365 Days of Latino Heritage

manifestfreedom:

fuckyeahlatinamericanhistory:

Grito de Lares Revolutionary Flag

The Grito de Lares, the first major independence revolt in Puerto Rico, took place on September 23, 1868.

In 1514 the newly arrived African slaves in PR revolted. creating the first uprising of Africans in the Americas. in Puerto Rico. Historians have always maintained that the first uprising of Blacks took place in Hispaniola in 1522. pero, why has history ignored the revolts of 1514 in the island of Puerto Rico? According to Jalil Sued Badillo, in his book Puerto Rico Negro, the reasons were many. One of the main reasons was that the population of African slaves in Puerto Rico was still small in numbers and wasn’t considered a threat to the colony. Besides, at the time of the uprising the Spaniards had their hands full fighting (ie, trying to commit genocide on) the Tainos who had begun to revolt in 1511. with that said, i’m going with the first major independence revolt was that of black and brown folks who wanted their freedom about 300 years earlier. we’re still fighting for it.

(via theycallmezorawalker)