milestones
a bit of history Want to know a bit more about Vieques? Here’s a brief timeline to whet the appetite of the history buff in you.
J 2145 BCE Archeological findings in Puerto Ferro date back to Pre-Arawak period. J 1100 CE Taino culture
abounds in Esperanza.
J 1493 Columbus lands on
the south side of Borinquen (now Puerto Rico) and claims it for Spain.
J 1816 Simón Bolivar, Latin America’s Great Liberator, comes to Vieques.
J 1899
J 1822
J 1917 Jones Act grants United States Citizenship to all Puerto Ricans.
The Spanish commence construction of a town, eventually called Punta Mulas (Isabel II today), on the north side of the island.
powerful earthquake causes major structural damages to the Puerto Ferro lighthouse. The lighthouse is closed.
J 1844 The municipal-
J 1941-49 The United States Navy expropriates nearly two thirds of Vieques for military maneuvers.
initiates colonization of Puerto Rico.
J 1514 Taíno Chiefs
Yaureibo and Cacimar from Bieke fight Spanish forces on the east side of Puerto Rico.
J 1683 British settlers from Anguilla invade Vieques. Danish forces from St. Thomas drive invaders away. J 1698 Scottish settlers
from Nevis, Anguilla and Tortola invade Vieques. Spanish forces drive invaders away.
J 1718 British settlers from
Anguilla come to Vieques to establish a colony on two different occasions. Both times Spanish forces drive invaders away. J 1811 The Spanish coloni-
zation of Vieques begins. J 1815 Royal Decree of
Graces allows other Europeans who swear loyalty to the Spanish Crown to remain in Puerto Rico. French settlers develop Vieques’ agrarian economy. 22
ity of Vieques is formally established; construction of original Catholic Church gets underway.
graded to a category 5 hurricane, devastates Vieques.
Fortín Conde de Mirasol (the Fort) begins.
J 1873 Abolition of slavery
in Puerto Rico (March 22, 1873); Manuel E. Benitez is elected Vieques’ first mayor when municipalities are extended the right to vote.
J 1893 All Saints Church is officially consecrated. Vieques and Ponce were the first places in Puerto Rico under Spanish Monarchy allowed to set up non-Catholic churches. J 1896 Punta Mulas
lighthouse (north side) is completed.
J 1898 Spanish-American War. Treaty of Paris gives United States temporary control of Cuba and ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippine islands.
J 1978 “Fishermen’s War”: An international NATO backed training military exercise on Vieques is stopped by fishermen who position themselves in the direct line of fire. J 1989 Hugo, since up-
J 1845 Construction of
J 1863 Britain formally renounces all claims to Vieques.
the post office to initiate island-wide delivery of mail. For the next 11 years, Ventura Camacho does his job on horseback.
J 1925 On March 19, a
J 1832 Teófilo José Jaime
María Le Guillou, a French emigre, is appointed military governor of Vieques.
J 1508 Ponce de León
Puerto Ferro lighthouse (south side) is completed.
J 1991 Restoration of Fortín Conde de Mirasol is completed. J 1948 Luis Muñoz Marín
becomes 1st democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico.
J 1952 Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico is established on July 25.
J 1961 The film Lord of the Flies is shot in Vieques. J 1965 Osvaldo “Val” Gonzalez-Duriex provides air transportation to Vieques and registers his enterprise as Vieques Air Link. J 1976 Water from El Yunque (Puerto Rico’s rain forest) via underwater pipeline becomes the main water supply for Vieques. J 1977 - 1988 “Vieques Pony Express”— Ventura Camacho Dávila is hired by
J 1999 David Sanes is killed by a bomb from U.S. Navy military exercises. The tragic death serves as the catalyst for a peace protest that galvanizes all of Puerto Rico. The ‘Paz Para Vieques’ movement garners international support and becomes instrumental in pressuring the United States Navy to end military exercises on the island. J 2001 Vieques National Wildlife Refuge is established (3,100 acres on the western end of Vieques). J 2003 U.S. Navy leaves Vieques; 14,573 acres of land on the east end are added to the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge is operated under the U.S.