THE IMPRISONMENT OF MEN AND WOMEN FIGHTING COLONIALISM, 1898 - 1958 1910 - 1920
Several events lead to the imprisonment of women and men challenging the American colonial regime in Puerto Rico: Students strike in San Juan when teachers are ordered to teach in English. Students as young as 14 years of age are arrested and permanently expelled from school.
		Similar events unfold throughout the island. Students are expelled from the Escuela Superior Central. The Instituto de José de Diego is founded, emphasizing teaching in Spanish.
March American citizenship is imposed on all Puerto Ricans. May U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs compulsory military service act into law. The military draft or Servicio Militar Obligatorio is forced on Puerto Rican men. July Draft registration begins in Puerto Ricoís seven districts. In the first two years, 5,041 Puerto Ricans are declared delinquent and 330 are arrested. 229 are imprisoned for an average of 33 days. Some receive longer terms and are sent to federal prisons in the United States. Journalist Vicente Balbas Capo is arrested and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment for using his newspaper El Heraldo de las Antillas to fight the draft, American citizenship and the americanization of Puerto Rico. He appeals to the First Circuit Court in Boston and wins. He rejects American citizenship. Labor leader Florencio Romero refuses to be drafted and is imprisoned in Atlanta, Georgia. He is accused of telling workers to fight the draft and the imposition of American citizenship. Romero will later be a founder of the Nationalist Party.		larger photo larger photo