaves, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of slaves have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedom and th ...
in the island. Promised their freedom, slaves participated in the 1868
Grito de Lares ''Grito de Lares'' (''Cry of Lares''), also referred to as the Lares revolt, the Lares rebellion, the Lares uprising, or the Lares revolution, was the first of two short-lived revolts against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico, staged by the Revolu ...
revolt against Spanish rule. On March 22, 1873, slavery was officially abolished in
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
. The contributions of
Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Puerto Rico#Etymology, Boricuas, but also occasionally referred to as '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borinqueños'', '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borincan ...
of full or mostly sub-Saharan African descent to music, art, language, and heritage have been instrumental in shaping the
culture of Puerto Rico The culture of Puerto Rico is the result of a number of internal and indigenous influences, both past and present. Modern cultural manifestations showcase the island's rich history and help create an identity that is uniquely Puerto Rican - Taí ...
. They are called Puerto Rican.


First Africans in Puerto Rico

When Ponce de León and the Spaniards arrived on the island of Borinquen (Puerto Rico), they were greeted by the
Cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...
Agüeybaná, the supreme leader of the peaceful Taíno tribes on the island. Agüeybaná helped to maintain the peace between the
Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...
and the Spaniards. According to historian Ricardo Alegria, in 1509
Juan Garrido Juan Garrido (c. 1480 – c. 1550) was an Afro-Spaniard of Kongo origin ''conquistador'' known as the first documented Bantu person in what would become the United States. Born in the Kingdom of Kongo in West Central Africa, he went to Portugal ...
was the first free African man to set foot on the island; he was a
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
who was part of
Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León ( – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and ''conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Puerto Rico in 1508 and Florida in 1513. He was born in Santervás de Campos, Valladolid, Spain, in ...
's entourage. Garrido was born on the West African coast, the son of an African king. In 1508, he joined Juan Ponce de León to explore Puerto Rico and prospect for gold. In 1511, he fought under Ponce de León to repress the Carib and the Taíno, who had joined forces in Puerto Rico in a great revolt against the Spaniards. Garrido next joined
Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...
in the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Another free African man who accompanied de León was Pedro Mejías. Mejías married a
Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...
woman chief (a cacica), by the name of Yuisa. Yuisa was baptized as Catholic so that she could marry Mejías. She was given the Christian name of Luisa (the town
Loíza, Puerto Rico Loíza () is a town and municipality on the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, located east of Carolina, west of Río Grande, and north of Canóvanas. An outer municipality within the San Juan metropolitan area, it is spread over 5 barrios an ...
, was named for her).
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
Friar
Bartolomé de las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, Dominican Order, OP ( ; ); 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a Spanish clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as an historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman, then became ...
, who had accompanied Ponce de León, was outraged at the treatment of the Taíno. In 1512 he protested at the council of Burgos at the Spanish Court. He fought for the freedom of the natives and was able to secure their rights. The Spanish colonists, fearing the loss of their labor force, also protested before the courts. They complained that they needed manpower to work in the mines, build forts, and supply labor for the thriving sugar cane plantations. As an alternative, Las Casas suggested the importation and use of African slaves. In 1517, the Spanish Crown permitted its subjects to import twelve slaves each, thereby beginning the African
slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...
in their colonies. In 1527, the first major slave rebellion occurred in Puerto Rico, as dozen of slaves fought against the colonists in a brief revolt. The few slaves who escaped retreated to the forests and mountains, where they resided as
maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas and islands of the Indian Ocean who escaped from slavery, through flight or manumission, and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with Indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into ...
with surviving Taínos. During the following centuries, by 1873 slaves had carried out more than twenty revolts. Some were of great political importance, such as the Ponce and Vega Baja conspiracies. By 1570, the colonists found that the
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
mines were depleted. After gold mining ended on the island, the Spanish Crown bypassed Puerto Rico by moving the western shipping routes to the north. The island became primarily a garrison for those ships that would pass on their way to or from richer colonies. The cultivation of crops such as tobacco, cotton, cocoa, and ginger became the cornerstone of the economy. With the scale of Puerto Rico's economy reduced, colonial families tended to farm these crops themselves, and the demand for slaves was reduced. With rising demand for sugar on the international market, major planters increased their cultivation and processing of sugar cane, which was labor-intensive. Sugar
plantations Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...
supplanted mining as Puerto Rico's main industry and kept demand high for African slavery. Spain promoted sugar cane development by granting loans and tax exemptions to the owners of the plantations. They were also given permits to participate in the African slave trade. Provided ways by which slaves could obtain freedom: * A slave could be freed by his master in a church or outside it, before a judge, by testament or letter. * A slave could be freed against his master's will by denouncing a forced rape, by denouncing a counterfeiter, by discovering disloyalty against the king, and by denouncing murder against his master. * Any slave who received part of his master's estate in his master's will was automatically freed (these bequests were sometimes made to the master's mixed-race slave children, as well as to other slaves for service.) * If a slave was made a guardian to his master's children, he was freed. * If slave parents in Hispanic America had ten children, the whole family was freed.


Royal Decree of Graces of 1789

The native-born Puerto Ricans (criollos) who wanted to serve in the regular Spanish army petitioned the Spanish Crown for that right. In 1741, the Spanish government established the Regimiento Fijo de Puerto Rico. Many of the former slaves, now freedmen, joined either the Fijo or the local civil militia. Puerto Ricans of African ancestry played an instrumental role in the defeat of Sir
Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Trinidad in 1797. Rising to the rank ...
in the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
invasion of Puerto Rico in 1797.


