Non-Spanish cultural diversity in Puerto Rico and the basic foundation of Puerto Rican culture began with the mixture of the Spanish-Portuguese (catalans, galicianss, andalusians, sephardim, mozarabs, gypsies et al.), Taíno Arauak and African (Yoruba, Bedouins, Egyptians, Ethiopians, Moroccan Jews, et al.) cultures in the beginning of the 16th century. In the early 19th century, Puerto Rico's cultures became more diversified with the arrival of hundreds of families from Non-Spanish countries such as Corsica, France, Germany, Greece, Palestine, Türkiye, Pakistan, India, England, and Ireland. To a lesser extent, other settlers came from Lebanon, China, Japan, Slavic countries of Eastern Europe and Scotland.
Factors that contributed to the immigration of Non-Spanish families to Puerto Rico included the advent of the Second Industrial Revolution and widespread crop failures in Europe. All this, plus the spread of the cholera epidemic, came at a time when desire for independence was growing among Spanish subjects of Spain's last two colonies in the Western Hemisphere, Puerto Rico and Cuba.
As a consequence, the Spanish Crown made concessions with the establishment of the "Real Cédula de Gracias de 1815" (Royal Decree of Graces of 1815), which allowed European Catholics to settle in the island with land allotments in the interior of the island, provided they agreed to pay taxes and continue to support the Catholic Church. Archivo General de Puerto Rico: Documentos Retrieved August 3, 2007 In 1870, the Spanish Courts also passed the "Acta de Culto Condicionado" (Conditional Cult Act), a law granting the right of religious freedom to all those who wished to worship another religion other than the Catholic religion.
In Puerto Rico, they adopted the local customs and intermarried with the locals. One of the consequences of the diversification of the cultures is that there are many Puerto Ricans and people of Puerto Rican descent who have Non-Spanish surnames. Puerto Rican surnames are not limited to those from Spain. Puerto Ricans commonly use both their father's and mother's surnames. It is thus not unusual to find someone with a non-Hispanic surname and a Hispanic surname. Two examples are Ramón Power y Giralt and Demetrio O'Daly y Puente. Both of these Puerto Ricans have their father's Irish surname and their mother's Spanish surname."Mainland Passage: The Cultural Anomaly of Puerto Rico"; by: Ramon E. Soto-Crespo; Publisher: Univ of Minnesota Press; ;
Other factors, such as the Great Depression and World War II, contributed to the large migration of Puerto Ricans to the United States. Many Puerto Ricans married with non-Hispanics and had children of Puerto Rican descent who were inscribed with non-Hispanic surnames.
Since 2007, the Government of Puerto Rico has been issuing certificates of Puerto Rican citizenship to anyone born in Puerto Rico or to anyone born outside of Puerto Rico with at least one parent who was born in Puerto Rico. Departamento de Estado expedirá certificados de ciudadanía puertorriqueña Puerto Rican citizenship was first legislated by the United States Congress in Article 7 of the Foraker Act of 1900Puerto Rican Immigrants: A Resource Guide for Teachers and Students. Warren Stevenson, Joshua Romano, Kaitlin Quinn-Stearns, and Thomas Kennedy. Fitchburg State University. Immigration and the American Identity, Dr. Laura Baker. TAH Program. Summer 2009. Page 2. Retrieved 21 October 2013. and later recognized in the Constitution of Puerto Rico.(Spanish) 97 DTS 135 -- Ramírez de Ferrer v. Mari Brás Puerto Rican citizenship existed before the U.S. takeover of the islands of Puerto Rico and continued afterwards.Puerto Rico: Hearing before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. US Senate. 109th Congress, 2nd Session on The Report by the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status. Nov 15, 2006. page 114.
The contributions made by non-Hispanics to music, art, literature language, cuisine, religion and heritage, were instrumental in the development of modern-day Puerto Rican culture. The mixture of both the Hispanic and non-Hispanic immigrant cultures are evident in the island's political, commercial and religious structures.
History First settlers
The first people from Europe to arrive in Puerto Rico were the Spanish Conquistadores. The island, called Borikén, at that time was inhabited by the Taíno Amerindians. Many Jews also known as "converso" came to Puerto Rico as members of the Spanish crews. The Jews who arrived and settled in Puerto Rico were referred to as "Crypto-Jews" or "secret Jews". When the Crypto Jews arrived on the island of Puerto Rico, they were hoping to avoid religious scrutiny, but the Inquisition followed the colonists. 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. As a result, many secret Jews settled the island's remote mountainous interior far from the concentrated centers of power in San Juan and lived quiet lives. They practiced crypto-Judaism, meaning that they secretly practiced Judaism while publicly professing to be Roman Catholic.
Many Spaniards intermarried with Taínos women and much of the Taíno culture was mixed with that of the Spanish culture. Many Puerto Ricans today retain Taíno linguistic features, agricultural practices, food ways, medicine, fishing practices, technology, architecture, oral history, and religious views. Many Taíno traditions, customs, and practices have been continued.Taliman, Valerie. Taíno Nation alive and strong. Indian Country Today. 24 Jan 2001. Retrieved 24 Sept 2009.
