For a History of the Migration from the Capraia island: Capraia Islanders in Puerto Rico

Abstract

In 1801, Capraia, which had belonged to the Republic of Genoa since the 16 th century, was occupied by the French troops in order to prevent it from falling into the hands of the English fleet, which were assaulting Genoa with the Austria n troops back then. In 1803, the weak Ligurian Republic, born from the ashes of the Republic of Genoa, bowed to the demands of Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul, and ceded Capraia to France. In 1806, the island was unified with the Department of Golo, in Corsica, the administrative centre of which was Bastia. It was not until the annexation of the island by Corsica that many Capraia islanders moved to Bastia and the Capocorso: over four hundred people left the island in 10-15 years, especially in 1815, when the island was assigned to the Kingdom of Sardinia by virtue of the Vienna-Capraia treaty. Fathers and sons of many families tried to start a new life, mostly as sailors and traders, jobs they used to do in their native island. Initially, most Capraia islanders settled in Bastia, but then many moved to other municipalities of the Capocorso, where they found jobs that were more in line with their previous experience. Others belonged to a migratory flow which got them from Corsica – and especially from the Capocorso – to mainland France and other faraway countries. One of these flows arrived to the remote island of Puerto Rico. Maybe attracted by the stories heard in the port of Bastia, many young people of this land decided to lead an adventurous life in distant countries and make a fortune.