Irish immigration to Puerto Rico

In the 19th century, there was considerable Irish immigration to Puerto Rico, for a number of reasons. Among which were the following: the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s which killed millions of Irishmen and the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 of Spain, which in the mid 1800s was modified to encourage Europeans of non-Hispanic origin to immigrate and populate the last two remaining Spanish possessions in the "New World," Puerto Rico and Cuba. The Irish settlers were instrumental in the development of the island's economy and the Irish element of Puerto Rico is very much in evidence today.

Irish Potato Famine

In Ireland during the 1840s, potato fungus created the Irish Potato Famine which killed over one million Irish people and created nearly two million refugees. These refugees went to Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and, among other places, the Caribbean. One of the islands that many Irish emigrated to in large numbers was Puerto Rico. Being a Spanish colony, the island had a primarily Roman Catholic population, as opposed to the Protestant majorities of most of the colonies of the British Empire and the United States at the time. [Woodham-Smith (1964), 32-33. According to Woodham-Smith, "the unreliability of the potato crop was an accepted fact.]

Royal Decree of Graces of 1815

The famine in Ireland came at a time when concern in Spain was growing about the possibility of rebellion in her Caribbean possessions. In the decades prior, Spain had lost almost the entirety of her territory in South and Central America, and sought measures of preventing a repeat of this in the Caribbean. One of these measures was the revival of the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 under which Spain offered free land to Europeans of non-Spanish origin in exchange of a sworn loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church. Upon swearing their loyalty, they were awarded a "Letter of Domicile" and after five years a "Letter of Naturalization" which made them Spanish subjects. Therefore, an influx of Catholic immigrants (primarily from Ireland, Italy, Corsica, Germany and mainland France) settled the island. [http://www.ensayistas.org/antologia/XIXE/castelar/esclavitud/cedula.htm Real Cédula de 1789 "para el comercio de Negros"] ] The diaspora following the famine was not the first instance of emigration from Ireland; during the gradual English conquest of Ireland from the 12th to 17th centuries, many Irishmen abandoned the country for Catholic Europe. Though some found themselves in the Spanish empire overseas (a handful even rose to administrative positions in Cuba), there was no significant Irish community in the Caribbean outside Montserrat and Barbados until the 19th century.

Unlike their counterparts who settled in the United States and formed their own small communities, the Irish in Puerto Rico soon adopted the language and customs of the island and intermarried with the local Puerto Ricans. One of the first Irish settlers in Puerto Rico was planter Jayme O'Daly and his family. O'Daly was named Director of the Real Fabrica de Tabaco (Royal Tobacco Factory) in Puerto Rico by the Spanish Crown. [ [http://www.google.com/search?q=Irlandes+en+Puerto+Rico&hl=en&start=20&sa=N Irish and Puerto Rico] ]

Irish influence in Puerto Rico's sugar industry

Irish immigrants played in instrumental role in the islands economy. One of the most important industries of the island was the sugar industry. Among the successful businessmen in this industry were Miguel Conway, who owned a plantation in the town of Hatillo and Juan Nagle whose plantation was located in Río Piedras. General Alexander O'Reilly, "Father of the Puerto Rican Militia", named Tomas O'Daly chief engineer of modernizing the defenses of San Juan, this included the fortress of San Cristobal. [http://www.angelfire.com/wi/shamrockclubwisc/Reflections/page102.html Emerald Reflections] , Retrieved November 7, 2007] Tomas O'Daly and Miguel Kirwan were partners in the "Hacienda San Patricio", which they named after the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick. A relative of O'Daly, Demetrio O'Daly, succeeded Admiral Ramon Power y Giralt as the island's delegate to the Spanish Courts. The plantation no longer exists, however the land in which the plantation was located is now a San Patricio suburb with a shopping mall by the same name. The Quinlan family established two plantations, one in the town of Toa Baja and the other in Loiza. [ [http://www.rootsweb.com/~prsanjua/reme.htm Remembering the Past] ] Puerto Ricans of Irish descent were also instrumental in the development of the islands tobacco industry. Among them Miguel Conboy who was a founder of the tobacco trade in Puerto Rico.

Unlike their counterparts who settled in the United States in close knit communities, the immigrants in Puerto Rico intermarried with Puerto Ricans and adopted the language and customs of the island thereby completely integrating themselves into the society of their new homeland. Today, the Irish element of Puerto Rico is very much in evidence. [http://www.angelfire.com/wi/shamrockclubwisc/Reflections/page102.html Emerald Reflections] , Retrieved November 7, 2007]

Common Irish surnames in Puerto Rico

The following are common surnames in Puerto Rico of the first Irish settlers:

Notable Puerto Ricans with Irish surnames

The following is a list of notable Puerto Ricans or people of Puerto Rican descent with Irish surnames.
* Hiram Bithorn - baseball player
* Deborah Carthy-Deu - Miss Universe 1985
* Jose Miguel Class - singer
* Judith Ortiz Cofer - author
* Edna Coll - educator
* Isabel Cuchi Coll - journalist
* Ivonne Coll - actress
* Miguel Conboy - Founder of the Puerto Rican tobacco trade
* Howie Dorough - Backstreet Boys member
* Juan Kennedy - Was the chief slave trader in the Puerto Rico area
* Mike Lowell - MLB player
* Desiree Lowry - Former Miss Puerto Rico (1995)
* Kenneth McClintock - President of the Senate of Puerto Rico.
* Demetrio O'Daly - Served as the island delegate to the Spanish Parliament
* Ana María O'Neill - women's rights activist
* Hector O'Neill Garcia - Mayor of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico since 1993
* María de Mater O'Neill - artist, lithographer, and professor.
* Ada Perkins Flores - Former Miss Puerto Rico (1978)
*Ramon Power y Giralt - admiral/politician
* Sharon Riley - actress/singer
* Elizabeth Robison - Former Miss Puerto Rico (1986)
* James Rockwell - 1st Lieutenant USMC, Graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1933
* Herb Scannell - businessman
* Laurie Tamara Simpson - Former Miss Puerto Rico (1987)

References

ee also

*List of notable Puerto Ricans
*Irish diaspora

External links

* [http://www.irlandeses.org/imsla0711.htm "Irish Migration Studies in Latin America Vol. 5 No. 3, Ireland and the Caribbean, by: Jorge L. Chinea]