19th century


Royal Decree of Graces of 1815

The
Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 The Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 ( Spanish: '' Real Cédula de Gracia de 1815'') is a decree approved by the Spanish Crown in August 1815 to encourage Spaniards, and Europeans of non-Spanish origin but coming from countries in good standing wit ...
was intended to encourage
Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...
and later other Europeans to settle and populate the colonies of
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
and
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
. The decree encouraged the use of slave labor to revive agriculture and attract new settlers. The new agricultural class immigrating from other countries of Europe used slave labor in large numbers, and harsh treatment was frequent. The slaves resisted—from the early 1820s until 1868, a series of slave uprisings occurred on the island; the last was known as the
Grito de Lares ''Grito de Lares'' (''Cry of Lares''), also referred to as the Lares revolt, the Lares rebellion, the Lares uprising, or the Lares revolution, was the first of two short-lived revolts against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico, staged by the Revolu ...
. In July 1821, for instance, the slave
Marcos Xiorro Marcos Xiorro was the slave name of an enslaved African in Spanish Puerto Rico who, in 1821, planned and conspired to lead a slave revolt against the sugarcane plantation owners and the Spanish Colonial government. Although his rebellion wa ...
planned and conspired to lead a slave revolt against the sugar plantation owners and the Spanish Colonial government. Although the conspiracy was suppressed, Xiorro achieved legendary status among the slaves, and is part of Puerto Rico's heroic folklore. The 1834 Royal Census of Puerto Rico established that 11% of the population were slaves, 35% were colored freemen (also known as
free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who we ...
in French colonies, meaning free
mixed-race The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...
/black people), and 54% were white. In the following decade, the number of the slave population increased more than tenfold to 258,000, the result mostly of increased importation to meet the demand for labor on sugar plantations. In 1836, the names and descriptions of slaves who had escaped, and details of their ownership were reported in the
Gaceta de Puerto Rico Gaceta de Puerto Rico was the first newspaper published on the island of Puerto Rico. Scholars believe the founding of the ''Gaceta'' marks the first instance of a printing press on the island, although printmaking in Latin America dates back to ...
. If an African presumed to be a slave was captured and arrested, the information was published. Planters became nervous because of the large number of slaves; they ordered restrictions, particularly on their movements outside a plantation. Rose Clemente, a 21st-century black Puerto Rican columnist, wrote: "Until 1846, Blacks on the island had to carry a notebook (Libreta system) to move around the island, like the passbook system in
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
South Africa." After the successful slave rebellion against the French in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) in 1803, establishing a new republic, the Spanish Crown became fearful that the "Criollos" (native born) of Puerto Rico and
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, her last two remaining possessions, might follow suit. The Spanish government issued the
Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 The Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 ( Spanish: '' Real Cédula de Gracia de 1815'') is a decree approved by the Spanish Crown in August 1815 to encourage Spaniards, and Europeans of non-Spanish origin but coming from countries in good standing wit ...
to attract European immigrants from non-Spanish countries to populate the island, believing that these new immigrants would be more loyal to Spain than the mixed-race Criollos. However, they did not expect the new immigrants to racially intermarry, as they did, and to identify completely with their new homeland. By 1850, most of the former Spanish possessions in the Americans had achieved independence. On May 31, 1848, the Governor of Puerto Rico Juan Prim, in fear of an independence or slavery revolt, imposed draconian laws, , to control the behavior of all Black Puerto Ricans, free or slave. On September 23, 1868, slaves, who had been promised freedom, participated in the short failed revolt against Spain which became known as "''
El Grito de Lares ''Grito de Lares'' (''Cry of Lares''), also referred to as the Lares revolt, the Lares rebellion, the Lares uprising, or the Lares revolution, was the first of two short-lived revolts against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico, staged by the Revolu ...
''" or "The Cry of Lares". Many of the participants were imprisoned or executed. During this period, Puerto Rico provided a means for people to leave some of the racial restrictions behind: under such laws as or '','' a person of African ancestry could be considered legally white if able to prove they also had ancestors with at least one person per generation in the last four generations who had been legally white. Therefore, people of black ancestry with known white lineage became classified as white. This was the opposite of the later "one-drop rule" of
hypodescent In societies that regard some races or ethnic groups of people as dominant or superior and others as subordinate or inferior, hypodescent refers to the automatic assignment of children of a mixed union to the subordinate group. The opposite pract ...
in the United States, whereby persons of any known African ancestry were classified as black.


