The recorded history of Puerto Rican women can trace its roots back to the era of the Taíno, the indigenous people of the Caribbean, who inhabited the island that they called Borinquen before the arrival of Spaniards. During the Spanish colonization the cultures and customs of the Taíno, Spanish, African and women from non-Hispanic European countries blended into what became the culture and customs of Puerto Rico.
In the early part of the 19th century the women in Puerto Rico were Spanish subjects and had few individual rights. Those who belonged to the upper class of the Spanish ruling society had better educational opportunities than those who did not. However, there were many women who were already active participants in the labor movement and in the agricultural economy of the island."Introduction, Puerto Rican Labor Movement", Retrieved October 3, 2013
After Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States in 1898 as a result of the Spanish–American War, women once again played an integral role in Puerto Rican society by contributing to the establishment of the University of Puerto Rico, women's suffrage, women's rights, civil rights, and to the military of the United States.
During the period of industrialization of the 1950s, many women in Puerto Rico found employment in the needle industry, working as seamstresses in garment factories. Many Puerto Rican families also migrated to the United States in the 1950s.
According to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, women who are born to Puerto Rican parents in the United States or elsewhere, are considered to be Puerto Rican citizens. On November 18, 1997, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, through its ruling in Miriam J. Ramirez de Ferrer v. Juan Mari Brás, reaffirmed the standing existence of the Puerto Rican citizenship.Ley Orgánica Foraker del 12 de Abril de 1900 (Spanish). LexJuris 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.Enrique Acosta Pumarejo. "La eficacia y alcance del Certificado de Ciudadanía Puertorriqueña". Microjuris. August 30, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
Currently, women in Puerto Rico and outside of Puerto Rico have become active participants in the political and social landscape in both, their homeland and in the continental United States. Many of them are involved in the fields that were once limited to the male population and have thus, become influential leaders in their fields.
Pre-Columbian era (up to 1493)
Puerto Rico was originally called "Borinquen" by the Taínos, which means: "La tierra del altivo Señor", or "The Land of the Mighty Lord", The Taínos were one of the Arawak peoples of South America and the Caribbean, who inhabited the island before the arrival of the Spaniards.
The Taíno women The Taíno women cooked, tended to the needs of the family, their farms and harvested crops. According to Ivonne Figueroa, editor of the El Boricua cultural magazine, women who were mothers carried their babies on their backs on a padded board that was secured to the baby's forehead. Women did not dedicate themselves solely to cooking and the art of motherhood; many were also talented artists and made pots, grills, and griddles from river clay by rolling the clay into rope and then layering it to form or shape. Taíno women also carved drawings (petroglyphs) into stone or wood. The Taína's were also warriors and could join the men in battle against the Caribs. According to the Spanish conquistadores, the Carib Indians were cannibals who regularly ate roasted human flesh. Archaeological evidence indicates that they limited the consumption of humans to ceremonial occasions. Even though the men were allowed to have more than one wife, most of them didn't. The cacique (tribal chief) was the only person who could afford to sustain multiple wives. It was a great honor for a woman to be married to a cacique. Not only did she enjoy a materially superior lifestyle, but her children were held in high esteem.Francine Jacobs, The Tainos, Putnam Juvenile, According to an observation made by doctor Diego Alvarez Chanca, who accompanied Columbus on his second voyage:
The naguas were a long cotton skirt that the woman made. The native women and girls wore the naguas without a top. They were representative of each woman's status, the longer the skirt, the higher the woman's status. The villages of the Taínos were known as "Yucayeque" and were ruled by a cacique. When a cacique died, the next in line to become a chief was the oldest son of the sister of the deceased cacique. Some Taíno women became notable caciques (tribal chiefs).Ivonne Figueroa, "Taínos" According to Puerto Rican folklore such was the case of Yuisa (Luisa), a cacica in the region near Loíza, which was later named after her."The Last Taino Queen", Retrieved September 19, 2007
Spanish colonial era (1493–1898)
The Spanish Conquistadores were soldiers who arrived on the island without women. This contributed to many of them marrying the native Taína. The peace between the Spaniards and the Taínos was short-lived. The Spaniards took advantage of the Taínos' good faith and enslaved them, forcing them to work in the gold mines and in the construction of forts. Many Taínos died as a result either of the cruel treatment that they had received or of smallpox, which became an epidemic in the island. Other Taínos committed suicide or left the island after the failed Taíno revolt of 1511."Boriucas Illustres", Retrieved July 20, 2007 Some Taino women were raped by the Spaniards while others were taken as common-law wives, resulting in mestizo children.
