Román Baldorioty de Castro was Puerto Rican abolitionist and spokesman for the island's right to self-determination. In 1870, he was elected as a deputy in the Cortes Generales, the Spanish parliament, where he promoted abolition of slavery. In 1887, Baldorioty de Castro was the founder of the Partido Autonomista, also known as "Partido Autonomista Puro", "Partido Histórico", and "Partido Ortodoxo".
José de Diego y Martínez was a statesman, journalist, poet, lawyer, and advocate for Puerto Rico's political autonomy in union with Spain and later of independence from the United States who was referred to by his peers as "The Father of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement".
El Grito de Lares, also referred to as the Lares uprising, the Lares revolt, the Lares rebellion, or the Lares revolution, was the first of two revolts against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico. The revolt was planned by Ramón Emeterio Betances and Segundo Ruiz Belvis. It began on September 23, 1868, in the town of Lares, for which it is named. It spread rapidly to various revolutionary cells throughout the island. The revolutionary flag of El Grito de Lares is recognized as the first flag of Puerto Rico.
Luis Muñoz Rivera was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist and politician. He was a major figure in the struggle for political autonomy of Puerto Rico in union with Spain.
Throughout the history of Puerto Rico, its inhabitants have initiated several movements to obtain independence for the island, first from the Spanish Empire from 1493 to 1898 and since then from the United States.
The Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico is the territorial legislature of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, responsible for the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico. The Assembly is a bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Senate normally composed of 27 senators, and the lower house, the House of Representatives normally consisting of 51 representatives. Eleven members of each house are elected at-large rather than from a specific legislative district with all members being elected for a four-year term without term limits.
Federico Degetau y González was a Puerto Rican politician, lawyer, writer, author, and the first Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico to the United States House of Representatives.
A federacy is a form of government where one or several substate units enjoy considerably more independence than the majority of the substate units. To some extent, such an arrangement can be considered to be similar to asymmetric federalism.
Segismundo Moret y Prendergast was a Spanish politician and writer. He was the prime minister of Spain on three occasions and the president of the Congress of Deputies on two occasions.
Arístides Maragliano is referred to as the 'unknown Justice' since very little is known about this Spanish-born member of Puerto Rico's highest court under Spanish rule, the 'Audiencia Territorial'. He is also the only Spaniard who was appointed to the highest court under American rule.
The Captaincy General of Puerto Rico was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire, created in 1580 to provide better military management of the island of Puerto Rico, previously under the direct rule of a lone governor and the jurisdiction of Audiencia of Santo Domingo. Its creation was part of the, ultimately futile, Habsburg attempt in the late 16th century to prevent incursion into the Caribbean by foreign powers. Spain also established Captaincies General in Cuba, Guatemala and Yucatán.
The Captaincy General of Cuba was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire created in 1607 as part of Habsburg Spain attempt to better defend and administer its Caribbean possessions. The reform also established captaincies general in Puerto Rico, Guatemala and Yucatán.
The history of Puerto Rico began with the settlement of the Ortoiroid people between 430 BC and AD 1000. At the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1493, the dominant indigenous culture was that of the Taínos. The Taíno people's numbers went dangerously low during the later half of the 16th century because of new infectious diseases carried by Europeans, exploitation by Spanish settlers, and warfare.
The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party insurgency was a series of coordinated insurrections for the secession of Puerto Rico led by the president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, Don Pedro Albizu Campos, against the United States government's rule over the islands of Puerto Rico. The party repudiated the "Free Associated State" status that had been enacted in 1950 and which the Nationalists considered a continuation of colonialism.
The Intentona de Yauco of March 24–26, 1897 was the second and final major revolt against Spanish colonial rule in Puerto Rico, staged by the island's pro-independence movement in the second half of the nineteenth century. During the Intentona de Yauco, the flag of Puerto Rico was flown on the island for the first time.
Field Marshal Demetrio O'Daly, was the first Puerto Rican to reach the rank of Field Marshal in the Spanish Army. O'Daly was awarded the Cruz Laureada de San Fernando, the highest military decoration awarded by the Spanish government. He represented Puerto Rico as a delegate to the Spanish Courts. Among his many accomplishments was the introduction of a Bill to the Spanish legislature which established free commercial trade and public education in Puerto Rico.
Leopoldo Figueroa a.k.a. "The deacon of the Puerto Rican Legislature", was a Puerto Rican politician, journalist, medical doctor and lawyer. Figueroa, who began his political career as an advocate of Puerto Rican Independence, was the co-founder of the "Independence Association", one of three political organizations which merged to form the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. Figueroa, had changed political ideals and in 1948, was a member of the Partido Estadista Puertorriqueño. That year, he was the only member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives who did not belong to the Partido Popular Democrático (PPD), and the only Representative to oppose the PPD's approval of what became known as the Ley de la Mordaza, which violated the civil rights of those who favored Puerto Rican Independence. On December 22, 2006, the Puerto Rican Legislature approved a law declaring every September 21, Leopoldo Figueroa Carreras Day.
The 1899 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 16 April and on Sunday, 30 April 1899, to elect the 9th Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain in the Restoration period. All 401 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.
The 1898 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 27 March and on Sunday, 10 April 1898, to elect the 8th Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain in the Restoration period. All 445 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.
The 1896 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 12 April and on Sunday, 26 April 1896, to elect the 7th Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain in the Restoration period. All 445 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.
