As the 19th century drew to a close, the Spanish colony of Puerto Rico was poised to reject the exploitative system it had existed under for more than three centuries. Sentiment in favor of independence as well as an incipient labor movement had begun to take shape. The unfortunate intersection of war and natural disaster would quickly quash both, reshaping the islands economy and defining its relationship with its new owner: the United States.Historical Background: US InvasionKurz & Allison. Spanish-American Treaty of Peace, December 10, 1898. Source: Library of CongressAs deadly Hurricane San Ciriaco approached Puerto Rico, the island and its people were already facing a precarious situation. Just one year earlier, amidst a growing movement for independence from Spanish rule, the United States had invaded and occupied Puerto Rico during the Spanish American War. Though the outcome of the war was essentially already determined, the US saw the island as key to its economic and military interests in the region and chose to establish a foothold on Puerto Rico before engaging in peace negotiations. When the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898, the US formally took possession of Puerto Rico.As a result, when the storm arrived, Puerto Rico was under the control not of the Spanish government nor its own independent government, but a US military regime led by Brigadier General George W. Davis, who was still in the process of assessing the resources and challenges that USs newest possession brought with it.Hurricane: 24 Hours of DevastationPonce after Hurricane San Ciriaco, 1899. Harpers Weekly. Source: Coleccin Digital Escuela de ArquitecturaOn August 8, 1899, Hurricane San Ciriaco, 60 miles in diameter, hit Puerto Rico. The storms eye took six hours to cross the island from southeast to northwest and dumped up to 23 inches of rain on parts of the island in 24 hours. Intense flooding and high winds devastated the countryside and destroyed the coffee crop just a month before harvest time, as well as sugar plantations and subsistence crops relied on by rural laborers.The damage from the storm was calculated to be USD $20,000,000 at the time$770,000,000 in todays moneyand the human toll was devastating. More than 3,000 lives were initially lost, and an estimated 250,000 people had no food or shelter in the storms immediate aftermath, nearly a quarter of the islands population. With flooded lands came water-borne illnesses and an environment perfect for breeding mosquitoes, worsening already poor health on the island. Documented illnesses in the storms aftermath included malaria, uncinariasis-caused anemia, smallpox, dysentery, and typhoid fever. The number of people who starved to death or succumbed to illness in the following months is unknown, but the overall mortality rate for the year increased by 10 per 1,000 residents, far more than the acknowledged death toll.Aftermath: Jbaros vs. PlantersCoffee plantation in Mayagez. Report of the Census of Porto Rico, 1899. Source: GeoislaPuerto Rico had a large population of jbaros, often itinerant farm workers who labored on sugar and coffee plantations. Already living dangerously close to poverty, earning pittance wages that could usually only be spent in the plantation store, the storm left them with nothing. Subsistence crops they might grow to feed themselves as well as the islands natural fruit-bearing vegetation were destroyed, the hastily constructed homes they occupied were flattened, the materials needed to rebuild had been swept away by floods, and work opportunities were almost nil.The planter class, though their export crops had vanished, had begun from a much sturdier position and usually fared betterin general they still had homes to live in, food to eat and some savings to use for recovery. As the countrys economy relied on their landholdings and exports, they were also in a better bargaining position with the new government, and most were granted tax relief, and could solicit private investment as well.The new US leadership saw in the disaster an opportunity to demonstrate American largesse. Eager to reassure Puerto Ricans that US rule was an improvement over that of Spain, the military government quickly appealed to the mainland for aid, from both the government and the American people. A New York relief committee, chaired by Governor Theodore Roosevelt, was selected to be the nations central collection agency for the disaster. He announced, I appeal to all patriotic citizens to show to the suffering people of our new possessions that the extension of our flag over their territory is to be of immediate material as well as moral benefit to them. Daviss government worked quickly to devise plans for assessing damage, distributing food, and rebuilding, and ultimately claimed that US aid had saved over 100,000 people and distributed 32 million pounds of food.Ruins of sugar mill destroyed by hurricane of August 8, 1899. Aasco. Report of the Census of Porto Rico, 1899. Source: GeoislaSuch benevolence, however, did not come without stringsand racism. Puerto Ricos laboring class was largely made up of former Black slaves, mestizos (European-Indigenous), mulattos (European-Black) and others of mixed racial background that both the US and the wealthy white planter class viewed with suspicion, if not disdain. Davis himself considered the islands population a horde of human beings called civilized but who are only a few steps removed from a primitive state of nature. Officials believed that distributing food and aid to them for free would simply encourage their natural laziness.The official presiding over the charity