Puerto Rico Emigration and Immigration

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1807-1880 - Extranjeros (Foreigners in Puerto Rico), ca 1807-1880 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1815-1845 - at FamilySearch — images
 * 1816-1837 - Emigrados, 1816-1837 FamilySearch — images
 * 1901-1962 - Puerto Rico, Passenger and Crew Lists 1901-1962 at Ancestry — index and images $

Naturalization and Citizenship Records

 * 1795-1889 - Pasaportes (Passports), 1795-1889, at FamilySearch — images
 * 1815-1845 -, at FamilySearch — images; ''Also at Ancestry.com($) — images
 * 1897-1985 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1899-1900 - Declaraciones de naturalización (Naturalization Records), 1899-1900,at FamilySearch — images
 * 1900-1981 - Puerto Rico, naturalization records, 1900-1981, at FamilySearch — images

Migration Patterns
Puerto Ricans are by law citizens of the United States and may move freely between the island and the mainland. Puerto Ricans "were collectively made U.S. citizens" in 1917 as a result of the Jones-Shafroth Act. Therefore, a Puerto Rican person moving to the United States will not have a naturalization record because they are already citizens.

Emigration is a major part of contemporary Puerto Rican history. Starting soon after World War II, poverty, cheap airfares, and promotion by the island government caused waves of Puerto Ricans to move to the United States, particularly to the Northeastern states, and Florida. This trend continued even as Puerto Rico's economy improved and its birth rate declined. Puerto Ricans continue to follow a pattern of "circular migration", with some migrants returning to the island. Source: Wikipedia

French Immigration

 * Today, the great number of Puerto Ricans of French ancestry are evident in the 19% of family surnames on the island that are of French origin. These are easily traceable to mainland France, French Louisiana émigrés, and other French colonies in the Caribbean.
 * Upon the outbreak of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), between Great Britain and its American Colonies against France, many of the French settlers fearing the English-speaking intruders who were invading Louisiana fled to the Caribbean islands of Cuba, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and Puerto Rico.These islands welcomed and protected the French from their English and Protestant enemy.
 * When the British attempted to invade Puerto Rico in 1797, many of the French immigrants offered their services to the Spanish colonial government in Puerto Rico in defense of the Island that had taken them in when they fled from the Louisiana "Territory" of the United States.
 * The British attempted to land in San Juan harbor with a force of 400 French prisoners, who were forced to fight (against their will) the other French troops defending Puerto Rico. French Consul M. Paris, sent a letter addressed to the French soldiers being forced to fight for England, promising them a safe haven in San Juan. The French prisoners agreed to accept the offer and become settlers on the Island. The English retreated from the Island without their 400 French prisoners. The newly arrived 400 Frenchmen all stayed and thrived in Puerto Rico. They soon sent for their families who were living in France.
 * In 1796, the Spanish Crown ceded the western half of the island of Hispaniola to the French. The French named their part Saint-Domingue (which was later renamed Haiti). The French settlers dedicated themselves to the cultivation of the sugar cane and owned plantations, which required a huge amount of manpower. They enslaved and imported people from Africa to work in the fields. In 1791, the enslaved African people rebelled against the French in what is known as the Haitian Revolution. The French fled to Santo Domingo and made their way to Puerto Rico. Once there, they settled in the western region of the island in towns such as Mayagüez. With their expertise, they helped develop the island's sugar industry, converting Puerto Rico into a world leader in the exportation of sugar.
 * In 1815, the Spanish Crown had issued a Royal Decree with the intention of encouraging more trade between Puerto Rico and other countries who were friendly towards Spain. The decree also free land to any Spaniard (and eventually French) who would be willing to settle on the island. Thousands of French and Corsican families (the Corsicans were French citizens of Italian descent) settled in Puerto Rico. The Corsicans (who had Italian surnames) settled the mountainous region in and around the towns of Adjuntas, Lares, Utuado, Guayanilla, Ponce and Yauco, where they became successful coffee plantation owners. The French who immigrated with them from mainland France also settled in various places in the island, mostly in the unsettled interior regions of the Island, which up to that point were virtually uninhabited.