Emancipation Day in Puerto Rico

On March 22, Puerto Rico celebrates the annual holiday, Emancipation Day, commemorating the abolition of slavery from its island in 1873. Slavery had existed in Puerto Rico since the mid-16th century. In 1866, petitions were brought to Parliament to end slavery. On March 22, 1873, the Spanish National Assembly banned slavery in Puerto Rico. Slave owners were given monetary compensation for each slave. For the following three years, however, slaves were required to continue working for their former owners.

In Puerto Rico, Emancipation Day is celebrated with festivities that include dancing to plena and bomba music, singing, and eating Caribbean cuisine.

Source: pr.gov | infoplease.com

A study of the history of opinion is a necessary preliminary to the emancipation of the mind.

John Maynard Keynes

Emancipation came to the colored race in America as a war measure. It was an act of military necessity. Manifestly it would have come without war, in the slower process of humanitarian reform and social enlightenment.

Wendell Willkie

The Emancipation Proclamation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln, was put into effect on January 1, 1863, but news of the Proclamation and enforcement did not reach Texas until after the end of the Civil War almost two years later.

Corrine Brown

Freedom is an expensive gift always worth fighting for. Even if it costs us!

Marck E. Estemil

Freedom is the emancipation from the arbitrary rule of other men.

Mortimer Adler