CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
PART I: DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST 1
Boriquén 2
The Indian Way of Life 3
The First Settlers 15
Queen Isabella’s Order 17
“The Grasping Avarice of the White Men” 18
The Indians Rebel 22
PART II: THE COLONIZATION 27
The Costly Colony 29
“Criollos” and “Blancos” 33
The Xivaros 38
Slavery Laws 45
Masters and Slaves 49
PART III: THE SPIRIT OF NATIONHOOD 53
Sailing to San Juan 55
“Arriba, Puerto Ricans!” 59
“You Shall Be Free” 60
The Day Puerto Rico Became a Nation 62
The Abolition of Slavery 68
“The Troubles at Porto Rico” 71
The Autonomist Concept 73
PART IV: MANIFEST DESTINY 77
Puerto Rico as a Permanent Possession 80
“A Dangerous Neighbor” 84
“Have We Not Suffered Long Enough?” 85
“Seize San Juan” 88
Our Flag Raised in Puerto Rico 91
“To the Inhabitants of Porto Rico” 94
Soldier 95
Diary of the War 97
PART V: “CITIZENS OF PORTO RICO” 103
“The Porto Rican Inhumanity” 105
“We Are Becoming Americanized” 108
“They Are Loyal” 110
“Discipline for Porto Rico” 112
“Inverted Terms” 117
PART VI: AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 121
“An Idle Dream” 122
“The Future of My Country” 123
“Treachery and Disenchantment” 133
PART VII: THE GRIM YEARS 137
Ireland in America? 138
Sweatshops on the Spanish Main 142
“The Gentleman’s Time Has Expired” 145
Lindbergh’s Visit 147
“The Sad Case of Porto Rico” 149
“Joker in the Deck” 157
The Rise of Albizu Campos 163
Rebellion in Puerto Rico 169
Violence and Nationalism 174
PART VIII: “¡JALDA ARRIBA!” 179
“A Time of National Crisis” 181
“Puerto Rico Is the Center” 184
“We Had Better Wait” 186
The Bard of Politics 191
Blanca Canales (1906-1996) and the Jayuya Revolt 200
“I Love My Country” 211
Worker in the Cane 214
Don Abelardo 222
The Status Dilemma 225
A Yankee from Massachusetts 228
“The Conscience of His People” 231
PART IX: EXODUS 235
The Early Days 236
“What Is Prejudice?” 240
Long Night’s Journey 241
“I’m Freezing to Death” 248
American-born “Foreigners” 252
“Hispanos” and “Marine Tigers” 256
Down These Mean Streets 258
“My Parents, They Cry with Joy” 264
“El Barrio’s Worst Block” 269
Neo-Rican Jetliner 274
PART X: THE DIVIDED NATION 279
“Nation and Homeland” 281
“From a Jail in Puerto Rico” 286
“Cancio and Compassion” 288
A Day at the Bodega 291
The Young Lords 300
The FBI Dossiers 303
Puerto Ricans: “Citizens yet Foreigners” 308
The Vieques Controversy 322
Social Struggle against the U.S. Navy in Vieques,
Puerto Rico: Two Movements in History 325
The Diaspora Factor: Stateside Boricuas and the Future of Puerto Rico 342
PART XI: PUERTO RICO IN CRISIS 351
Introduction by Luis Martínez-Fernández 351
The Effect of 936 355
President’s Task Force Report 360
Sample Ballot 2012 Plebiscite 366
Will Puerto Rico Become the 51st US State 367
U.S. Supreme Court Reinterprets Puerto Rico’s Sovereignty 368
Capital Over People 372
The Roots of Puerto Rico’s Debt Crisis 379
Bill Establishing the Oversight Board 383
Puerto Rico: How Do We Know 3,000 People Died
as a Result of Hurricane Maria? 388
Puerto Ricans in Florida: 2010-2017 393
Puerto Rico’s Democratic Revolt 397
Puerto Rico Protestors Got Creative: Dancing, Singing, Diving 400
At the Heart of the Movement: Puerto Rican Women and the
Toppling of Governor Roselló 403
Index 409