The tarnished mirror: the Treaty of Paris (1898) in the legal history of Puerto Rico
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54103/2464-8914/30327Keywords:
Treaty of Paris (1898), international law, constitutional law, sovereignty, Puerto RicoAbstract
The Treaty of Paris of 1898 ended a brief war but marked a turning point in Puerto Rico’s legal and cultural history. In just over three months of conflict, Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States without the presence of the island’s legitimate representatives and without their consent in the transfer of sovereignty. Under Article IX of the Treaty, the civil rights and political status of the Puerto Rican Nation were placed under the authority of the United States Congress, inaugurating a profound change in the legal system and a rupture with Puerto Rico’s Spanish-Hispanic-Latino heritage. Since then, jurists and historians have debated the treaty’s legitimacy, with some arguing for its nullity. This article revisits those debates and demonstrates how the events of 1898 reveal the complex interplay between law and power.
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United States. Court of Appeals (1st Circuit), Transcription of record : United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, term 1936, No. 3174, Pedro Campos, Juan Antonio Corretjer, Luis F. Velázquez, Clemente Soto Vélez, Erasmo Velázquez, Julio H. Velázquez, Juan Gallardo Santiago and Pablo Rosado Ortiz, defendants-appellants, vs. United States of America, appellee: Appeal from the District Court of the United States for the District of Puerto Rico, from judgment (Cooper, J.), July 31, 1936, Francis G. Goodale... [et al.] for appellants, A. Cecil Snyder, United States Attorney for appellee. (New York: Case Press, October 1936).
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