"Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Short Account of the Destruction  of the Indies"

"Translated by Nigel Griffin with an Introduction by Anthony Pagden"

"Bartolome de Las Casas was the first and fiercest critic of Spanish colonialism in the New World."

"In 1542, after years of witnessing Indian suffering and slavery - and the failure of his own attempts to create a humane settlement - Las Casas wrote "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies". "Las Casas" "Short Account" was dedicated to Prince Philip of Spain and appeared in published form in 1552."

"Buena Vista: Life and Work in a Puerto Rican Hacienda, 1833-1904"

Winner of the 1992 Elsa Goveia Prize, Association of Caribbean Historians

Author: Guillermo A. Baralt

"This book traces the history of Buena Vista, an estate located in the southern foothills of Puerto Rico's central mountain range. Now a popular living history museum, Buena Vista flourished in the nineteenth century..."

"...Richly illustrated and written in a lively narrative style, "Buena Vista" paints a compelling portrait of an era, an island, a family, and an estate, bringing a period in Caribbean history to vivid life."

El campesinado en Puerto Rico a fines del siglo XIX y principios del XX: El Caso de Toa Alta 1894 - 1910

Author: Jorge Seda Prado

(The following is an abridged translation by me and may not accurately reflect the jacket description)

...Jorge Seda Prado details with particular livelihood and profound analysis the dynamics that permitted a town of "estancieros" and cattle ranches to evolve within an economic regimen that often times penalized, monetarily, the "terrateniente".

Also has a chapter dedicated to "estancieros" and their descendants.

Con Valor y a Como dé Lugar - Memorias de una jíbara puertorrique�a

Author: Carmen Luisa Justiniano

The following is a personal review and not a jacket description.

Get this one, please. It is the account of her life as a child and young woman in the deep rural areas of Puerto Rico during the 1920's and 1930's. Very few books of this type have been written and as Mr. Fernando Pico, the individual who wrote the prologue in this book says, as far as he knows only two other females have written biographical data but, they came from hacendada families.

I've only gotten to page 63 of this 538 page book...  UPDATE...   I've finished it! When Mrs. Justiniano wrote of her life as a child, I felt the child; when she wrote of her life as a young lady, I felt the young lady. What a great book. Extremely insightful into how rural ancestors may have lived day-to-day and particularly as seen through the eyes of a child and, more importantly, a woman.

Esclavos, prófugos y cimarrones: Puerto Rico, 1770 -1870

Author: Benjamin Nistal-Moret

(The following is an abridged translation by me and may not accurately reflect the jacket description)

Esclavos, prófugos and cimarrones: expands and tests the authors hypothesis: that slaves were considered political criminals because they protested the organization and the forced regimentation of slavery.

The book is comprised of a multitude of transcribed documents giving a snapshot of the treatment and a sense of the slave as a possesion owned by the hacendados.

A Family Plantation - The History of the Puerto Rican Hacienda "La Enriqueta"

Author: C.T. Overman

Mr. Overman, a direct descendant of the family who owned this plantation, has written what the Academia Puertorrique�a de la Historia considers to be valuable material on the immigration policy and the merchants who came from Germany and St. Thomas.

The Overman and Lind families, in Guayama, are the focus of this story.

(Covers a time period in Puerto Rico from 1830 to 1918.)

La formación del pueblo puertorrique�o: La contribución de los Catalanes, Baleraricos y Valencianos

Author: Estela Cifre de Loubriel

Hundreds of archives were examined regarding immigration to Puerto Rico during the 19th century. These archives produced important data on individuals such as origen, age, marital status, careers, etc. The book lists these individuals who left a seed and whose descendants still carry the names on Puerto Rican soil.  (485 pages)

La formación del pueblo puertorrique�o: La contribución de los Isle�o-Canarios

Author: Estela Cifre de Loubriel


See above - this book focuses on those that came from the Canary Islands. Another important contribution to the genealogical community.  (498 pages)

"The Four Voyages of Columbus"

Edited by Cecil Jane

"...This remarkable work contains eight authentic contemporary documents. These accounts, nearly five centuries old, include four letters by Columbus (three written to Ferdinand and Isabella and one seeking help from the nurse to the heir of the Spanish throne)..."

