NEW BOOK: DOCUMENTS OF THE HISPANIC CARIBBEAN, VOL 3

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V28 2025 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 28, Number 26, 2025, Article 4

Ángel Navarro Zayas has published a third volume of his book in Spanish compiling important numismatic documents relating to Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Spanish Caribbean. Congratulations! It's available in print-on-demand on Lulu.com. Below is a Grammarly-translated description. -Editor

Numismatic Documents of the Hispanic Caribbean v3 book cover

All the documents in this documentary book, VOLUME III, belong to the National Historical Archive of Madrid. With this documentary collection, we have tried to emulate the efforts and honor the memory of great Puerto Ricans of the 19th century, such as Don Alejandro Tapia y Rivera, Don Román Baldorioty de Castro, Don José Julián de Acosta y Calbo, Don Ramón Emeterio Betances, and Don Segundo Ruiz Belvis, who together in 1851, formed the Society for the Collection of Historical Documents of the island of San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico (Sociedad Recolectora de Documentos Históricos de la Isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico).

That first significant effort made by these honorable men to transcribe primary sources in the archives in Spain about Puerto Rican history was the cornerstone of Puerto Rican historiography. That is why, in honor of these illustrious human beings and following the furrow of the path traced by them, I contribute my grain of sand with transcriptions of manuscripts, but in this case, on the subject of the use of currency in Puerto Rico and the economic aspect. The whole book is in Spanish.

El gobernador don Salvador Meléndez acompaña documentos de la Contaduría justificativos de la cantidad a que asciende el situado que cobra la isla y que no se ha modificado desde la R. O. de 27 de junio de 1784 (1811).

However, the first document to which we refer is from the beginning of the 19th century (1811), in which Governor-General Don Salvador Meléndez accompanies documents of the Accounting Office justifying the amount of the situado (Mexican Subsidy) charged by the island, which had not been modified since the Royal Order of June 27, 1784.

Se comunica el embarque para Puerto Rico de 70 cajones con ochavos y uno con plata, en el vapor correo ‘Almogabar' (1860).

The second file we refer to dates from the second half of the 19th century (1860) when the Spanish authorities communicated the shipment to Puerto Rico of 70 crates with Ochavos and one with silver on the mail steamer "Almogabar."

El Gobierno General de la isla gestiona con la 'Sociedad Anónima de Crédito Mercantil' la conversión de los billetes del Tesoro emitidos para indemnizar a los que fueron poseedores de esclavos en deuda amortizable. Acompaña el folleto Antecedentes relativos a la conversión de los billetes del Tesoro de Puerto Rico y creación de un banco completo de circulación. Puerto Rico, (1881).

In the third file presented, dated 1881, the General Government of Puerto Rico manages, together with the "Sociedad Anónima de Crédito Mercantil," the conversion of the Treasury notes issued to compensate those who enslaved people into amortizable debt. The printed brochure is also attached with transcripts titled "Background Regarding the Conversion of Puerto Rico Treasury Banknotes and Creation of a Complete Bank of Circulation on the Basis of the Mercantile Credit Society" (“Antecedentes Relativos a la Conversión de los Billetes del Tesoro de Puerto Rico y Creación de un Banco Completo de Circulación sobre la Base de la Sociedad de Crédito Mercantil.")

Memoria redactada por el intendente don Miguel Cabezas, en la que se propone la creación de bancos y entidades de crédito como solución a la crisis económica ocasionada por l

The fourth file presented, dated 1883, contains a report written by the Treasury Intendant, Mr. Miguel Cabezas, proposing the creation of banks and credit institutions as a solution to the economic crisis caused by the circulation of foreign currencies in Puerto Rico.

Plan que propone la Sociedad de Crédito Mercantil para refundir los pesos mejicanos, evitando así que su excesiva circulación llegue a hacer desaparecer la moneda española, y medidas provisionales tomadas para atenuar los efectos de la crisis monetaria. Acompañan sueltos de varios periódicos recogiendo artículos en que se apoyan las medidas tomadas. (1883-1885).

In the fifth file presented, dated between 1883 and 1885, the Sociedad de Crédito Mercantil proposes a plan to recast the Mexican pesos in circulation in Puerto Rico. They proposed doing this to prevent their excessive circulation from causing the Spanish currency to disappear, and provisional measures were also proposed to mitigate the effects of the monetary crisis. At the end of the manuscript are transcripts from several newspapers in Puerto Rico that include news about the measures taken regarding the monetary situation in Puerto Rico.

Circulación de moneda en Puerto Rico y medidas para evitar la crisis monetaria por que atraviesa la isla

Por Real Orden de 8 de junio de 1893, se pide al gobernador general de Puerto Rico información amplia sobre la crisis monetaria por la que atraviesa la isla, consultando al comercio y la agricultura, Cámara de Comercio, Intendencia de Hacienda y demás centros, para que opinen sobre los medios más eficaces para sustituir la moneda mejicana por la nacional, proponiendo medidas concretas (1893).

In the sixth file presented, dated 1893, the Royal Order of June 8, 1893, is discussed, by which the governor-general of Puerto Rico is asked for extensive information on the monetary crisis that the island is going through. The file consulted the opinion of commerce and agriculture, the Chamber of Commerce, the Intendancy of the Treasury, and other centers so that they could give their opinion on the most effective means of substituting the Mexican currency for the national one, proposing concrete measures to carry out the monetary exchange.

El gobernador del Banco Español de Puerto Rico don L. García Alonso solicita que quede sin efecto la orden que declara fuera de circulación legal la moneda de plata de 20 reales de sistemas anteriores al Decreto de 19 de octubre de 1868 (1894).

In the seventh file presented, dated 1894, the Spanish Bank of Puerto Rico governor, Mr. L. García Alonso, requested that the order declaring the silver coin of 20 reales from systems before the October 19, 1868, Decree, be null and void.

Telegramas cruzados entre el ministro de Ultramar y el gobernador general de Puerto Rico y los comisionados de los puertos de Cádiz y Santander, referentes al canje de moneda (1895–1896).

The eighth and last file presented in this documentary book contains transcriptions of telegrams sent between the years 1895 and 1896 regarding the exchange of currency in Puerto Rico between the Minister of Overseas Affairs, the Governor General of Puerto Rico, and the commissioners of the ports of Cadiz and Santander.

For more information, or to order, see:
Documentos Numismáticos del Caribe Hispano (Siglo XIX) Tomo III (https://www.lulu.com/es/shop/angel-navarro-zayas/documentos-numism%C3%A1ticos-del-caribe-hispano-siglo-xix-tomo-iii/paperback/product-q6dgkyj.html?q=&page=1&pageSize=4)