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The Expansion of the Republic Series.
[Illustration: Columbus statue, San Juan.]
The latest permanent possession of the United States is also theoldest in point of European occupation. The island of Puerto Rico wasdiscovered by Columbus in 1493. It was occupied by the United StatesArmy at Guanica July 25, 1898. Spain formally evacuated the islandOctober 18, 1898, and military government was established untilCongress made provision for its control. By act of Congress, approvedApril 12, 1900, the military control terminated and civil governmentwas formally instituted May 1,1900.
Puerto Rico has an interesting history. Its four centuries underSpanish control is a record of unusual and remarkable events. Thisrecord is unknown to the American people. It has never been writtensatisfactorily in the Spanish language, and not at all in the Englishlanguage. The author of this volume is the first to give to the readerof English a record of Spanish rule in this "pearl of the Antilles."Mr. Van Middeldyk is the librarian of the Free Public Library of SanJuan, an institution created under American civil control. He has hadaccess to all data obtainable in the island, and has faithfully andconscientiously woven this data into a connected narrative, thusgiving the reader a view of the social and institutional life of theisland for four hundred years.
The author has endeavored to portray salient characteristics of thelife on the island, to describe the various acts of the reigninggovernment, to point out the evils of colonial rule, and to figure thegeneral historical and geographical conditions in a manner thatenables the reader to form a fairly accurate judgment of the past andpresent state of Puerto Rico.
No attempt has been made to speculate upon the setting of this recordin the larger record of Spanish life. That is a work for the future.But enough history of Spain and in general of continental Europe isgiven to render intelligible the various and varied governmentalactivities exercised by Spain in the island. There is, no doubt, muchomitted that future research may reveal, and yet it is just to statethat the record is fairly continuous, and that no salient factors inthe island's history have been overlooked.
The people of Puerto Rico were loyal and submissive to their parentgovernment. No record of revolts and excessive rioting is recorded.The island has been continuously profitable to Spain. With evenordinarily fair administration of government the people have beenself-supporting, and in many cases have rendered substantial aid toother Spanish possessions. Her native life—the BoriquénIndians—rapidly became extinct, due to the "gold fever" and theintermarriage of races. The peon class has always been a faithfullaboring class in the coffee, sugar, and tobacco estates, and theslave element was never large. A few landowners and the professionalclasses dominate the island's life. There is no middle class. There isan utter absence of the legitimate fruits of democratic institutions.The poor are in every way objects of pity a