Chinese Immigration To Puerto Rico - Spanish Immigration Restrictions

Spanish Immigration Restrictions

By the 19th century, the Spanish Crown had lost most of its possessions in the Americas. Two of its remaining possessions were Puerto Rico and Cuba, which were demanding more autonomy and had pro-independence movements. The Spanish Crown issued the Royal Decree of Graces (Real Cédula de Gracias) which was originated August 10, 1815, with the intention of attracting Europeans of non-Spanish origin to the islands. The Spanish government, believing that the independence movements would lose their popularity, granted land and initially gave settlers "Letters of Domicile". However, the decree only applied to the people of Europe since it was expected that the settlers swore loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church.

In the early 1860s, José Julián Acosta, when commenting on Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra's written history of Puerto Rico (which recorded events until the latter part of the 18th century), wrote a footnote in which he praises the local Spanish government for rejecting a proposal that would have allowed Chinese laborers to come to Puerto Rico from Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname. These restrictions were lifted in the latter part of the century.

During the latter part of the 19th century, Spain and the rest of the Americas became industrialized and were in need of manpower to fulfill their workforce. Poor and uneducated men, driven by war and starvation, made their way from China to the Americas as laborers. A large number of these unskilled workers were sold in what became known as the "coolie" trade. Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic were the last stop for many of the "coolies" before reaching their final destinations. Many of these Chinese immigrants managed to stay in Puerto Rico and the other two Caribbean countries.