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Royal Decree of Graces of 1815
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 is a legal order approved by the Spanish Crown in the early half of the 19th Century to encourage Spaniards and later Europeans of non-Spanish origin to settle and populate the colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico.
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On August 10, 1815, King Ferdinand VII of Spain approved the Spanish Royal Decree of Graces (Cédula Real de Gracias), which granted Cuba and Puerto Rico the right to have commercial ties with countries who were in good standing with Spain and free land and special privileges to any Spaniard that would be willing to relocate and settle in those territories. Puerto Rico had basically remained economically undeveloped until 1830, when the immigrants from the Spanish provinces of Catalonia, Mallorca and the Canary Islands began to arrive and gradually develop the sugarcane, coffee, and tobacco plantations.
Spain had previously approved other decrees, such as the Decree of Graces of September 8, 1777 in regard to Venezuela and the Decree of Graces of 1789, which granted its subjects the right to purchase slaves and to participate in the flourishing business of slave trading in the Caribbean.
In the beginning of the 19th Century, the Spanish colonies in the New World fought against Spanish rule under the leaderships of Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín. By 1859, the Spanish Empire had lost all of its territories in the Americas with the exception of Cuba and Puerto Rico. These two possessions however, were demanding more autonomy and had pro-independence movements. Realizing that it was in danger of losing its two remaining territories, the Spanish Crown revived the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815. This time the decree was printed in three languages Spanish, English and French with the intention of attracting Europeans of non-Spanish origin, believing that the independence movements would lose their popularity and strength with the arrival of new settlers. Free land was offered to those who wanted to populate the islands with the condition that they swear their loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church.
Many economic and political changes occurred in Europe during the latter part of the 18th Century and the beginning of the 19th Century. Hundreds of farm workers abandoned their work in agriculture and moved to the larger cities with the advent of the Second Industrial Revolution in search of better paying jobs. Those who stayed behind and attended the farmlands suffered the consequences of the widespread crop failure brought upon as a result of long periods of drought and diseases such as the choleria epidemic and the potato fungus which caused the Irish Potato Famine of 1840. Starvation was widespread in Europe.
Europe was also experiencing a series of revolutionary movements known as the European Revolutions of 1848, which erupted in Sicily and then were further triggered by the French Revolution of 1848 which finally lead to the Franco-Prussian war of 1870.
These conditions lead to a massive European immigration to the Americas. Hundreds of Corsicans, Italians, French, Irish and Germans, attracted by the offers of free land by the Spanish Crown, moved to the colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico and accepted the conditions stated. As soon as these settlers swore their loyalty to the Spanish Crown and their allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church, they were given a "Letter of Domicile". After five years, the settlers were granted a "Letter of Naturalization" that made them Spanish subjects. In an effort to attract non-Catholic Europeans, the Spanish Courts passed a law in 1870, granting the right of religious freedom to all those who wished to worship another religion other than the Catholic. The decree also encouraged slave labor to revive agriculture. The new agricultural class now immigrating from other countries of Europe sought slave labor in large numbers and cruelty became the order of the day.
The settlers who took advantage of the opportunities presented by the Royal Decree soon adopted the language and customs of their new homelands and intermarried with the local members of the community. Many became prominent business and political leaders.
The Royal Decree was in effect until 1898 when Spain finally lost her last two possessions in the New World to the United States as an outcome of the Spanish-American War.
The original Spanish Royal decree of Graces of 1815 is currently kept in the General Archives of Puerto Rico in the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
