Author
Edgardo Meléndez
Description
Patria: Puerto Rican Revolutionary Exiles in Late Nineteenth Century New York examines the activities and ideals of Puerto Rican revolutionary exiles in New York City at the end of the nineteenth century. The study is centered in the writings, news reports, and announcements by and about Puerto Ricans in Patria, the official newspaper of the Cuban Revolutionary Party. Both were founded and led by the Cuban patriot José Martí. The book looks at the political, organizational and ideological ties between Cuban and Puerto Rican revolutionaries in exile, as well as the events surrounding the war of 1898. It argues that what became major underpinnings of twentieth century Puerto Rico’s nationalist thought were already present in the writings of Puerto Ricans found in Patria. The newspaper also offers a glimpse into the daily life and community of Puerto Rican exiles in late nineteenth century New York City. All of the writings in Patria about Puerto Rico are presented in their full English translation. Finally, the book presents a historical overview of how the Puerto Rican exile community living in the city developed at that time.
Book Details
309 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-945662-28-7 (paperback)
LCCN: 2018052581
About the Author
Edgardo Meléndez is Professor in the Department of Africana and Puerto Rican/Latino Studies at Hunter College. He also taught for many years in the Department of Political Science at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras. Among his publications are: Sponsored Migration: The State and Postwar Puerto Rican Migration to the United States (The Ohio State University Press, 2017); Puerto Rican Government and Politics: A Comprehensive Bibliography (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000), awarded the 2000 Outstanding Academic Title by Choice; Partidos, política pública y status en Puerto Rico (Ediciones Nueva Aurora, 1998); Puerto Rico en “Patria” (Editorial Edil, 1996); Movimiento anexionista en Puerto Rico (University of Puerto Rico Press, 1993); and Puerto Rico’s Statehood Movement (Greenwood Press, 1988).
He is coeditor with Edwin Meléndez of Colonial Dilemma: Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Puerto Rico (South End Press, 1993); and coeditor with Charles Venator-Santiago of the Special issue of Centro Journal “U.S. Citizenship in Puerto Rico: One Hundred Years After the Jones Act” (Spring 2017). He has also published in several academic journals, including CENTRO Journal, Revista de ftlineCiencias Sociales (Puerto Rico), Homines (Puerto Rico), Revista de Administración Pública (Puerto Rico), and Radical America, among others. He is currently working on issues related to Puerto Rican migration, political incorporation, and citizenship. His forthcoming book is tentatively titled “The Puerto Rican Problem in New York City, 1945-1960: Migration and Incorporation from the Periphery of the American Empire.”