| Year |
Event |
| 1493 |
Columbus reaches the
island, calls it San Juan Bautista
|
1508
|
Juan Ponce de León forms
the first permanent colony
|
1511
|
Taínos rebelled against
Spanish rule, but are forced to surrender or flee
Diego Columbus given control of the island
|
1528
|
French troops attacked the
island
|
1529
|
Authorities on the island
requested further defenses
|
1530
|
Casa Blanca replaced by a
stone building
Authorities on the island requested further defenses
|
1532
|
La Fortaleza in Santa
Catalina began construction
|
1536
|
The Columbus family
relinquished its political rights to the island
|
| 1540 |
La Fortaleza finished
construction
Villa de San Germán fort under construction
El Morro in San Juan under construction
|
| 1542 |
Villa de San Germán fort
completed construction
|
| 1545 |
System of
Alcaldes-Gobernadores abolished
Gobernador letrado leads colony
|
| 1564 |
Gobernado letrado becomes
military captain-general
|
| 1585 |
Spain and England engage in
war
|
| 1586 |
British Sir Francis Drake
destroy many Spanish settlements in the region
|
| 1588 |
Spanish Armada defeated by
England
|
| 1589 |
El Morro fortress
construction completed
|
| 1595 |
Queen Elizabeth sends Drake
and John Hawkins to take Puerto Rico
|
1598
|
King forbids growth of
ginger
|
| 1602 |
Epidemic strikes Puerto
Rico
King forbids growth of ginger
|
| 1603 |
Queen Elizabeth dies
James I ascends the British throne and makes peace with Spain
|
| 1608 |
Epidemic strikes Puerto
Rico
|
| 1609 |
Epidemic strikes Puerto
Rico
|
| 1625 |
Dutch attack Puerto
Rico
|
| 1632 |
Idea of walling San Juan
city was reignited
|
| 1634 |
Ground was broken on the
construction of a city wall
|
| 1638 |
Wall was finished
|
| 1688 |
San Germán gained its
own parish church
|
| 1701 |
War of the Spanish
Succession begins
|
| 1736 |
Coffee introduced to
Puerto Rico from Hispaniola
|
| 1739 |
War of Jenkins' Ear
begins
|
| 1755 |
Spain's crown
created the Compañia de Barcelona
|
| 1765 |
Alejandro O'Reilly
reports on Puerto Rico for the crown
|
| 1778 |
Foreign immigration
allowed by royal decree
|
| 1785 |
Real Factoría
develops as a royal monopoly on trade with the Netherlands
|
| 1796 |
Spain joins the war
against England (American Revolutionary War)
|
| 1797 |
British attempt to
take San Juan
|
| 1808 |
Peninsular War begins
between France (Napoleon) and Spain
|
| 1810 |
South American Spanish
colonies revolt under Simón Bolívar
|
| 1812 |
War of 1812 disrupts trade
with the U.S.
|
| 1815 |
King Ferdinand VII in Spain
restored; introduces Real Cédula de Gracias
|
| 1820 |
Slave trade banned
nominally
|
| 1825 |
Governor of Puerto Rico
given nearly unlimited powers on the island
|
| 1845 |
Slave trade banned by
Britain and pressure put on Spain to enforce ban
|
| 1849 |
Enforced labor on Puerto
Rico
|
| 1868 |
Grito de Lares (Lares
Revolt)
|
| 1873 |
Enforced labor stopped for
Puerto Rico
|
| 1898 |
Autonomy given to Puerto
Rico by Spain
Spanish-American War breaks out
U.S. gains Puerto Rico in War
|
| 1900 |
Foraker Act passes
|
| 1917 |
Jones Act passes
|
| 1947 |
Industrial Incentive Act
passes
|
| 1948 |
Puerto Rico's first
election for governor, Luis Muñoz Marín wins
|
| 1950 |
Public Law 600 enacted,
allows Puerto Rico to write its own Constitution
|
| 1952 |
Puerto Rico becomes a
Commonwealth
|
| 1964 |
Luis Muñoz Marín does
not run for re-election as Governor
|
| 1967 |
Puerto Rico votes to
remain a Commonwealth
|
| 1976 |
Puerto Rico taxes under
Section 936
|
| 1993 |
Puerto Rico votes to
remain a Commonwealth
|
| 1996 |
Puerto Rico no longer
taxed under Section 936
|
| 1998 |
Puerto Rico votes to
remain a Commonwealth
|
| 2006 |
Puerto Rico closes
government offices due to financing issues
|