Abolitionists

During the mid-19th century, a committee of
abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...
was formed in Puerto Rico that included many prominent Puerto Ricans. Dr.
Ramón Emeterio Betances Ramón Emeterio Betances y Alacán (April 8, 1827 – September 16, 1898) was a Puerto Rican independence leader, abolitionist and medical doctor. He led the nations independence movement and was the primary instigator of the ''Grito de Lares' ...
(1827–1898), whose mixed-race parents were wealthy landowners, believed in abolitionism, and together with fellow Puerto Rican abolitionist
Segundo Ruiz Belvis Segundo Ruiz Belvis (13 May 1829 – 3 November 1867) was a Puerto Rican abolitionist who also fought for Puerto Rico's right to independence. Early years Ruiz Belvis was born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico (then a barrio of the municipality ...
(1829–1867), founded a clandestine organization called "The Secret Abolitionist Society". The objective of the society was to free slave children by paying for freedom when they were baptized. The event, which was also known as (waters of liberty), was carried out at the
Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Cathedral ''Nuestra'' is the debut studio album of the Venezuelan rock band La Vida Bohème, released in August 2010. Recorded and produced by Rudy Pagliuca, it is a free download on the website of the record label All of the Above. The album was nominated ...
in Mayagüez. When the child was baptized, Betances would give money to the parents, which they used to buy the child's freedom from the master.
José Julián Acosta José Julián Acosta (February 16, 1825 – August 26, 1891), was a journalist and an advocate of the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico. Early years José Julián Acosta Calbo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Francisco de Acosta y Sandova ...
(1827–1891) was a member of a Puerto Rican commission, which included Ramón Emeterio Betances, Segundo Ruiz Belvis, and
Francisco Mariano Quiñones Francisco Mariano Quiñones Quiñones (1830 – 13 September 1908) was a proponent of the abolition of slavery and of the self-determination of Puerto Rico. Biography Early years Quiñones was born into a wealthy family of landowners in San Ger ...
(1830–1908). The commission participated in the "Overseas Information Committee" which met in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, Spain. There, Acosta presented the argument for the abolition of
slavery in Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a self-governing Caribbean archipelago and island organized as an unincorporated territory of the United States under the designation of commonwealth. Located about southea ...
. On November 19, 1872,
Román Baldorioty de Castro Román Baldorioty de Castro (23 February 1822 – 30 September 1889) was a leading Puerto Rican  Abolitionism, abolitionist and spokesman for the right to self-determination of Puerto Rico. In 1870, he was elected as a deputy in the Cortes Ge ...
(1822–1889) together with
Luis Padial Brigadier General Luis Padial (February 6, 1832 – March 5, 1879), was a soldier, politician and one of the most important figures who was responsible for the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico. Early years Padial, (birth name: Luis Padial ...
(1832–1879),
Julio Vizcarrondo Julio Vizcarrondo Coronado (December 9, 1829 – 1889) was a Puerto Rican abolitionist, journalist, politician and religious leader. He played an instrumental role in the development and passage of the Moret Law which in 1873 abolished slav ...
(1830–1889) and the Spanish Minister of Overseas Affairs, Segismundo Moret (1833–1913), presented a proposal for the abolition of slavery. On March 22, 1873, the Spanish government approved what became known as the
Moret Law The Moret Law was a form of freedom of wombs, which was implemented by Spain in Cuba and Puerto Rico, and named after Segismundo Moret who was Spain's Minister of Overseas Territories at the time. This law implemented the abolition of slavery in ...
, which provided for gradual abolition. This edict granted freedom to slaves over 60 years of age, those belonging to the state, and children born to slaves after September 17, 1868. The Moret Law established the Central Slave Registrar. In 1872 it began gathering the following data on the island's slave population: name, country of origin, present residence, names of parents, sex, marital status, trade, age, physical description, and master's name. This has been an invaluable resource for historians and genealogists.


Abolition of slavery

On March 22, 1873, slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico, but with one significant caveat. The slaves were not emancipated; they had to buy their own freedom, at whatever price was set by their last masters. The law required that the former slaves work for another three years for their former masters, other people interested in their services, or for the state in order to pay some compensation. The former slaves earned money in a variety of ways: some by trades, for instance as shoemakers, or laundering clothes, or by selling the produce they were allowed to grow, in the small patches of land allotted to them by their former masters. In a sense, they resembled the black
sharecroppers Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...
of the southern United States after the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, but the latter did not own their land. They simply farmed another's land, for a share of the crops raised. The government created the Protector's Office which was in charge of overseeing the transition. The Protector's Office was to pay any difference owed to the former master once the initial contract expired. The majority of the freed slaves continued to work for their former masters, but as free people, receiving wages for their labor. If the former slave decided not to work for his former master, the Protectors Office would pay the former master 23% of the former slave's estimated value, as a form of compensation. The freed slaves became integrated into Puerto Rico's society. Racism has existed in Puerto Rico, but it is not considered to be as severe as other places in the New World, possibly because of the following factors: * In the 8th century, nearly all of Spain was conquered (711–718), by the
Arab-Berber Maghrebis or Maghrebians () are the inhabitants of the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is a modern Arabic term meaning "Westerners", denoting their location in the western part of the Arab world. Maghrebis are predominantly of Arab and Berber ...
/African
Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...
who had crossed over from North Africa. The first African slaves were brought to Spain during Arab domination by North African merchants. By the middle of the 13th century, Christians had reconquered the Iberian peninsula. A section of
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
, which once was a Moorish stronghold, was inhabited by thousands of Africans. Africans became freemen after converting to Christianity, and they lived integrated in Spanish society. African women were highly sought after by Spanish males. Spain's exposure to people of color over the centuries accounted for the positive racial attitudes that prevailed in the New World. Historian Robert Martínez thought it was unsurprising that the first conquistadors intermarried with the native Taíno and later with the African immigrants. * The Catholic Church played an instrumental role in preserving the human dignity and working for the social integration of the African man in Puerto Rico. The church insisted that every slave be baptized and converted to the Catholic faith. Church doctrine held that master and slave were equal before the eyes of God, and therefore brothers in Christ with a common moral and religious character. Cruel and unusual punishment of slaves was considered a violation of the fifth commandment. * When the gold mines were declared depleted in 1570 and mining came to an end in Puerto Rico, the majority of the white Spanish settlers left the island to seek their fortunes in the richer colonies such as Mexico; the island became a Spanish garrison. The majority of those who stayed behind were either African or
mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...
es (of mixed race). By the time Spain reestablished commercial ties with Puerto Rico, the island had a large multiracial population. After the Spanish Crown issued the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815, it attracted many European immigrants, in effect "whitening" the island into the 1850s. But, the new arrivals also intermarried with native islanders, and added to the multiracial population. They also identified with the island, rather than simply with the rulers. Two Puerto Rican writers have written about racism;
Abelardo Díaz Alfaro Abelardo Díaz Alfaro (July 24, 1916 – July 22, 1999) was an author from Puerto Rico who achieved great fame throughout Latin America during the 1940s. His book ''Campo Alegre'' is a text that has been studied at schools in Austria, Austral ...
(1916–1999) and Luis Palés Matos (1898–1959), who was credited with creating the poetry genre known as Afro-Antillano.


