Grito de Lares

Grito de Lares (Cry of Lares), also referred to as the Lares revolt, or the Lares revolution, was the first short revolt against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico, staged by the Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico on September 23, 1868. Three decades after its uprising in Lares, the committee carried out a second unsuccessful revolt in the neighboring southwestern municipality of Yauco, known as the Intentona de Yauco (Attempted Coup of Yauco). The Grito de Lares flag is recognized as the first flag of Puerto Rico.

Causes of revolt

In the 1860s, the government of Spain was involved in several conflicts across Latin America. It became involved in a war with Peru and Chile and had to address slave revolts in Cuba. At the time, Puerto Rico and Cuba also suffered a severe economic crisis because of increasing tariffs and taxes imposed by the Spanish central government on most import and export goods. The Spanish crown needed the funds badly to subsidize its troops in the Dominican Republic, which Spain had annexed in 1861, only to leaving in 1865 following the Dominican Restoration War.

In mid-19th century Puerto Rico, many supporters of independence from Spain, as well as others who did not support independence from Spain but simply called for liberal reforms, were jailed or exiled. However, in 1865, the central government in Madrid, finally attempted to appease the growing discontent in all its overseas provinces by setting up a "board of review" to receive complaints from provincial representatives. The board, the Junta Informativa de Reformas de Ultramar (Informative Board on Overseas Reforms) would be formed by representatives of each overseas province in proportion to their collective population.