board, Major John Van Hoff, insisted, Food is intended for the worthy poor, and no able-bodied man shall receive any unless he gives a full days work in return. The government, however, could provide few work opportunities and did not have sufficient resources or knowledge of the island to effectively distribute aid. As a result, most aid distribution was ultimately handed over to the planters, who were instructed to provide it in addition to wages to those willing to workfurther cementing the wealthy planters control over the islands laboring class, which had already faced decades of exploitation under Spanish rule.Migration: Puerto Ricans in HawaiiLaborers clearing a sugarcane field in Puerto Rico. Report of the Census of Porto Rico, 1899. Source: GeoislaEven those willing to work for pittance wages and food aid faced challengesthere wasnt enough work to go around. The coffee industry had already been in decline and the 1899 crop had been destroyed. It would take five years for newly sown plants to produce a harvest. Sugar actually fared better after the hurricane, with the floods improving the soil for sugarcane production, and would go on to expand in the 20th century. But in the year of the hurricane only about a third of the normal harvest was produced. The primary work available in the storms immediate aftermath was rebuilding roads and bridges.Coincidentally, the US had acquired another new island territory in 1898: Hawaii. Japanese migrant labor had long been employed in the lands sugar plantations but had recently been organizing to demand better wages and improved conditions. Planters were eager to find a new source of labor and Puerto Ricos unemployed jbaros seemed like the perfect choice: they were experienced with farm labor, used to a similar climate and, perhaps most importantly, desperate for work after the hurricane. The fact that both islands were now US territories would ease immigration arrangements. The plantations began sending representatives to Puerto Rico to recruit laborers.Puerto Ricans working on a sugar plantation in Hawaii. Source: Images of Old HawaiiLured by promises of good wages, medical care and free housing, the first group of Puerto Ricans arrived in Hawaii in December 1900, having traveled first by boat to New Orleans, then across the country by train, and then by boat again to the islands. Though ostensibly voluntary immigrants, reports of Puerto Ricans monitored by armed guards on trains and forced onto boats once in California suggest that though their initial decision to travel was their own, they were not allowed to change their minds once en route. Evidence exists of written agreements provided to laborers, suggesting they were contractually obligated to work once they signed on, but given that the estimated literacy rate on the island was 16%, it would be hard to argue they fully understood what they agreed to.In Hawaii, Puerto Ricans were distributed among sugar plantations with varying conditions, but one thing in common: no one spoke Spanish. The new laborers were unable to effectively communicate with overseers, nor their fellow laborers, resulting in predictable struggles to adapt to their new way of life.By October 1901, the decision was made to discontinue Puerto Rican immigration to Hawaii. The final group arrived in Hawaii on October 19; an estimated 5,800 Puerto Ricans had immigrated over the previous two years.Legacy: Citizenship, Sugar, and FrogsCharles Herbert Allen, 1902 first governor of Puerto Rico appointed by President McKinley. Source: Library of CongressAt the time of the disaster, the US had just taken ownership of the island and how it would be administered moving forward was yet to be determined. Hurricane San Ciriaco prompted almost immediate dependence on the US, an unbalanced relationship that may or may not have developed had the storm spared the island. Shortly after the hurricane, in April 1900, the US passed the Foraker Act, establishing a civilian government in Puerto Rico, but one with limited autonomy and controlled by the US. The islands governor and executive council were all appointed by the President, William McKinley, and all US federal laws came into effect. Puerto Rico has been governed as an unincorporated territory since 1900.Coffee, already struggling because of reduced demand and increased competition, continued to decline. In 1899, it accounted for 54% of the countrys exports; within a decade, it had fallen to just 10%. Sugar, on the other hand, flourished. Though the storm had destroyed a large portion of the crop and some older plantations, the new crop was much faster to produce than coffee, and the outdated mills and plantations that had been toppled were replaced by more advanced technology and spurred increased private US investment. Within that same decade that coffee declined, sugar came to account for 64% of exports. Sugar production reached its peak in 1952 but has since all but disappeared.The coqui, a tiny Puerto Rican frog that has become an invasive species in Hawaii. Source: Discover Puerto RicoIn Hawaii, though recruitment of Puerto Rican laborers had ended, those already there largely remained and continued to labor on sugar plantations. When Puerto Ricans were awarded US citizenship in 1917, more opportunities beyond plantation work opened to them, though they continued to face discrimination and fought numerous legal battles against the sugar plantation owners who sought to retain their cheap labor. Today, nearly 50,000 people of Puerto Rican descent call Hawaii home, as does the coqui, a small but very loud Puerto Rican frog that stowed away on ships bringing immigrant laborers.