Collection Summary
Puerto Rican Collection
1591-1900
(bulk 1750-1898)
1591-1900
(bulk 1750-1898)
MSS80481
1,000
items
12 containers plus 1 oversize
5 linear feet
2 microfilm reels
Spanish
English.
Collection material in
Spanish, with
English.
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Collection of documents
from Spanish colonial Puerto Rico including financial material, military
papers, orders and decrees from the Spanish government, and miscellaneous items
from colonial Puerto Rico.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Coll y Toste, Cayetano, 1850-1930. Cayetano Coll y Toste collection relating to Puerto Rico, 1850-1894.
Organizations
Puerto Rico.
Spain. Ministerio de la Guerra--History.
Subjects
Baptismal records--Puerto Rico.
Education--Puerto Rico.
Exports--Puerto Rico.
Finance, Public--Puerto Rico.
Fortification--Puerto Rico.
Imports--Puerto Rico.
Noncitizens--Puerto Rico.
Political prisoners--Puerto Rico.
Slavery--Puerto Rico.
Spanish-American War, 1898--Puerto Rico.
Taxation--Puerto Rico.
Places
Morro (San Juan, P.R.)
Puerto Rico--Commerce.
Puerto Rico--History, Military.
Puerto Rico--History--To 1898.
Puerto Rico--Politics and government--To 1898.
Puerto Rico.
Spain--Colonies--America.
Provenance
The first part of the Puerto Rican Collection was received by the
Library of Congress from the War Department after the American occupation of
San Juan following the Spanish-American War. Manuscripts from other sources
were added to the collection over the years, most notably by gift from the
Puerto Rican historian, writer, and government official Cayetano Coll y Toste,
1899-1900. An addition was given by J. H. Hollander in 1908 and by Victor S.
Clark in 1928. In 2011, the Cayetano Coll y Toste Collection Relating to Puerto
Rico which had also been acquired in 1899-1900 was united with other material
received from him and organized as part of this colleciton.
Processing History
The Puerto Rican Collection was arranged sometime after its receipt
and reorganized circa 1980 when portions were prepared for microfilming.
Additional changes were made with the transfer to the collection of new
material in 2011.
Additional Guides
The Puerto Rican collection is described in the Library's 1918
Handbook of Manuscripts,
527-529.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings in the Puerto
Rican Collection is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title
17, U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The Puerto Rican Collection is open to research. Researchers are
advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many
collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these
items for research use.
Microfilm
A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on two
reels. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning
availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the
originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as
available.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Puerto Rican Collection, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Scope and Content Note
The Puerto Rican Collection spans the years 1591-1900, with the bulk
of the material dating from 1750 to 1898. The papers are in Spanish with some
English. The papers contain documents from the Spanish colonial government of
Puerto Rico including financial material reflecting budgets, data on imports
and exports, and taxation, military papers from the War Ministry, and orders
and decrees from the Spanish government. A wide variety of other papers
document other aspects of Spanish colonial Puerto Rico including items
concerning slavery, political prisoners, registration of foreigners, the
fortifications of “El Morro” in San Juan, baptismal records, and politics.
Many of these items had belonged to the Puerto Rican writer, historian, and
government official Cayetano Coll y Toste and relate to his research interests.
A very few items, mostly concerning education, date from after the
Spanish-American War and the subsequent American occupation of Puerto Rico.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is organized by topic or type of material.
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Facsimile de la primera
fortificatión levantada en el Morro de San Juan de Puerto Rico,
(original dated Aug. 10, 1591), 1899
(original dated Aug. 10, 1591), 1899
1
Office of Finance records,
1766-1798
1766-1798
2
Budgets and financial information,
Spanish colonial government of Puerto Rico,
1850, 1881-1886
1850, 1881-1886
(4
volumes)
2
Printed matter and miscellany,
1894-1898
1894-1898
3
Royal orders to the governor,
1786-1789
1786-1789
3
Real Provisión,
1790
1790
3
Revolutionary literature and
letters sent to Ponce, Puerto Rico, from Puerto Cabello and La Guaira,
Venezuela,
1863-1865
1863-1865
(2
folders)
3
Miscellany,
undated
undated
3
Angelis, Pedro, “Para mi
Revista,”
1810-1814
1810-1814
3
Baptismal records,
1645-1646, 1647, 1653
1645-1646, 1647, 1653
4
Miscellaneous treasury statements
and financial papers,
1796-1857
1796-1857
4
Sala, Valentin, revolutionary
conditions in Venezuela and the Caribbean
1812
1812
4
Spanish army in Puerto Rico,
1813-1814
1813-1814
(2
folders)
4
Decretos del Rey Fernando VII
1814-1844
1814-1844
(1 vol.)