Spanish–American War

The Treaty of Paris of 1898 settled the
Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
, which ended the centuries-long Spanish control over Puerto Rico. Like with other former Spanish territories, it now belonged to the United States. With the United States control over the island's institutions also came a reduction of the natives' political participation. In effect, the U.S. military government defeated the success of decades of negotiations for political autonomy between Puerto Rico's political class and Madrid's colonial administration. Puerto Ricans of African descent, aware of the opportunities and difficulties for blacks in the United States, responded in various ways. The racial bigotry of the
Jim Crow Laws The Jim Crow laws were U.S. state, state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, "Jim Crow (character), Ji ...
stood in contrast to the African-American expansion of mobility that the
Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the ti ...
illustrated. One Puerto Rican politician of African descent who distinguished himself during this period was the physician and politician
José Celso Barbosa José Celso Barbosa Alcala (July 27, 1857 – September 21, 1921) was a Puerto Rican physician, sociologist and political leader. Known as the father of the statehood movement in Puerto Rico, Barbosa was the first Puerto Rican, and one of th ...
(1857–1921). On July 4, 1899, he founded the pro-statehood Puerto Rican Republican Party and became known as the "Father of the Statehood for Puerto Rico" movement. Another distinguished Puerto Rican of African descent, who advocated Puerto Rico's independence, was
Arturo Alfonso Schomburg Arturo Alfonso Schomburg (January 24, 1874 – June 19, 1938), was a historian, writer, curator, and activist, who wrote numerous books. Schomburg was a Puerto Rican of African and German descent. He moved to the United States in 1891, settling i ...
(1874–1938). After emigrating to New York City in the United States, he amassed an extensive collection in preserving manuscripts and other materials of black Americans and the African diaspora. He is considered by some to be the "Father of Black History" in the United States, and a major study center and collection of the New York Public Library is named for him, the
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide. Located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) be ...
. He coined the term ''Afroborincano,'' meaning African-Puerto Rican.


Discrimination

After the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
approved the Jones Act of 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted US
citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...
. As citizens Puerto Ricans were eligible for the military draft, and many were drafted into the armed forces of the United States during World War I. The armed forces were segregated until after World War II. Puerto Ricans of African descent were subject to the discrimination which was rampant in the military and the U.S. Black Puerto Ricans residing in the mainland United States were assigned to all-black units. Rafael Hernández (1892–1965) and his brother Jesus, along with 16 more Puerto Ricans, were recruited by
Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
bandleader
James Reese Europe James Reese Europe (February 22, 1880 – May 9, 1919) was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African-American music scene of New York City in the 1910s. Eubie Blake called him ...
to join the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
's Orchestra Europe. They were assigned to the 369th Infantry Regiment, an African-American regiment; it gained fame during World War I and was nicknamed " The Harlem Hell Fighters" by the
Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
. The United States also segregated military units in Puerto Rico.
Pedro Albizu Campos Pedro Albizu Campos (June 29, 1893Luis Fortuño Janeiro. ''Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963).'' p. 290. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. – April 21, 1965) was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and a leading figure in ...
(1891–1965), who later became the leader of the
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party The Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico (, PNPR) was a Puerto Rican political party founded on September 17, 1922, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its primary goal was to work for Puerto Rico's independence. The Party's selection in 1930 of Pedro Alb ...
, held the rank of lieutenant. He founded the "Home Guard" unit of Ponce and was later assigned to the 375th Infantry Regiment, an all- black Puerto Rican regiment, which was stationed in Puerto Rico and never saw combat. Albizu Campos later said that the discrimination which he witnessed in the Armed Forces, influenced the development of his political beliefs. Puerto Ricans of African descent were discriminated against in sports. Puerto Ricans who were dark-skinned and wanted to play
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
in the United States, were not allowed to do so. In 1892 organized baseball had codified a color line, barring
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
players, and any player who was dark-skinned, from any country. Ethnic African-Puerto Ricans continued to play baseball. In 1928, Emilio "Millito" Navarro traveled to New York City and became the first Puerto Rican to play baseball in the
Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...
s when he joined the Cuban Stars. He was later followed by others such as
Francisco Coimbre Francisco "Pancho" Coimbre Atiles (29 January 1909 – 4 November 1989), more commonly known as Pancho Coimbre, was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican professional baseball player. He was born in the municipality of Coamo, Puerto Rico, Co ...
, who also played for the Cuban Stars. The persistence of these men paved the way for the likes of
Baseball Hall of Famers The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. On December ...
and
Orlando Cepeda Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes (; September 17, 1937 – June 28, 2024), nicknamed "the Baby Bull" and "Peruchin", was a Puerto Rican first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1958 to 1974, primarily the San Francisco G ...
, who played in the Major Leagues after the colorline was broken by
Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...
of the
Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...
in 1947; they were inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
for their achievements. Cepeda's father Pedro Cepeda, was denied a shot at the major leagues because of his color. Pedro Cepeda was one of the greatest players of his generation, the dominant hitter in the Professional Baseball League of Puerto Rico after its founding in 1938. He refused to play in the
Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...
due to his abhorrence of the racism endemic to the segregated United States. Black Puerto Ricans also participated in other sports as international contestants. In 1917, Nero Chen became the first Puerto Rican boxer to gain international recognition when he fought against (Panama) Joe Gan at the "Palace Casino" in New York.''Pioneros Puertorriqueños en Nueva York''; by Joaquin Colon Lopez; pages: 229, 230; Publisher: Arte Publico Press (November 2001); ; In the 1948 Summer Olympics (the XIV Olympics), celebrated in London, boxer
Juan Evangelista Venegas Juan Evangelista Venegas (December 27, 1928 – April 16, 1987) was a Puerto Rican boxer notable for winning Puerto Rico's first Olympic medal. Early years Venegas (birth name: Juan Evangelista Venegas Trinidad) was born in an underprivileged ...
made sports history by becoming Puerto Rico's first Olympic medal winner when he beat Belgium's representative, Callenboat, on points for a unanimous decision. He won the bronze medal in boxing in the
Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...
division. The event was also historic because it was the first time that Puerto Rico had participated as a nation in an international sporting event. It was common for impoverished Puerto Ricans to use boxing as a way to earn an income. On March 30, 1965, José "Chegui" Torres defeated
Willie Pastrano Wilfred Raleigh Pastrano (November 27, 1935 – December 6, 1997) was an American former professional boxer who competed from 1951 to 1965. He held the undisputed WBA, WBC, and ''The Ring'' light heavyweight titles between 1963 and 1965. Ear ...
by technical knockout and won the
World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...
and
World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded ...
light heavyweight championships. He became the third Puerto Rican and the first one of African descent to win a professional world championship. Among those who exposed the racism and discrimination in the US which Puerto Ricans, especially Black Puerto Ricans, were subject to, was Jesús Colón. Colón is considered by many as the "Father of the
Nuyorican Nuyorican is a portmanteau word blending "New York" (or "Nueva York" in Spanish) and "Puerto Rican," referring to Puerto Ricans located in or around New York City, their culture, or their descendants (especially those raised or currently livin ...
movement". He recounted his experiences in New York as a Black Puerto Rican in his book (What the people tell me---: Chronicles of the Puerto Rican colony in New York). Critics of discrimination say that a majority of Puerto Ricans are racially mixed, but that they do not feel the need to identify as such. They argue that Puerto Ricans tend to assume that they are of Black African, American Indian, and European ancestry and only identify themselves as "mixed" only if they have parents who appear to be of distinctly different "races". Puerto Rico underwent a "whitening" process while under U.S. rule. There was a dramatic change in the numbers of people who were classified as "black" and "white" Puerto Ricans in the 1920 census, as compared to that in 1910. The numbers classified as "Black" declined sharply from one census to another (within 10 years' time). Historians suggest that more Puerto Ricans classified others as white because it was advantageous to do so at that time. In those years, census takers were generally the ones to enter the racial classification. Due to the power of Southern white Democrats, the US Census dropped the category of mulatto or mixed race in the 1930 census, enforcing the artificial binary classification of black and white. Census respondents were not allowed to choose their own classifications until the late 20th and early 21st centuries. It may have been that it was popularly thought it would be easier to advance economically and socially with the US if one were "white".


