“Archipelagic Intra-colonial Solidarities: Puerto Ricans in Hawai‘I”

• In Event: Vulnerable Targets: Statelessness and Solidarity from the Americas to Palestine

Abstract

This presentation examines the migration of Puerto Ricans to Hawaii at the turn of the 20th century, a consequence of U.S. imperial expansion and the creation of an inter-archipelagic, intracolonial labor system. Following the Spanish-American War and the annexation of Hawaii in 1898, the U.S. sought to consolidate its control over its newly acquired island territories. The 1890 McKinley Tariff, which negatively impacted Hawaiian sugar production, had already spurred white American settlers to push for annexation, which occurred in 1898. This coincided with growing Hawaiian resistance to foreign influence, including the overthrow of the monarchy in 1893, and the strategic importance of the islands after the war. Simultaneously, the devastation caused by Hurricane San Ciriaco in Puerto Rico in 1899 exacerbated existing economic hardship in this Spanish Caribbean island. The Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association, facing labor shortages due to striking Japanese workers, exploited the displaced Puerto Rican population as a new source of labor.
Approximately 5,303 Puerto Ricans were moved to Hawaii between 1900 and 1901. This movement, orchestrated within the framework of U.S. imperial control over both island territories, reveals the manipulation of populations to serve colonial economic interests. Puerto Rican workers, who were not U.S. citizens, were recruited through promises of favorable contracts, only to face harsh realities upon arrival. The journey itself was fraught with hardship, including protests and attempted escapes during the voyage from Puerto Rico to Hawaii via New Orleans and California. This forced migration, occurring after the U.S. occupation of Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guam, and the Philippines, and the annexation of Hawaii, highlights the interconnectedness of these island territories within the U.S. colonial system. The “Borinki” community, descendants of these migrants, stands as a testament to this complex history.
This presentation further explores this inter-archipelagic displacement, drawing on diverse sources including Frank Espada’s photography and oral histories from the Puerto Rican Diaspora Documentary Project, his photo-ethnographic publication The Puerto Rican Diaspora, Manuel Ramos Otero’s short story “Vivir del cuento,” and Rodney Morales’s narrative “Ship of Dreams.” By centering the voices of the “Borinki,” this analysis challenges limited conceptions of the Caribbean and traces archipelagic connections extending to the Pacific. These narratives disrupt traditional colonial and postcolonial narratives, offering a decolonial archipelagic imaginary that emphasizes displacement, community formation, and the creation of new insular identities. This study contributes to a broader understanding of forced migration, diasporic communities, and the interconnectedness of seemingly disparate island systems within the context of U.S. colonialism, highlighting the challenges faced by those navigating multiple layers of colonial influence and belonging. This study further invites scholarly inquiry within American Studies into the interrelationships between Caribbean and Pacific studies and U.S. imperialism, with particular attention to the dynamics of dispossession and the rearticulation of decolonial imaginaries.

Author

• Yolanda M Martinez-San Miguel, University of Miami