5
Decretos del Rey Fernando VII
1814-1844
1814-1844
(1 vol.)
5
Correspondence of the war minister,
1815-1819
1815-1819
6
Daily record, War Office,
1816-1817
1816-1817
6
Proclamation “Habitantes de
Puerto Rico,”
1823
1823
6
Lottery tickets,
1830
1830
6
Presupuesto de la Isla de Puerto
Rico,
1850
1850
7
Negros Emancipados Filiaciones,
1859
1859
Available on microfilm shelf no.17,433
8
Rodriguez, Valentín, passport,
1852
1852
8
Libreta del journalero Manuel
Camacho,
1869
1869
8
“Libro de actas de la Junta . . .
de la esclavitud,"
1874
1874
8
“Memoria sobre el servicio de
Telégrafo de la Isla de Puerto Rico en 1875 a 1876, 1877 a 1878,"
1878
1878
8
Gobierno Superior Civil de la
Provincia de Puerto Rico, register of foreigners,
1870-1875
1870-1875
Available on microfilm shelf no. 17,777
9
Letter to the governor, Puerto
Rico,
1896-1898
1896-1898
9
Miscellaneous financial papers,
1896-1898
1896-1898
9
“The Money Question,”
1895
1895
(3
folders)
9
“Report on Puerto Rico Money,”
1893
1893
9
“Reply to Report by the
Representatives of the Gas Company,”
1895
1895
9
Miscellaneous reports,
1895
1895
(3
folders)
9
Miscellaneous broadsides and
pamphlets,
1886-1898
1886-1898
(2
folders)
9
Puerto Rico lottery,
1880
1880
(2
folders)
10
Puerto Rico lottery,
1880
1880
(1
folder)
10
Gobierno General de la Isla de
Puerto Rico, prisoner transfer,
1887
1887
Available on microfilm shelf no. 17,777
10
Stamped paper,
1882-1900
1882-1900
10
Education,
1898-1900
1898-1900
(4
folders)
11
Statistics, financial and
commercial,
1850-1899
1850-1899
11
Postage stamps,
1891-1894
1891-1894
(4
folders)
11
La Real Tesorería de Puerto Rico,
bank notes, nineteenth century
11
Puerto Rico lottery,
1830
1830
11
Vidal y Martorell, Juan, relative
to Joaquín Baco and Juan Antonio Negroín,
circa 1876
circa 1876
11
Miscellany, unknown source,
undated
undated
12
Ambulance Corps for American
Expeditionary Forces,
undated
undated
12
Gumien, Francisco, Alcaidía
Municipal de Hato Grande to director of Royal Academy of Literature,
undated
undated
12
Bermudes, Matías, and Pablo Boada
regarding Juan Jesús Rodriguez,
Nov.
15, 1852
Nov.
15, 1852
12
Alonzo, Juan, to governor general
of province of Puerto Rico,
Sept. 28, 1876
Sept. 28, 1876
12
Sevilla, Rafael de,
1846
1846
12
Cortego, Santiago, Comandancia de
Injenieros to Santiago Fortum,
Aug.
17, 1846
Aug.
17, 1846
12
Garcia, Domingo, to Santiago
Fortum,
Aug.
17, 1846
Aug.
17, 1846
12
Deofeda, Juan Calisto, to Santiago
Fortum,
Aug.
16, 1846
Aug.
16, 1846
12
Meléndez, Salvador,
Feb.-Apr., 1812
Feb.-Apr., 1812
12
Miscellany, unknown source,
undated
undated
OV 1
Oversize copies of miscellaneous
orders, affidavits, and royal cédulas,
1750-1757
1750-1757