African influence in Puerto Rican culture

The descendants of the former slaves became instrumental in the development of Puerto Rico's political, economic and cultural structure. They overcame many obstacles and have contributed to the island's entertainment, sports, literature and scientific institutions. Their contributions and heritage can still be felt today in Puerto Rico's art, music, cuisine, and religious beliefs in everyday life. In Puerto Rico, March 22 is known as "Abolition Day" and it is a holiday celebrated by those who live in the island. The Spanish's limited focus on assimilating the black population, and maroon communities established from slave plantations, contributed to the majority African influence in black Puerto Rican culture. High amounts of interracial marriage and reproducing, since the 1500s, is the reason why the majority of Puerto Ricans are mixed-race European, African, Taino, but only a small number are of predominant or full African ancestry. The first black people in the island came alongside European
colonists A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...
as workers from Spain and Portugal known as Ladinos. During the 1500s, the slaves that Spain imported to Puerto Rico and most of its other colonies, were mainly from the
Upper Guinea Upper Guinea is a geographical term used in several contexts: # Upper Guinea () is one of the four geographic regions of the Republic of Guinea, being east of Futa Jalon, north of Forest Guinea, and bordering Mali. The population of this region ...
region. However, in the 1600s and 1700s, Spain imported large numbers of slaves from
Lower Guinea Lower Guinea may refer to: * Maritime Guinea, the coastal region of the republic of Guinea. * in biogeography, a region of coastal tropical forests stretching along the Gulf of Guinea, from Ghana through Benin, Togo, Nigeria, and Cameroon. It is sep ...
and the Congo. According to various DNA studies, majority of the African ancestry among black and mixed-race Puerto Ricans comes from a few tribes such as the
Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...
,
Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to: Media * Mandingo (novel), ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957 * Mandingo (film), ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel * ''Man ...
,
Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...
,
Fang A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fangs, ...
,
Bubi Bubi may refer to: * Bubi people, an ethnic group in Central Africa * Bubi language, a Bantu language spoken in Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea * Bubi District, Zimbabwe * Bubi River, a tributary of the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe * BuBi, a bicy ...
, Yoruba,
Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a t ...
, and
Congolese Congolese or Kongolese may refer to: African peoples * Congolese people (disambiguation) * Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined by ...
, correlating to the modern-day countries of
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
,
Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
,
Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...
,
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...
,
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, and
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
. Slaves came from all parts of the western coast of Africa, from Senegal to Angola. The Yoruba and Congolese made the most notable impacts to Puerto Rican culture. There's been evidence of intercolonial migration between Puerto Rico and its neighbors during the 1700s and 1800s, which consisted of migration of free blacks and purchases of slaves from neighboring islands.


Language

Many African slaves imported to Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico spoke "Bozal" Spanish, a
Creole language A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable form of contact language that develops from the process of different languages simplifying and mixing into a new form (often a pidgin), and then that form expanding and elaborating into a full-fl ...
that was Spanish-based, with Congolese and Portuguese influence. Although Bozal Spanish became extinct in the nineteenth century, the African influence in the Spanish spoken in the island is still evident in the many
Kongo Kongo may refer to: Kongo culture *Kingdom of Kongo *Kongo cosmogram *Kongo language or Kikongo, one of the Bantu languages *Kongo languages *Kongo people *Kongo religion Places * Kongo, Ghana, a town in Ghana *Kongo Central, formerly Bas-Cong ...
words that have become a permanent part of
Puerto Rican Spanish Puerto Rican Spanish is the variety of the Spanish language as characteristically spoken in Puerto Rico and by millions of people of Puerto Rican descent living in the United States and elsewhere. It belongs to the group of Caribbean Spanish ...
.