By 1570, the gold mines were declared depleted of the precious metal. After gold mining came to an end 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 First West African on St. Croix? , Retrieved July 20, 2007African Aspects of the Puerto Rican Personality by (the late) Dr. Robert A. Martinez, Baruch College. (Archived from the original on July 20, 2007)
Royal Decree of Graces of 1815
By 1825, the Spanish Empire had lost all of its territories in the Americas with the exception of Cuba and Puerto Rico. These two possessions, however, had been demanding more autonomy since the formation of pro-independence movements in 1808. Realizing that it was in danger of losing its two remaining Caribbean territories, the Spanish Crown revived the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815.
The decree was printed in three languages — Spanish, English and French — intending to attract Europeans of non-Spanish origin, with the hope that the independence movements would lose their popularity and strength with the arrival of new settlers.
Under the Spanish Royal Decree of Graces, immigrants were granted land and initially given a "Letter of Domicile" after swearing loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Catholic Church. After five years they could request a "Letter of Naturalization" that would make them Spanish subjects. The Royal Decree, was intended for non-Hispanic Europeans and not Asians nor people that were not Christian.
In 1897, the Spanish Cortés also granted Puerto Rico a Charter of Autonomy, which recognized the island's sovereignty and right to self-government. By April 1898, the first Puerto Rican legislature was elected and called to order.
Famine Many economic and political changes occurred in Europe during the latter part of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. Hundreds of farm workers abandoned their work in agriculture and moved to the larger cities with the advent of the Second Industrial Revolution in search of better paying jobs. Those who stayed behind and attended their farmlands suffered from diseases like the cholera epidemic, and the consequences of widespread crop failure from long periods of drought and the potato fungus that caused the Great Famine of Ireland of the 1840s. Starvation was widespread in Europe. In Ireland, the famine killed over one million Irish people and created nearly two million refugees.
After the Spanish–American War Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain to the United States at the end of the Spanish–American War in 1898. Almost immediately, the United States began the "Americanization" process of Puerto Rico. The U.S. occupation brought about a total change in Puerto Rico's economy and polity. The "Americanization" process of the island had an immediate effect on the political, commercial, military and sports culture of the Puerto Ricans. Baseball, which has its origins in 18th century England and later developed in the United States, was introduced to the island by a group of Puerto Ricans and Cubans who learned the sport in the United States. The sport was also played by the American soldiers who organized games as part of their training. Puerto Ricans were also introduced to the sport of Boxing and Basketball by the occupying military forces.Primera Hora newspaper; "Eran otros tiempos"; by: Alex Figueroa Cancel, July 20, 2008
Many non-Hispanic soldiers who were assigned to the military bases in Puerto Rico choose to stay and live in the island. Unlike their counterparts who settled in the United States in close knit ethnic communities, these people intermarried with Puerto Ricans and adopted the language and customs of the island thereby completely integrating themselves into the society of their new homeland.
Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution of 1959, influenced the large immigration of Chinese and Jews to the island. In 1959, thousands of business-minded Chinese fled Cuba, after the success Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro. One of the results of the communist revolution was that the state took over private property and nationalized all private-owned businesses. Most of the Cuban Chinese fled overseas and among the places where many of them settled were Puerto Rico, Miami and New York. Also, almost all of Cuba's 15,000 Jews went into exile. The majority of them also fled to Miami and Puerto Rico.Luxner, Larry, "Puerto Rico's Jews planting roots on an island with little Jewish history" , Luxner News, Retrieved November 12, 2008.
Puerto Rican migration to the United States
Puerto Ricans were Spanish citizens before Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898. After Puerto Rico was ceded, they became citizens of Puerto Rico. Before 1917, when the U.S. Congress passed the Jones-Shafroth Act which granted Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship, Puerto Ricans who moved to New York were considered immigrants. Later several factors contributed and led to what became known as "The Great Migration" of Puerto Ricans to New York. These were the following: the Great Depression, World War II and the advent of air travel.
The Great Depression that spread throughout the world also affected Puerto Rico. Since the island's economy depended and still depends on that of the United States, the failure of American banks and industries was strongly felt in the island. Unemployment rose as a consequence and many families fled to the U.S. mainland in search of jobs.
The outbreak of World War II opened doors to many jobs for migrants. Since a large portion of the male population of the U.S. was sent to war, there was a sudden need for people to fill the jobs they left behind. Puerto Rican men and women found jobs in factories and ship docks, producing both domestic and warfare goods."LAS WACS"-Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Seginda Guerra Mundial; by: Carmen Garcia Rosado; page 60; 1ra. Edicion publicada en Octubre de 2006; 2da Edicion revisada 2007; Regitro tro Propiedad Intectual ELA (Government of Puerto Rico) #06-13P-)1A-399; Library of Congress TXY 1-312-685.