History of San Juan, The Capital of Puerto Rico

History of San Juan, The Capital of Puerto Rico The capital of Puerto Rico, San Juan ranks high on the list of most historic cities in the New World, with early explorers establishing a settlement there 15 years after  Columbus’s monumental first voyage. The city has been the scene of many historic events, from naval battles to pirate attacks. Modern San Juan, now a top Caribbean tourism destination, embraces its long and fascinating history. Early Settlement The first settlement on the island of Puerto Rico was Caparra, founded in 1508 by Juan Ponce de Leà ³n, a Spanish explorer and conquistador best remembered for his quixotic quest to find the Fountain of Youth in 16th-century Florida. Caparra was deemed unsuitable for a long-term settlement, however, and the residents soon moved to an island a short distance to the east, to the present site of Old San Juan. Rise to Importance The new city of San Juan Batista de Puerto Rico quickly became famous for its good location and port, and it rose to importance in the colonial administration. Alonso Manso, the first  bishop  to arrive in the Americas, became bishop of Puerto Rico in 1511. San Juan became the first ecclesiastical headquarters for the New World  and served as the first base for the Inquisition as well. By 1530, barely 20 years after its founding, the city supported a university, a hospital, and a library. Piracy San Juan quickly came to the attention of Spain’s rivals in Europe. The first attack on the island took place in 1528, when the French razed several outlying settlements, leaving only San Juan intact. Spanish troops started building San Felipe del Morro, a formidable castle, in 1539.  Sir Francis Drake and his men attacked the island in 1595 but were held off. In 1598, however, George Clifford and his force of English privateers managed to capture the island, remaining for several months before illness and local resistance drove them away. That was the only time El Morro castle was ever captured by an invading force. The 17th and 18th Centuries San Juan declined somewhat after its initial importance, as wealthier cities such as Lima and Mexico City thrived under the colonial administration. It continued to serve as a strategic military location and port, however, and the island produced significant sugarcane and ginger crops. It also became known for breeding fine horses, prized by Spanish conquistadors campaigning on the mainland. Dutch pirates attacked in 1625, capturing the city but not the fort. In 1797, a British fleet of approximately 60 ships attempted to take San Juan but failed in what is known on the island as â€Å"The Battle of San Juan.† The 19th Century Puerto Rico, as a small and relatively conservative Spanish colony, did not participate in the independence movements of the early 19th century. As the armies of Simon Bolà ­var and Jose de San Martà ­n swept across South America liberating new nations, royalist refugees loyal to the Spanish crown flocked to Puerto Rico. Liberalization of some Spanish policies – such as granting freedom of religion in the colony in 1870, encouraged immigration from other parts of the world, and Spain held onto Puerto Rico until 1898. The Spanish-American War The city of San Juan played a minor role in the Spanish-American War, which broke out in early 1898. The Spanish had fortified San Juan but did not anticipate the American tactic of landing troops at the western end of the island. Because many Puerto Ricans did not oppose a change of administration, the island basically surrendered after a few skirmishes. Puerto Rico was ceded to the Americans under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish-American War. Although San Juan had been bombarded for a time by American warships, the city suffered relatively little damage during the conflict. The 20th Century The first few decades under American rule were mixed for the city. Although some industry developed, a series of hurricanes and the Great Depression had a profound effect on the economy of the city and the island in general. The grim economic situation led to a small but determined independence movement and a great deal of emigration from the island. Most emigrants from Puerto Rico in the 1940s and 1950s went to New York City in search of better jobs; its still home to a great many citizens of Puerto Rican descent. The U.S. Army moved out of El Morro Castle in 1961. San Juan Today Today, San Juan takes its place among the Caribbeans top tourism destinations. Old San Juan has been extensively renovated, and sights like the El Morro castle draw large crowds. Americans looking for a Caribbean vacation like to travel to San Juan because they don’t need a passport to go there: it is American soil. In 1983 the old city defenses, including the castle, were declared a World Heritage Site. The old section of the city is home to many museums, reconstructed colonial-era buildings, churches, convents, and more. There are excellent beaches close to the city, and the El Condado neighborhood is home to top-notch resorts. Tourists can reach several areas of interest within a couple of hours from San Juan, including rainforests, a cave complex, and many more beaches. It is the official home port of many major cruise ships as well. San Juan is also one of the most important ports in the Caribbean and has facilities for oil refining, sugar processing, brewing, pharmaceuticals, and more. Naturally, Puerto Rico is well-known for its rum, much of which is produced in San Juan.

The Role of Guest Workers in the American Economy

The Role of Guest Workers in the American Economy The United States has more than a half-century’s experience with dealing with guest-worker programs. The first dates back to the World War II-era Bracero Program that allowed Mexican laborers to come to the U.S. to work on the nation’s farms and railroads.   Simply put, a guest-worker program allows a foreign worker to enter the country for a specified period of time to fill a specific job. Industries with surges in labor needs, such as agriculture and tourism, often hire guest workers to fill seasonal positions. The Basics   A guest worker must return to his homeland after  the term of his temporary commitment has expired.  Technically, thousands of  U.S. non-immigrant visa holders  are guest workers. The government gave out  55,384 H-2A visas  to temporary agriculture workers in 2011, which helped U.S. farmers deal with seasonal demands that year. Another 129,000 H-1B visas went out to workers in â€Å"specialty occupations† such as engineering, math, architecture, medicine and health. The government also gives out a maximum 66,000 H2B visas to foreign workers in seasonal, non-agricultural jobs. The Bracero Program Controversy   Perhaps the most controversial U.S. guest-worker initiative was the Bracero Program that ran from 1942 through 1964. Drawing its name from the Spanish word for â€Å"strong arm,† the Bracero Program brought millions of Mexican workers into the country to compensate for labor shortages in the U.S. during World War II. The program was poorly run and poorly regulated. Workers were often exploited and forced to endure shameful conditions. Many simply abandoned the program, migrating to the cities to become part of the first wave of post-war illegal immigration. The abuses of Braceros provided inspiration for a number of folk artists and protest singers during the period, including Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs. Mexican-American labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez started his historic movement for reform  in response to the abuses suffered by the Braceros. Guest-Worker Plans in Comprehensive Reform Bills Critics of guest-worker programs argue that it’s virtually impossible to run them without widespread worker abuses. They contend that the programs are inherently given to exploitation and to  creating an under-class of servile workers, tantamount to legalized slavery. In general, guest-worker programs arent meant for  highly skilled workers or for  those with advanced college degrees. But despite past problems, the expanded use of guest workers was  a key aspect of the  comprehensive immigration reform legislation  that Congress considered for much of the last decade. The idea was to give U.S. businesses a steady, reliable stream of temporary labor in exchange for tighter border controls to keep illegal immigrants out. The Republican National  Committee’s 2012 platform called for creating guest-worker programs to satisfy the needs of U.S. businesses. President George W. Bush made the same proposal in 2004. Democrats have been reluctant to  endorse the programs because of the past abuses, but their resistance waned when faced with President Barack  Obama’s strong desire to get a comprehensive reform bill passed in his second term. President Donald Trump has said that he wants to limit foreign workers.   The National Guestworker Alliance   The National Guestworker Alliance (NGA) is a New Orleans-based membership group for guest  workers. Its goal is to organize workers across the country  and to prevent exploitation. According the  NGA,  the group seeks to â€Å"partner with local workers  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  employed and unemployed  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  to strengthen U.S. social movements for racial and economic justice.†