1899: the US War Department sorts Puerto Rico into "White" and "Colored" (Puerto Rico, 1899)
Record: the document says itPattern: documents line upLens: our readingOpen: not yet proven
Year: 1899 · Places: Caribbean, Europe
SUMMARY1899: the US War Department sorts Puerto Rico into "White" and "Colored" (Puerto Rico, 1899) [Connections: Latin America & Caribbean, Nov 5, 2026]
RECORDThe 1899 census taken by the US War Department divided the population into White, 589,426 (61.8%), and Colored, 363,817 (38.2%). Of the Colored, 304,352 (83.6%) were persons of mixed blood; the category also included "very few (75) Chinese." The census had no Indigenous category
PATTERNThe US occupation brought its own two-box system, and the Indian column of the Spanish padrones had no place in it. Anyone of Taíno descent was counted white or colored
LENS (WW9)The new owners brought the US color line, and Borikén's people were sorted into it
OPENRead the original Report on the Census of Porto Rico, 1899 (archive.org) for the enumerator instructions on race
SOURCEWikipedia, "1899 Puerto Rico census"; original report: archive.org.