Music

Puerto Rican musical instruments such as barriles, drums with stretched animal skin, and Puerto Rican music-dance forms such as Bomba or
Plena Plena is a genre of music and dance native to Puerto Rico. Origins The plena genre originated in Barrio San Antón, Ponce, Puerto Rico, around 1900. It was influenced by the bomba style of music. Originally, sung texts were not associated wit ...
are likewise rooted in Africa. Bomba represents the strong African influence in Puerto Rico. Bomba is a music, rhythm and dance that was brought by West African slaves to the island. Plena is another form of folkloric music of African origin. Plena was brought to Ponce by blacks who immigrated north from the English-speaking islands south of Puerto Rico. Plena is a rhythm that is clearly African and very similar to Calypso, Soca and Dance hall music from
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
and
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
. Bomba and Plena were played during the festival of Santiago (St. James), since slaves were not allowed to worship their own gods. Bomba and Plena evolved into countless styles based on the kind of dance intended to be used. These included ''leró, yubá, cunyá, babú'' and ''belén.'' The slaves celebrated baptisms, weddings, and births with the "bailes de bomba". Slaveowners, for fear of a rebellion, allowed the dances on Sundays. The women dancers would mimic and poke fun at the slave owners. Masks were and still are worn to ward off evil spirits and pirates. One of the most popular masked characters is the ''Vejigante'' (vey-hee-GANT-eh). The
Vejigante A vejigante is a folkloric character in Puerto Rican festival celebrations, mainly seen during Carnival time. Traditional colors of the vejigantes were green, yellow and red, or red and black. Today, vejigantes wear brightly colored, ornate ma ...
is a mischievous character and the main character in the Carnivals of Puerto Rico. Until 1953, Bomba and Plena were virtually unknown outside Puerto Rico. Island musicians
Rafael Cortijo Rafael Antonio Cortijo Verdejo (December 11, 1928 – October 3, 1982) was a Puerto Rican musician, orchestra leader, composer and percussion instrument craftsman. Early career As a child, Cortijo became interested in Caribbean music and en ...
(1928–1982),
Ismael Rivera Ismael Rivera a.k.a. "Maelo" (October 5, 1931 – May 13, 1987), was a Puerto Rican composer and salsa singer. Early life Rivera was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, a sector of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was the first of five children born to ...
(1931–1987) and the El Conjunto Monterrey orchestra introduced Bomba and Plena to the rest of the world. What Rafael Cortijo did with his orchestra was to modernize the Puerto Rican folkloric rhythms with the use of piano, bass, saxophones, trumpets, and other percussion instruments such as timbales, bongos, and replace the typical barriles (skin covered barrels) with congas.


Cuisine

Nydia Rios de Colon, a contributor to the ''Smithsonian Folklife Cookbook,'' also offers culinary seminars through the Puerto Rican Cultural Institute. She writes of the cuisine: Similarly, Johnny Irizarry and Maria Mills have written:


Religion

In 1478, the
Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella I of Crown of Castile, Castile () and Ferdinand II of Aragon, King Ferdinand II of Crown of Aragón, Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of ...
of Spain,
Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...
and
Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...
, established an ecclesiastical tribunal known as the
Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...
. It was intended to maintain
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
orthodoxy in their kingdoms. The Inquisition maintained no rota or religious court in Puerto Rico. However, heretics were written up and if necessary remanded to regional Inquisitional tribunals in Spain or elsewhere in the western hemisphere. Africans were not allowed to practice non-Christian, native religious beliefs. No single organized ethnic African religion survived intact from the times of slavery to the present in Puerto Rico. But, many elements of African spiritual beliefs have been incorporated into
syncretic Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus ...
ideas and practices.
Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, Afro-Caribbean religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional ...
, a Yoruba-Catholic syncretic mix, and '' Palo Mayombe,'' Kongolese traditions, are also practiced in Puerto Rico, the latter having arrived there at a much earlier time. A smaller number of people practice Vudú, which is derived from
Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...
mythology. ''Palo Mayombe,'' or Congolese traditions, existed for several centuries before Santería developed during the 19th century.
Guayama Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama (), is a Guayama barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...
became nicknamed "the city of witches", because the religion was widely practiced in this town. ''Santeria'' is believed to have been organized in Cuba among its slaves. The Yoruba were brought to many places in the Caribbean and Latin America. They carried their traditions with them, and in some places, they held onto more of them. In Puerto Rico and Trinidad Christianity was dominant. Although converted to Christianity, the captured Africans did not abandon their traditional religious practices altogether.
Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, Afro-Caribbean religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional ...
is a syncretic religion created between the diverse images drawn from the Catholic Church and the representational deities of the African Yoruba ethnic group of
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. Santería is widely practiced in the town of Loíza. Sister traditions emerged in their own particular ways on many of the smaller islands. Similarly, throughout Europe, early Christianity absorbed influences from differing practices among the peoples, which varied considerably according to region, language and ethnicity. Santería has many deities said to be the "top" or "head" God. These deities, which are said to have descended from heaven to help and console their followers, are known as "
Orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are divine spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Haitian Vaudou, Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The p ...
s". According to Santería, the Orishas are the ones who choose the person each will watch over. Unlike other religions where a worshiper is closely identified with a sect (such as
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
), the worshiper is not always a "Santero". Santeros are the priests and the only official practitioners. (These "Santeros" are not to be confused with the Puerto Rico's craftsmen who carve and create religious statues from wood, which are also called Santeros). A person becomes a Santero if he passes certain tests and has been chosen by the Orishas.


