Historical Context
After four hundred years of colonial domination under the Spanish Empire, Puerto Rico finally received its autonomy in 1898 through a Carta de AutonomÃa (Charter of Autonomy). This Charter of Autonomy was signed by Spanish Prime Minister Práxedes Mateo Sagasta and ratified by the Spanish Cortes.
Just a few months later, the United States claimed ownership of the island as part of the Treaty of Paris which concluded the Spanish-American War.
In 1901, the first civilian U.S. governor of Puerto Rico, Charles Herbert Allen, installed himself as president of the largest suger-refining company in the world, the American Sugar Refining Company. This company was later renamed as the Domino Sugar company.
In effect, Charles Allen leveraged his governorship of Puerto Rico into a controlling interest over sugar interests on the island.
This gave rise to the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party which maintained that, as a matter of international law, the Treaty of Paris could not empower the Spanish to "give" what was no longer theirs.
The Nationalist movement was intensified by the Ponce Massacre and the Rio Piedras Massacre, which showed the violence which the United States was prepared to use, in order to maintain its colonial regime in Puerto Rico. The profits generated by this one-sided arrangement were enormous.
Read more about this topic: United States Capitol Shooting Incident (1954)
Famous quotes containing the words historical and/or context:
“Whether considered as a doctrine, or as an historical fact, or as a movemement, socialism, if it really remains socialism, cannot be brought into harmony with the dogmas of the Catholic church.... Religious socialism, Christian socialism, are expressions implying a contradiction in terms.”
—Pius XI [Achille Ratti] (18571939)
“The hippie is the scion of surplus value. The dropout can only claim sanctity in a society which offers something to be dropped out ofcareer, ambition, conspicuous consumption. The effects of hippie sanctimony can only be felt in the context of others who plunder his lifestyle for what they find good or profitable, a process known as rip-off by the hippie, who will not see how savagely he has pillaged intricate and demanding civilizations for his own parodic lifestyle.”
—Germaine Greer (b. 1939)