ABSTRACT
In 1765, a royal agent, Marshal Alejandro O'Reilly, was sent to Puerto Rico by Charles III to report on the island's conditions and to recommend measures for its future development. Puerto Rico, like Cuba, remained under Spanish colonial rule until the end of the nineteenth century, despite its attempt to liberate itself in 1868. Beginning in the mid-1760s Puerto Rico was earmarked for some of the Bourbon reforms. Compared to Spanish America, Puerto Rico at the end of the eighteenth century was just beginning its colonization. The liberal reforms implemented by Intendant Ramirez helped to create in Puerto Rico the economic infrastructure that would permit colonial development. The practice of granting sporadic economic concessions and silencing the pro-independence sentiments in Puerto Rico became particularly entrenched after the 1820s. The reforms extended by the Cedula de Gracias helped to liberalize the trade between Puerto Rico and Spain.