Current demographics

Considering the 2020 Census is the first to allow respondents to apply multiple races in their responses, there is considerable overlap that while appearing contradictory is in reality reflective of Puerto Rico's mixed history and population. As of the 2020 Census, 17.1% of Puerto Ricans identify as white, 17.5% identify as black or black in combination with another race, 2.3% as Amerindian, 0.3% as Asian, and 74% as "Some Other Race Alone or in Combination." Although estimates vary, most sources estimate that about 60% of Puerto Ricans have significant African ancestry. The vast majority of black people in Puerto Rico are Afro–Puerto Rican, meaning they have been in Puerto Rico for generations, usually since the slave trade, forming an important part of Puerto Rican culture and society. Recent black immigrants have come to Puerto Rico, mainly from the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
,
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
, and other Latin American and Caribbean countries, and to a lesser extent directly from
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
as well. Many black migrants from the United States and the
Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, Caribbean islands or West Indie ...
have moved and settled in Puerto Rico. Also, many Afro–Puerto Ricans have migrated out of Puerto Rico, namely to the United States. There and in the US Virgin Islands, they make up the bulk of the U.S. Afro-Latino population. Under Spanish and American rule, Puerto Rico underwent a whitening process. Puerto Rico went from around 50% of its population classified as black and mulatto in the first quarter of the 19th century, to nearly 80% classified white by the middle of the 20th century. Under Spanish rule, Puerto Rico had laws such as ''Regla del Sacar'' or ''Gracias al Sacar'', which classified persons of mixed African-European ancestry as white, which was the opposite of "
one-drop rule The one-drop rule was a legal principle of racial classification that was prominent in the 20th-century United States. It asserted that any person with even one ancestor of African ancestry ("one drop" of "black blood")Davis, F. James. Front ...
" in US society after the American Civil War. Additionally, the Spanish government's
Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 The Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 ( Spanish: '' Real Cédula de Gracia de 1815'') is a decree approved by the Spanish Crown in August 1815 to encourage Spaniards, and Europeans of non-Spanish origin but coming from countries in good standing wit ...
encouraged immigration from other European countries. Heavy European immigration swelled Puerto Rico's population to about one million by the end of the 19th century, decreasing the proportion Africans made of Puerto Rico. In the early decades under US rule, census takers began to shift from classifying people as black to "white" and the society underwent what was called a "whitening" process from the 1910 to the 1920 census, in particular. During the mid 20th century, the US government forcefully sterilized Puerto Rican women, especially non-white Puerto Rican women. Afro–Puerto Rican youth are learning more of their peoples' history from textbooks that encompass more Afro–Puerto Rican history. The 2010 US census recorded the first drop of the percentage white people made up of Puerto Rico, and the first rise in the black percentage, in over a century. Many of the factors that may possibly perpetuate this trend include: more Puerto Ricans may start to identify as black, due to increasing black pride and African cultural awareness throughout the island, as well as an increasing number of black immigrants, especially from the Dominican Republic and Haiti, many of whom are illegal immigrants, and increasing emigration of white Puerto Ricans to the mainland US. The following lists only include only the number of people who identify as black and do not attempt to estimate everyone with African ancestry. As noted in the earlier discussion, several of these cities were places where freedmen gathered after gaining freedom, establishing communities. The
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
with the highest percentages of residents who identify as black, as of 2020, were: Loiza: 64.7% Canóvanas: 33.4% Maunabo: 32.7%
Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...
: 32% Culebra: 27.7% Carolina: 27.3%
Vieques Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island, town and municipality of Puerto Rico, and together with Culebra, it is geographically part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques lies about east of the mainland of Puerto Rico, measuri ...
: 26% Arroyo: 25.8% Luquillo: 25.7% Patillas: 24.1%
Ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to Tropics, tropical and Subtropics, subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to northern Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall ...
: 23.8% Juncos: 22.9%
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...
: 22.2%
Toa Baja Toa Baja () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northern coast, north of Toa Alta and Bayamón; east of Dorado; and west of Cataño. Toa Baja is spread over five barrios, including Toa Baja Pueblo (the downtown area and ...
: 22.1% Salinas: 22.1% Cataño: 21.8% A landmark study published in 2023 and focused exclusively on studying the genome of self-identified Afro-Puerto Ricans discovered that, as indicated by mitochondrial haplogroups, their average matrilineal lineage is 66% African, 29% Indigenous American and 5% European. Along the Y chromosome, 52% had African, 28% had Western European, 16% had Eurasian, and, notably, 4% had Indigenous American patrilines, which until that point had been believed to be extinct in the modern population of Puerto Rico.


Notable Afro–Puerto Ricans

* Rafael Cordero (1790–1868), was born free in
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...
, Puerto Rico. Of African descent, he became known as "The Father of Public Education in Puerto Rico". Cordero was a self-educated Puerto Rican who provided free schooling to children regardless of their race. Among the distinguished alumni who attended Cordero's school were future abolitionists
Román Baldorioty de Castro Román Baldorioty de Castro (23 February 1822 – 30 September 1889) was a leading Puerto Rican  Abolitionism, abolitionist and spokesman for the right to self-determination of Puerto Rico. In 1870, he was elected as a deputy in the Cortes Ge ...
,
Alejandro Tapia y Rivera Alejandro Tapia y Rivera (November 12, 1826 – July 19, 1882) was a Puerto Rican poet, playwright, essayist and writer. Tapia is considered to be the father of Puerto Rican literature and as the person who has contributed the most to the cultu ...
, and
José Julián Acosta José Julián Acosta (February 16, 1825 – August 26, 1891), was a journalist and an advocate of the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico. Early years José Julián Acosta Calbo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Francisco de Acosta y Sandova ...
. Cordero proved that racial and economic integration could be possible and accepted in Puerto Rico. In 2004, the Roman Catholic Church, upon the request of San Juan Archbishop
Roberto González Nieves Roberto Octavio González Nieves (born June 2, 1950) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico since 1999. González previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston from 198 ...
, began the process of Cordero's beatification. He was not the only one in his family to become an educator. In 1820, his older sister,
Celestina Cordero Celestina Cordero (April 6, 1787 – January, 1862), was an educator who in 1802 founded a school for girls "escuela de amigas" in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Early years Cordero (birth name: Celestina Cordero y Molina ) was second of three children b ...
, established the first school for girls in San Juan. *
José Campeche José Campeche y Jordán (December 23, 1751 – November 7, 1809), is the first known Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican visual artist and considered by art critics as one of the best rococo artists in the Americas. Campeche y Jordán loved to use ...
(1751–1809), born a free man, contributed to the island's culture. Campeche's father, Tomás Campeche, was a freed slave born in Puerto Rico, and his mother María Jordán Marqués came from the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
. Since she was considered European (or white), her children were born free. Of mixed-race, Campeche was classified as a
mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...
, a common term during his time meaning of African-European descent. Campeche is considered to be the foremost Puerto Rican painter of religious themes of the era. * Capt. Miguel Henriquez (c. 1680–17??), was a former pirate who became Puerto Rico's first black military hero by organizing an expeditionary force that defeated the British in the island of Vieques. Capt. Henriques was received as a national hero when he returned the island of Vieques back to the Spanish Empire and Puerto Rico. He was awarded ; and the Spanish Crown named him "Captain of the Seas", awarding him a letter of marque and reprisal which granted him the privileges of a
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
. *
Rafael Cepeda Rafael Cepeda Atiles (July 10, 1910 – July 21, 1996), recognized as "The Patriarch of the Bomba and Plena", was the patriarch of the Cepeda family, known internationally as ambassadors of Afro-Puerto Rican folk music. Early years Cepeda was b ...
(1910–1996), also known as "The Patriarch of Bomba and Plena", was the patriarch of the Cepeda family. The family is one of the most famous exponents of Puerto Rican folk music, with generations of musicians working to preserve the African heritage in Puerto Rican music. The family is well known for their performances of the bomba and plena folkloric music and are considered by many to be the keepers of those traditional genres. *
Sylvia del Villard Sylvia Del Villard (February 28, 1928 – February 28, 1990), was an actress, dancer, choreographer and Afro-Puerto Rican activist. Early years Del Villard was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. As a young child, Del Villard would entertain her par ...
(1928–1990) was a member of the Afro-Boricua Ballet. She participated in the Afro–Puerto Rican productions, ''Palesiana y Aquelarre'' and ''Palesianisima''. In 1968, she founded the Afro-Boricua El Coqui Theater, which was recognized by the Panamerican Association of the New World Festival as the most important authority of Black Puerto Rican culture. The Theater group were given a contract which permitted them to present their act in other countries and in various universities in the United States. In 1981, del Villard became the first and only director of the Office of Afro–Puerto Rican Affairs of the
Institute of Puerto Rican Culture An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...
. She was known as an outspoken activist who fought for the equal rights of the Black Puerto Rican artist.