Women from Spain
Spain encouraged the settlement of Puerto Rico by offering and making certain concessions to families who were willing to settle the new colony. Many farmers moved to the island with their families and together with the help of their wives developed the land's agriculture. High ranking government and military officials also settled the island and made Puerto Rico their home. The women in Puerto Rico were commonly known for their roles as mothers and housekeepers. They contributed to the household income by sewing and selling the clothes that they created. Women's rights were unheard of and their contributions to the island's society were limited.
The island, which depended on an agricultural economy, had an illiteracy rate of over 80% at the beginning of the 19th century. Most women were home educated. The first library in Puerto Rico was established in 1642, in the Convent of San Francisco, access to its books was limited to those who belonged to the religious order.Kamellos, Chronology of Hispanic American History, p. 48 The only women who had access to the libraries and who could afford books were the wives and daughters of Spanish government officials or wealthy land owners. Those who were poor had to resort to oral story-telling in what are traditionally known in Puerto Rico as Coplas and Decimas.Luis M. Díaz Soler, Puerto Rico: desde sus orígenes hasta el cese de la dominación española, Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1994; Original from University of Texas; , retrieved October 3, 2013
Despite these limitations the women of Puerto Rico were proud of their homeland and helped defend it against foreign invaders. According to a popular Puerto Rican legend, when the British troops lay siege to San Juan, Puerto Rico, the night of April 30, 1797, the townswomen, led by a bishop, formed a rogativa (prayer procession) and marched throughout the streets of the city singing hymns, carrying torches, and praying for the deliverance of the city. Outside the walls, particularly from the sea, the British navy mistook this torch-lit religious parade for the arrival of Spanish reinforcements. When morning arrived, the British were gone from the island, and the city was saved from a possible invasion.Lindsay Dean, retrieved October 3, 2013
Women from Africa The Spanish colonists, feared the loss of their Taino labor force due to the protests of Friar Bartolomé de las Casas at the council of Burgos at the Spanish Court. The friar was outraged at the Spanish treatment of the Taíno and was able to secure their rights and freedom."Bartolomé de las Casas" , Oregon State University, Retrieved July 20, 2007 The colonists protested before the Spanish courts. They complained that they needed manpower to work in the mines, the fortifications and the thriving sugar industry. As an alternative, the friar suggested the importation and use of enslaved Africans. In 1517, the Spanish Crown permitted its subjects to import twelve slaves each, thereby beginning the slave trade in their colonies."Bartolomé de las Casas". Oregon State University , Retrieved July 20, 2007
According to historian Luis M. Diaz, the largest contingent of African slaves came from the Gold Coast, Nigeria, and Dahomey, and the region known as the area of Guineas, the Slave Coast. However, the vast majority were Yorubas and Igbos, ethnic groups from Nigeria, and Bantus from the Guineas.
Most African women were forced to work in the fields picking fruits and/or cotton. Those who worked in the master's house did so as maids or nannies. In 1789, the Spanish Crown issued the "Royal Decree of Graces of 1789", also known as "El Código Negro" (The Black code). In accordance to "El Código Negro" the slave could buy his freedom. Those who did became known as "freeman" or "freewoman"."El Codigo Negro" (Spanish) (The Black Code). 1898 Sociedad de Amigos de la Historia de Puerto Rico. Retrieved July 20, 2007 On March 22, 1873, the Spanish National Assembly finally abolished slavery in Puerto Rico. The owners were compensated with 35 million pesetas per slave, and the former slaves were required to work for their former masters for three more years."Abolition of Slavery in Puerto Rico" retrieved August 25, 2013.
The influence of the African culture began to make itself felt on the island. They introduced a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, and the language spoken in the Congo in what is known as "Bozal" Spanish. They also introduced what became the typical dances of Puerto Rico such as the Bomba and the Plena, which are likewise rooted in Africa. African women also contributed to the development of Puerto Rican cuisine that has a strong African influence. The melange of flavors that make up the typical Puerto Rican cuisine counts with the African touch. Pasteles, small bundles of meat stuffed into a dough made of grated green banana (sometimes combined with pumpkin, potatoes, plantains, or yautía) and wrapped in plantain leaves, were devised by African women on the island and based upon food products that originated in Africa.Puerto Rico , Retrieved July 20, 2007
One of the first Afro-Puerto Rican women to gain notability was Celestina Cordero, a "freewoman", who in 1820, founded the first school for girls in San Juan. Despite the fact that she was subject to racial discrimination for being a black free woman, she continued to pursue her goal to teach others regardless of their race and or social standing. After several years of struggling her school was officially recognized by the Spanish government as an educational institution. By the second half of the 19th century the Committee of Ladies of Honor of the Economical Society of Friends of Puerto Rico (Junta de Damas de Honor de la Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País) or the Association of Ladies for the Instruction of Women (Asociacion de Damas para la instruccion de la Mujer) were established.
Women from non-Hispanic Europe