"...Reprinted in the original Spanish, with full English translations on facing pages...".

"...these rare documents bring the voyages vividly to life, recounting the discovery and exploration of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Jamaica, Trinidad and other Caribbean islands."

Genealogias y Crónicas del Siglo XIX

Author: Carlos Encarnación Navarro

This one is going to be extremely difficult to describe. I was told about this book by someone who was researching the area I was; primarily the Rio Grande area. It's been a find like no other and my fellow researcher has turned out to be a relative!

Mr. Encarnación took the various available sources (eg., Archdiocese and Archive records) and in wonderful precise detail unfolds some of the families in the town of Loiza which at that time, the 1800's, was comprised of the following municipalities - Loiza Aldea, Canóvanas, Carolina [known at the time as Miguel de Trujillo], Rio Grande and two "barrios" in Luquillo. Some of the families: The Qui�ones', Ortiz de la Renta, Cachola, Correa, Monge just to name a few.

Anyone who is interested in obtaining this book? Just drop me an email and I'll let you know how to get in touch with the writer.

El Gibaro

Author: Manuel A. Alonso

(The following is an abridged translation by me and may not accurately reflect the jacket description)

"Manuel A. Alonso was born in San Juan in 1822. He published El Gibaro in 1849, the book in which he brings together prose and poems which appeared in various other works. Alonso was inspired by love and patriotism, love for his country, Puerto Rico."

Personal Note:  It is a lovely book with various works on life on the island.

Haciendas Barracones: Azucar y Esclavitud en Ponce, Puerto Rico 1800 ~ 1850

Author:  Francisco A. Scarano

(The following is an abridged translation by me and may not reflect accurately the jacket description)

The sugar plantations, operated by african slaves, reached maximum peak in Puerto Rico during the first half of the 19th century. Haciendas y barrracones exposes the results of an exhaustive investigation regarding the topic, giving a detailed analysis of the origins and the evolvement in the region of Ponce, center of the sugar production par excellence...

The english version of Haciendas y barracones received the prestigious Elsa Goveia Award in 1985.

La Herencia Linguistica de Canarias en Puerto Rico

Author:  Manuel Alvarez Nazario

A historical study on the dialect brought to Puerto Rico by the immigrants of the Canary Islands.

Héroes de Gloria Minima

Author: Sergio Gelpi

(The following is an abridged translation by me and may not reflect accurately the jacket description)

Héroes de Gloria Minima is a retelling by its author of days gone by and of the good people that he knew as a child back in early 1900.

A book about an era in which a town, a valley, a river and its people are remembered. The town, Peñuelas, its valley, Tallaboa; its river, El Guayanés.

To save all of those memories from death and as a humble tribute of affection and recognition of those individuals and the town, nothing is more appropriate than this book.

Historia Geografica, Civil y Natural de la Isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico


Author:  Fray Agustin Iñigo Abbad y Lasierra

Preliminary Study by Isabel Gutierrez del Arroyo

Published initially in Madrid in 1788, this work (a third edition: 1970 - reprinted in 1979) "can be considered as the impulse, stimulating and vigorous, of all early Puerto Rican history."

~Isabel Gutierrez del Arroyo

Personal Note:  There isn't enough I could say about this book if you are interested in the early history of Puerto Rico. All I can say is that it is a must in your library.

Lealtad y Nacionalidad: Catálogo de catalanes, valencianos y baleares residentes in Puerto Rico tras el cambio de soberanía de 1898

Author: Tomás Sarramía

(The following is an abridged translation by me and may not accurately reflect the jacket description)

As stipulated in the 1898 Treaty of Paris, specifically Article IX, the spanish residents in Puerto Rico saw themselves having to make a decision. To which of two countries should they vow fidelity: the one of origen or to the new government.

