Puerto Rico's Revolt for Independence
Westview Special Studies
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About the Book and Author
This book is a socioeconomic interpretation of Puerto Rico's first and most significant attempt to end its colonial relationship with Spain. Looking at the imperial policies and conditions within Puerto Rico that led to the 1868 rebellion known as "El Grito de Lares," Dr. Jimnez de Wagenheim compares the colonization of Puerto Rico with that of Spanish America and explores the reasons why the island's independence movement began decades after Spain's other colonies in the region had revolted. Through the extensive use of previously unresearched archive material, she examines the economic and social backgrounds of the leaders of the rebel movement, corrects many errors of earlier accounts of the revolt, and offers new interpretations of its impact on Spanish-Puerto Rican relations.
Dr. Olga Jimnez de Wagenheim, assistant professor of history at Rutgers University at Newark, is co-editor of The Puerto Ricans: A Documentary History (1973).
To my father Santos Jimnez, who defied tradition and sent me to school
Puerto Ricos Revolt for Independence
El Grito de Lares
Olga Jimnez de Wagenheim
First published 1985 by Westview Press, Inc.
Published 2019 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Jimnez de Wagenheim, Olga.
Puerto Ricos revolt for independence.
(Westview Special Studies on Latin America and the Caribbean)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Puerto RicoHistoryInsurrection, 1868. 2. Puerto
RicoEconomic conditions. 3. Puerto RicoSocial condi
tions. I. Title. II. Series.
F1973.J56 1984 972.95'04 84-19631
ISBN 13: 978-0-367-28486-2 (hbk)
My interest in El Grito de Lares was first awakened many years ago when I entered the university. The fact that it happened near my home and on the date of my birth undoubtedly contributed to my interest. More mature considerations and several years of graduate school, however, led me to undertake the present study. Unanswered questions by the available accounts and multiple contradictions about the "facts" urged me on to search for the documents that could explain the discrepancies. This book is the product of that search.
This book, however, could not have been written without the enthusiasm generated by the pioneer works that immortalized El Grito de Lares. Nor could it have been carried out without the scholarly works of the many historians who have contributed to the understanding of the island's history. To such scholars as Salvador Brau, Lidio Cruz Monclova, Loida Figueroa, Labor Gmez Acevedo, and Arturo Morales Carrin, among others, I will always be indebted.
I would like to thank the Ford Foundation for the generous grant that allowed me to carry out the research for this study. Their support is greatly appreciated.
Special thanks are due to my friends and colleagues, Professors Gwendolyn M. Hall and Samuel Baily, for their constant support and intellectual guidance. Their encouragement is deeply valued.
To Professors Franklin Knight, Luis Agrait, Loida Figueroa, and Arturo Morales Carrin, my sincere thanks, for their valuable suggestions. Their comments have contributed to the improvement of this manuscript.
Hector Vquez, then Director of the Puerto Rican Forum, was very helpful at the beginning of my research by giving me a Xerox copy of an entire pieza of the Lares documents. His kindness is appreciated.
To the various persons in the archives who made my research easier, I shall always be grateful. Among them, I would like to especially thank the archivists Eduardo Len and Luis de la Rosa of the Archivo General de Puerto Rico, for taking the time to locate unclassified documents that proved valuable to my work.
I also owe special thanks to Don Angel Vega of the Archivo Municipal de Mayagez, to the staff of the Centro de Investigaciones Histricas at the University of Puerto Rico, and to the members of the Archivo Histrico Nacional and the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid. All of them were of great help by providing microfilm copies of documents I needed.
I want to acknowledge my appreciation to my friends Israel Rivera and Gloria Rodrguez, for offering me a home away from home while I carried out this research, and to my sister Norma Jimnez for looking after my children while I was away from home.
Finally, I want to thank my husband Kal and our children, David and Mara, for making it possible for me to pursue my own goals.
