Captaincy General of Puerto Rico
Spanish administrative district created in 1582 for military management.
The Captaincy General of Puerto Rico was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire, created in 1582 to improve military management of the main island. Its establishment was part of a late 16th-century Habsburg effort to counter European incursions into the Caribbean. The institution lasted until 1898, when an autonomous provincial government was instituted months before Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States.
Quick Facts
- Common name
- Puerto Rico
- Era
- Early modern Europe
- Empire
- Spanish Empire
- Government
- Monarchy (1582–1872, 1875–1898), Federal semi-presidential republic (1873–1874)
- Established
- 1582
- Dissolved
- 1898
- Event start
- Creation
- Event end
- Withdrawal of Spanish forces
Facts from the source article.
History
In 1508 Juan Ponce de León was commissioned by the Crown to colonize Puerto Rico. After founding Caparra, he was appointed its first governor in 1509 by Ferdinand V, regent of Castile. He returned as governor from 1515 to 1519. The Columbus family appointed governors until 1536, when Luis Colón sold the rights to govern the Indies to the Crown. In 1511, when Diego Colón won the right to appoint governors, the first diocese was established under the Archdiocese of Seville; it was later transferred in 1546 to the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo. From 1536 to 1545, the island was overseen by the president of the Audiencia of Santo Domingo, who was also Captain General of the Caribbean. Local administration was handled by annually elected alcaldes ordinarios of San Juan and San Germán, but the system proved ineffective, and Spanish residents complained to the Crown.
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