The book "Lealtad" lists some of those spaniards that came from Catalu�a, Valencia and Baleares, with their respective decisions. The book lists full name, age, the originating town in Spain, and the names of the individual's parents, spouse and children. (272 pages)

Legislacion Municipal Puertorrique�a del Siglo XVIII

Author: Dra. Aída R. Caro Costas

Transcription of some of the municipal ordinances of the City of San Juan Bautista (years 1620 and 1768) and the Villa of San German (year 1735) of Puerto Rico. (67 pages)

"Los puertorriqueños: mentalidad y actitudes - Siglo XVIII"

Author: Ángel López Cantos

(The following is an abridged translation by me and may not reflect accurately the jacket description)

A study about the collective psyche of the inhabitants of the island of Puerto Rico in the 18th century. The author, by means of this investigative work offers, for the first time, a vision into the spiritual, material and daily life of the Puerto Ricans of the 18th century.

Travel back in time and see what it may have been like in Puerto Rico in the late 1600 through mid-1700's. Mr. Lopez has used the materials found in the archives and built around these facts a novel on the life of Miguel Enriquez, a very prominent individual who went from rags to riches and then back. The book's purpose: to clear his name for future generations. A great book - highly recommended.

You get a "picture" for the Spanish spoken in the era, the manner in which time was described and life in general of the affluent and the not so affluent.

Orígenes y fundación de Ponce y otras noticias relativas a su desarrollo urbano demográfico y cultural (siglos XVI - XIX)

Author: Francisco Lluch Mora

(The following is an abridged translation by me and may not reflect accurately the jacket description)

With fine sensibility and deep penetration that is characteristic of Lluch Mora's essays, in Orígenes y fundación de Ponce, he offers a wide cultural foundation whereby a recreation and a revision of myths are examined relating to the "Perla del Sur". This work is a must for all those who truly wish to delve into the diversity that enriches our cultural composition. (169 pages)

"...Through hundreds of images of the "pioneers" --those Puerto Rican migrants who established themselves in New York City between the 1890s and the end of World War II--we capture a glimpse of their daily lives and of their individual and collective stories."

Los Registros Parroquiales y la Microhistoria Demográfica en Puerto Rico

Author:  Mario A. Rodríguez León, O.P.

Personal Note: To anyone seriously considering the research of their ancestors, this book is a must in assisting you with said research.

"Salinas: de Sal y Azúcar Su Historia: 1508-1950"

Author: Ligia Vázquez Bernard de Rodríguez

(The following is my personal review of this book.)

This book was a gift from a friend and what a special gift.

Whether Salinas is a town of special interest to you or not this piece would be a worthwhile addition to your historical/genealogical library.

The author, a Salinense, delves into the history of this town from 1508-1950 providing the reader with over 100 illustrations, lists of terratenientes (landowners), storeowners, prominent families et.al.

Terrazo

Author: Abelardo Díaz Alfaro

Personal review:

A compilation of short stories from this great writer. I could never accurately describe Mr. Díaz' talent in putting emotions, creating stories and putting them from one's soul to paper. A true literary gem, a genious and he was ours. (128 pages)

Worker in the Cane: A Puerto Rican Life History

Author: Sidney W. Mintz

"Autobiography and commentaries together constitute a rare and rich source from which to gather an understanding of modern rural Puerto Rico, its culture and its dynamics....A brilliant speciman of what social anthropology calls the personal document."
"...This is the absorbing story of Don Taso, a Puerto Rican sugarcane worker, and of his family and the village in which he lives. Told in his own words, it is a vivid account of the drastic changes taking place in Puerto Rico, as he sees them."

"...Don Taso portrays his harsh childhood, his courtship and early marriage, his grim struggle to provide for his family."

Books of special interest to enhance our genealogical searches and to understand, feel and see how our ancestors may have lived.