In fiction

* The
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
superhero Miles Morales / Spider-Man is Afro-Puerto Rican, as he was born to an African-American father and an Afro-Puerto Rican mother.Towers, Andrea (February 1, 2016)
"See a sneak peek inside ''Spider-Man'' #1"
. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
''.
Sacks, Ethan (June 21, 2015)
"EXCLUSIVE: Spider-Man Miles Morales — popular biracial version of the hero — joins main Marvel comics universe this fall"
. '' Daily News'' (New York).


See also

*
List of Puerto Ricans This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are included, as the governm ...
* Immigration to Puerto Rico series: **
Cultural diversity in Puerto Rico Non-Spanish cultural diversity in Puerto Rico and the basic foundation of Puerto Rican culture began with the mixture of the Spanish-Portuguese (catalanes, gallegos, andaluces, sefardíes, mozárabes, romani et al.), Taíno Arauak and African (Y ...
**
Chinese immigration to Puerto Rico Large-scale Chinese immigration to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean began during the 19th century. Chinese immigrants had to face different obstacles that prohibited or restricted their entry in Puerto Rico. When Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony, ...
**
Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico 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 R ...
**
French immigration to Puerto Rico French immigration to Puerto Rico came about as a result of the economic and political situations which occurred in various places such as Louisiana (United States), Saint-Domingue (Haiti) and in Europe. Other important factors which encouraged ...
**
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 si ...
**
Irish immigration to Puerto Rico Irish immigration to Puerto Rico began during the 16th century after the Spanish had colonized the island and has continued to the present day. During the 1500s, several Irish mercenaries in English service deserted and fled to the Spanish Empi ...
** Jewish immigration to Puerto Rico **
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. The most significant Spanish immigration wave oc ...
*
Puerto Rican people Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Boricuas, but also occasionally referred to as '' Borinqueños'', '' Borincanos'', or '' Puertorros'', are an ethnic group native to the Caribbean archipelago and island of Puerto Rico, and a nation i ...
*
Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean or African Caribbean people are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Indigenous peoples of Africa, Africans (primarily fr ...
* Afro-Latin Americans – North, Central and South America *
Afro-Spaniard Afro-Spaniards are Spaniards, Spanish people of African descent, including North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and those of Afro-Caribbean, African American or Afro Latin American descent. The Spanish government does not collect data on ethnicity o ...
* Black Latino Americans – United States of America *
Bozal Spanish Bozal Spanish is a possibly extinct Spanish-based creole language or pidgin that may have been a mixture of Spanish and Kikongo, with Portuguese influences. Attestation is insufficient to indicate whether Bozal Spanish was ever a single, cohe ...
(language) *
List of topics related to Black and African people A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
* Racism in Puerto Rico


Notes


References


Further reading

* Figueroa, Luis A. ''Sugar, slavery and freedom in nineteenth century Puerto Rico'' * Scarano, Francisco A. ''Sugar and Slavery in Puerto Rico: The Plantation Economy of Ponce, 1800–1850'' * Balletto, Barbara. ''Insight Guide Puerto Rico'' * Ortiz, Yvonne. ''A Taste of Puerto Rico: Traditional and New Dishes from the Puerto Rican Community'' * de Wagenheim, Olga J. ''Puerto Rico: An Interpretive History from Precolumbia Times to 1900'' * Schmidt-Nowara, Christopher. ''Empire and Antislavery: Spain, Cuba and Puerto Rico, 1833–1874'' (1990). * Soler, Luis M. D. ''Historia de la esclavitud negra en Puerto Rico''


External links


Sugar and Slavery in Puerto Rico
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afro-Puerto Ricans African diaspora history African–Hispanic and Latino American relations Ethnic groups in Puerto Rico Immigration to Puerto Rico Social history of Puerto Rico Afro-Latino culture in the United States