Part I of this book traces the development of Puerto Rico’s quasidominion status within the Spanish colonial system under the leadership of Luis Muñoz Rivera and others. After its attainment on the very eve of the Yankee invasion of 1898, Part II describes Puerto Rican resentment at the illiberal policies of the United States military governments and of the civilian regime established by the Foraker Act in 1900. This section includes an excellent chapter on the church-state problems and on conflicts in education that grew out of cultural differences. A final chapter on “Trends” does little more than list problems which would soon confront the government and people. One of these is the problem of over-population, of which Father Berbusse asserts that it “must find its escape valve in migration” (p. 228). This simplistic view ignores both birth control and the demographic results of Puerto Rico’s recent economic renaissance.
Father Berbusse writes about United States and Puerto Rican personalities and policies of the period with fairness and generally with scholarly restraint. Indeed, he perhaps writes with too little indignation at Yankee insistence upon withdrawing political and economic democracy which Spain had granted and even upon anglicizing the island’s name to Porto Rico. While the author disclaims any intention to exhaust his subject, one may well regret that he has omitted an account of the military operations in Puerto Rico, a subject not covered adequately in other sources, especially those in English. Perhaps in some future study he will discuss for us not only the limited fighting which took place, but also Washington’s motivations, intelligence operations, the planning and launching of Miles’ amphibious expedition, and such public works as the Army’s rebuilding of the island’s telegraph system. This would add significantly to the record and would throw additional light upon the interrelationships of the period.
This book would benefit from inclusion of additional colorful items such as the testimonial of an American sergeant that life to Puerto Ricans was “a rose, a cigarette, a song, a laugh, a kiss, and a tomorrow” (p. 65). This reader, at least, would like more biographical leavening. The mention of even so small a matter as that Thomas E. Sherman, S. J., who served well in Puerto Rico, was W. T. Sherman’s son would add an interesting sidelight. Despite the few criticisms that can be made, Father Berbusse’s account is sound, well documented, and useful. It is clearly written with a warm regard for Puerto Rico and its history. It helps to clarify our Puerto Rican policies as the United States entered upon her course of overseas empire at the century’s turn. It also helps put into perspective the plebiscite regarding political status which was held in Puerto Rico during the summer of 1967.
