French Immigration To Puerto Rico - Haitian Revolution

Haitian Revolution

In 1697, the Spanish Crown ceded the western half of the island of Hispaniola to the French. The Spanish part of the island was named Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic) and the French named their part Saint-Domingue (which was later renamed Haiti). The French settlers dedicated themselves to the cultivation of the sugar cane and owned plantations, which required a huge amount of manpower. They imported slaves from Africa to work in the fields. However, soon the population of the slaves outgrew those of the whites. The slaves lived under terrible conditions and were treated cruelly. In 1791, the slaves were organized into an army led by the self-appointed general Toussaint Louverture and rebelled against the French in what is known as the Haitian Revolution. The ultimate victory of the slaves over their white masters came about after the Battle of Vertières in 1803. The French fled to Santo Domingo and made their way to Puerto Rico. Once there, they settled in the western region of the island in towns such as Mayagüez. With their expertise, they helped develop the island's sugar industry, converting Puerto Rico into a world leader in the exportation of sugar.

Among the families who settled in Puerto Rico were the Beauchamps. Francois Joseph Beauchamp Menier, from St. Nazaire, France, was a member of the French Army stationed in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) with his family during the slave revolution. When the French ranks were disbanded he boarded a boat bound for Martinique, together with his wife Elizabeth Sterling and children. The boat however ran ashore in Puerto Rico instead of reaching Martinique. The Spanish government offered Beauchamp Menier land to cultivate and the family settled in the town of Añasco. The family had thirteen children, including those who were born in Saint-Domingue. It is believed that all of the Beauchamps in Puerto Rico are descendants of Francois Joseph Beauchamp Menier and Elizabeth Sterling. The Beauchamp family was active in Puerto Rican politics. Among the notable members of this family are Eduvigis Beauchamp Sterling, named Treasurer of the revolution against Spanish colonial rule known as El Grito de Lares by Ramón Emeterio Betances. He was the person who provided Mariana Bracetti with the materials for the Revolutionary Flag of Lares. Pablo Antonio Beauchamp Sterling was a principal leader of the Mayagüez cell during the Lares Revolution. In the early 20th century another member of the family was an active member of the Puerto Rican independence movement, he was Elias Beauchamp, a member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party who assassinated Colonel Francis Riggs in 1936 in retribution of the events of the Río Piedras massacre. Carlos Maria Beauchamp Giorgi served as Mayor of Las Marias and Ramon Beauchamp Gonzales was the Secretary of the Senate in 1916.

Another Frenchmen who escaped from then-Saint-Domingue was Dr. Luis Rayffer. Rayffer first lived in Mayaguez and in 1796 moved to the town of Bayamon where he established a coffee plantation.