Rise of Public Works and Sanitation in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1765-1823 Monica Lynn Crowe Florida International University, [email protected]
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Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 3-30-2012 Rise of Public Works and Sanitation in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1765-1823 Monica Lynn Crowe Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI12050129 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Crowe, Monica Lynn, "Rise of Public Works and Sanitation in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1765-1823" (2012). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 592. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/592 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida RISE OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SANITATION IN SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, 1765-1823 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of MASTERS OF ARTS in HISTORY by Monica Lynn Crowe 2012 To: Dean Kenneth Furton College of Arts and Sciences This thesis, written by Monica Lynn Crowe, and entitled Rise of Public Works and Sanitation in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1765-1823, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this thesis and recommend that it be approved. _____________________________________ M. Sherry Johnson _____________________________________ Astrid Arrarás _____________________________________ Noble David Cook, Major Professor Date of Defense: March 30, 2012 The thesis of Monica Lynn Crowe is approved. _____________________________________ Dean Kenneth G. Furton College of Arts and Sciences _____________________________________ Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi University Graduate School Florida International University, 2012 ii © Copyright 2012 by Monica Lynn Crowe All right reserved. iii DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to my loving mother and to my handsome husband. Mutti, you edited and assisted me from 1,200 miles away, giving me strength during the low times. You always picked up the phone when the stress became too much. To Steven, for without your support, patience, and belief, I would have never achieved this goal. You have always been my solid base, and I will be in your debt as long as I live. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my committee members for their support, dedication, patience, and tolerance throughout this process. Dr. Astrid Arrarás always greeted me with a smile and embrace that demonstrated her caring heart and wise knowledge of Puerto Rico and research. Dr. M. Sherry Johnson opened up her own research and connections to find sources. I enjoyed her research stories as much as I enjoyed the rich information her sources provided my study. Leonardo “Leo” Falcon demonstrated true patience and skill while editing my thesis. I wish you luck and happiness in your future as a doctorial student. Most of all, Dr. Noble David Cook saw hope and promise within me since our first meeting, giving me the tools and confidence to achieve in graduate school. Although my writings skills were challenging to my committee, their willingness to work through revisions and editing meant the world to me. There are no words to describe the value and appreciation I have for my professors and the Florida International University’s History Department. As I venture out and begin my career, I am always complimented on my work ethic, research abilities, and confidence. I proudly state, “I am a graduate of the History Department.” I thank you all. v ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS RISE OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SANITATION IN SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, 1765-1823 by Monica Lynn Crowe Florida International University, 2012 Miami, Florida Professor Noble David Cook, Major Professor The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate and understand the growth of public works as part of urban development in San Juan, Puerto Rico, between 1765 and 1823. In San Juan, attaining basic provisions was complicated by distinctive circumstances such as the increasing population, administrative decisions, and financial limitations. This thesis draws from demography, medicine, urban studies, and primary documents to understand how the changes in San Juan’s established political, economic, demographic, and environmental systems allowed for the growth of public works to support the city’s population. With the introduction of economic and military Bourbon Reforms, the existing colonial system fractured, collapsing in the first decade of the nineteenth century from financial burdens, internal infrastructure decay, and the abdication of the Spanish king. Imperial loyalty and intra-monarchial attention to the general public altered Puerto Rico’s imperial role, establishing a new system that allowed public work and sanitation to thrive. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 Sources ........................................................................................................ 5 Historiography ............................................................................................ 7 Puerto Rican and San Juan Historiography .................................... 8 Public Health Historiography ....................................................... 21 The Evolving Fields of Crisis Management and Environmental Histories ........................................................................................ 26 Historiographical Contributions.................................................... 29 Organization of Thesis .............................................................................. 31 II. CHAPTER 1: GEOGRAPHY AND EARLY HISTORY OF SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, 1493-1765: THE FORMATION OF AN ISOLATED, MILITARY OUTPOST .................................................................................. 34 Puerto Rico’s Adaptable Geography ........................................................ 34 San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Early History and the Development of a Dependent Military Outpost ..................................................................... 37 San Juan’s Structure and Status, 1604-1765 ............................................. 44 III. CHAPTER 2: PUERTO RICO’S BOURBON REFORMS AND PROPOSED ECONOMIC POTENTIAL, 1765-1797 ......................................................... 49 Spain’s Bourbon Reforms and their American Application ..................... 49 Field Marshal Alejandro O’Reilly Bourbon Analysis of Puerto Rico ...... 51 Outcomes of the Bourbon Reforms in Puerto Rico .................................. 54 IV. CHAPTER 3: ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS AND THE SEARCH FOR BASIC NECESSITY STABILITY, 1765-1800. ............................................ 61 Potable Water ............................................................................................ 61 Streets and Roads ...................................................................................... 64 Public Health and Sanitation ..................................................................... 68 Eighteenth-Century Natural Disasters and San Juan’s Responses ........... 69 Short and Long-Term Hurricane Effects .................................................. 70 Disease: Ecological Results and Impacts ................................................. 75 V. CHAPTER 4: THE DECLINE OF SAN JUAN’S POTABLE WATER, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND INFRASTRUCTURE TO 1808 ........................... 79 San Juan’s Growing Crises, 1800-1808 .................................................... 80 Smallpox and Economic Instability: the Rise of Public Health, 1801-1804 ................................................................................................................... 82 Decaying Infrastructure and Changing Political Agendas, 1804-1808 .... 90 vii VI. CHAPTER 5: CHALLENGING CONDITIONS DURING SAN JUAN’S CONSTITUTIONAL ADMINISTRATION .................................................. 97 Spanish Loyalty and Opposition to French Control, 1808-1812 .............. 97 Political Changes within Spain and its Empire ......................................... 97 Economic and Infrastructure Stagnation ................................................. 101 The Constitution of 1812 and Public Works Progression, 1812-1814 ... 107 VII. CHAPTER 6: PUERTO RICO AND THE RETURN OF MONARCHIAL RULE TO 1823 ............................................................................................. 114 Economic Growth and New Political Advantages under King Ferdinand VII, 1814-1823 ........................................................................................ 114 Public Work Continuations and Repetitive Shortfalls ............................ 122 VIII. EPILOGUE: PUBLIC HEALTH TRANSFORMATION AND NEW OBSTACLES IN MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY SAN JUAN ............... 129 The Development of Puerto Rico’s Conservative Colonial Government and the Rise of the Plantation Economy ................................................. 129 Building the Modern San Juan: Further Need to Understand Public Work’s Role ............................................................................................ 135 IX. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................. 139 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 146 Primary Sources