Puerto
Rico: sociedad y cultura antes de la invasión
de las tropas estadounidenses: 1898
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Desarrollo Económico - Economic Development Banca A finales del siglo XIX el gobierno español decide establecer un sistema monetario similar al de España, propio para Puerto Rico. En 1895 mediante decreto real se le otorga a Puerto Rico el privilegio de moneda propia exclusivo de provincia autónoma. El peso provincial de Puerto Rico es emitido entre el 1895 y 1896. Para aquella época tenía 5 denominaciones: el peso de 5 pesetas y peseta de 20 centavos en 1895 y las monedas de 40, 10 y 5 centavos en 1896. Con el cambio de soberanía, se devaluó el peso provincial perdiendo el 40 % de su valor, hecho que afectó sobre todo a la clase media y obrera. Para 1901 estas monedas ya habían sido sustituidas por la americanas. |
Banco Español de Puerto Rico
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En Puerto Rico se utilizaron los sellos de correo por primera vez en 1857 y éstos tenían la efigie de la Reina Isabel II. El valor de los mismos era de medio real y dos reales.
Teléfono España fue uno de los primeros países en introducir el servicio telefónico. En Puerto Rico el gobierno implementó el servicio otorgandole licencias de franquicias a empresarios. Las primeras líneas de telégrafo fueron registradas y autorizadas formalmente por el gobierno español el 1 de marzo de 1859. Telegraph and Telephone Network The first telegraph lines were formally registered and authorized by the Spanish colonial government on 1 March 1859. On that day Morse transmitted the prophetic lines "Puerto Rico, beautiful jewel! When you are linked with the other jewels of the Antilles in the necklace of the world's telegraph, yours will not shine less brilliantly in the crown of your Queen!" The island's colonial ruler, Spain, was one of the first countries to introduce telephone service. In Puerto Rico, the government sought to implement service by commissioning franchise licenses to local businessmen, in much the same way as in Spain. Thus, in 1880 Alfonse XII signed guidelines and policies for establishment of concessions. These included: each telephone network would consisted of a central station with no individual line exceeding a distance of 10 kilometers; each installation would be completed within 30 days; network operations could not start until formal recognition by a regulatory body, Cuerpo de Telégrafo, composed of appointees of the Spanish Crown in Puerto Rico; the board would determine rates; and franchise owner would be responsible for the repair and maintenance of all lines and equipment. The franchises were for specific geographical areas that, in rural areas, were coterminous with haciendas. In 1882 Preston C Nelson, a US national approached Governor Miguel de la Vega Inclán with a plan to build an interconnected network covering the island's three largest municipalities --San Juan, Mayagüez and Ponce. Nelson represented the West Indies Telephone and Telegraph Company, based in New Jersey and controlled by the Continental Telephone Company of Massachusetts. Nelson was so confident of the viability of the network that he proposed to have his company assume all of the construction and equipment costs. In return, the Spanish colonial government was asked to grant exclusive rights. A major debate among members of the colonial government ensued. San Juan's newspaper, El Buscapié (The Firecracker), took a favorable view of the proposal, but several of the governor's advisors pointed out dangers in accepting the offer. Key among their objections were that the system would be completely under foreign control and would not be subject to any local laws or regulations as none had been enacted. The advisors also wanted assurances of ultimate control to maintain military security. In 1883 Vega nonetheless agreed to permit Nelson to develop a pilot network connecting San Juan with the La Marina sector of the capital. However, 3 months into the project, before any major work had begun, the government canceled the trial. In 1884, the same year Alfonse XII by royal decree ordered establishment of a telephone network under a government monopoly in Spain, the colonial governor in Puerto Rico ordered a phone network for use by the government, its dependencies, and the military. By 1885 a network of 13 local stations and a central station at La Fortaleza in San Juan formed one of the most advanced telecommunications infrastructures in the Spanish empire. In 1890 the colonial government gave concessions to various entrepreneurs to set up local monopoly telephone service, as had been done in Spain in 1886. These were given to Rafael Fabián y Fabián for San Juan in the northeast, Pedro Juan Rosaly for Ponce in the south, and Alfredo L Casals in Mayagüez on the west coast. By 1897 lines connected San Juan, Ponce and Mayagüez. The principal users were commercial and government entities. The island's commerce and trade expanded significantly as the advent of telecommunications services permitted easier transactions between the agricultural centers of Ponce and Mayagüez and with the civilian and military government apparatus centered in San Juan. |
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La localización estratégica de Puerto Rico, permitió que la isla se convirtiera en el centro del comercio, la exporatación de azúcar, café y otros productos agrícolas mientras que se importaban productos de España y Europa. A principios del siglo XVI comenzó a establecerse en Puerto Rico una economía azucarera.
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 Puerto de Ponce |
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En 1813 se funda la lotería en Puerto Rico. |
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 Conflictos
Economicos por Francisco Mariano Quiñones |
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Para
explorar los diversos renglones de la sociedad Puertorriqueña del
1898 favor de pulsar To explore different components of the Puerto Rican society in 1898 please click on the following links. |
Servicio
de Correos
