Today in History

History & Celebrations Today – October 18

Celebrations Today – October 18

Holidays and observances

Celebrations Today – USA: October 18

National Chocolate Cupcake Day
National No Beard Day
BRA Day USA – Third Wednesday in October
Hagfish Day – Third Wednesday in October
Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce – Third Wednesday in October
Medical Assistants Recognition Day – On Wednesday of Third Full Week in October
World Menopause Day

Today in US History: October 18

Puerto Rico

On October 18, 1898, American troops fighting in the Spanish-American War raised the United States flag in Puerto Rico formalizing U.S. control of the former Spanish colony. General Nelson A. Miles had landed approximately 3,500 U.S. troops on the island on July 25. On August 12, Spain and the United States agreed to an armistice; on September 13, the Protocol of Peace was ratified; and on December 10, the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Spanish-American War.


General View of Harbor at San Juan, Porto Rico Looking South,
United States Army Corps of Engineers,
San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1927.
Map Collections

Spanish exploration of the island, located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, began in 1493 when Christopher Columbus visited during his second journey to the New World. In 1508, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León established the first permanent Spanish settlement there at the town of Caparra.


Goff’s Historical Map of the Spanish-American War in the West Indies
Eugenia A. Wheeler Goff, author, 1899.
Parallel Histories: Spain, the United States, and the American Frontier
Map Collections

Puerto Rico was subjected to frequent raids by the Carib Indians and, later, by French, British, and Dutch pirates. The Spanish built a number of forts for protection from these raiders. They included La Fortaleza (begun in 1533), Fort San Felipe del Morro (1539), Fort San Cristóbal (1634), and Fort San Juan de la Cruz (1606). La Fortaleza, also known as the “Palacio de Santa Catalina,” was and continues to be the residence of Puerto Rico’s governors.

In the nineteenth century, improved colonial administration fostered a successful plantation economy based on the production of sugar, tobacco, and especially coffee. Slavery was gradually abolished peacefully between 1866 and 1873.

In the early 1880s, Puerto Ricans (at the time under Spanish rule) began to work for independent government. They reached their goal in 1897; however, a year later, control of the island fell into the hands of the United States. Under the provisions of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded the island to the United States.

In 1917, Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory and its people became U.S. citizens. Migration from rural areas to metropolitan regions increased during the twentieth century as industry supplanted agriculture in the island economy. Starting in the 1920s, Puerto Ricans began leaving the island to seek employment in cities like New York where they formed communities called barrios.


A Town in Puerto Rico,
Jack Delano, photographer,
December 1941.
America From the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA and OWI, ca. 1935-1945

Popularly elected governors have served in Puerto Rico since 1948. In 1952, a constitution was enacted providing for internal self-government. Since then, Puerto Rico has been an incorporated, organized territory of the United States with commonwealth status.

The Library has many resources on Puerto Rico.

Today in History – October 18-External Links

Today’s Weather in History
Today in Earthquake History
This Day in Naval History
Today’s Document from the National Archives
Today’s Events, Births & Deaths –Wikipedia
Today in History by AP
On this Day -1950 to 2005 – Today’s Story–BBC
On This Day: The New York Times
This Day in History –History.com
Today in Canadian History – Canada Channel
History of Britain that took place On This Day
Russia in History –Russiapedia

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