African Tulip Tree: Puerto Rico’s Salvation or Invasive Pest?
Lauren Fegan
September 6, 2015
WSES 4309
THESIS
The African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata) is a native species of tree that is found along the West coast of Africa from Ghana to Angola and inland across the center of the continent to southern Sudan and Uganda. (Source #1) The vivid fiery hue of the flowers of the African tulip tree contributed to its introduction to Puerto Rico more than a century earlier as an ornamental. (Source #2) More than a century later the African tulip tree has contributed to the reforestation of lands formerly abandoned by agricultural collapse. It is now the most abundant tree in the secondary forests of Puerto Rico. (Source #3) The opportunistic nature of the resilient African tulip tree has transformed the landscape of Puerto Rico by providing habitat and aiding in the recovery of flora and fauna due to anthropogenic ecocide.
NARRATIVE
At the end of the fifteenth century the natives of Puerto Rico called the Taino inhabited the island. The Taino were highly skilled in agriculture, and were dependent on fishing for their sustenance. When the Europeans arrived to the island the Taino native population was quickly obliterated by the small pox epidemic of 1518. The small pox epidemic of 1518 was responsible for killing 90% of the native population. (Source #5 John F. Richards) The island was nearly 100 percent forested before the arrival of the Spanish
Before Spain invaded Puerto Rico, the native population known as the Taino inhabited it. At the beginning of the 1500’s, the Taino were conquered by the Spanish and, after a
It is not uncommon that you’ll hear Puerto Ricans refer to themselves as the mutts of the Spanish community, this is because of the island’s history. Soon after Christopher Columbus “discovered” the island in 1493, it became known as the “rich port” for the Spanish or Puerto Rico, due to the fact that it produced mass amounts of cattle, sugar cane, tobacco, and coffee, especially considering the island’s size. Such prosperity and wealth opened the door for the slave trade to enter the colony, and as a result Puerto Rican bloodlines and cultures evolved not only from the Spanish, but also from Africans, and indigenous Taíno and Carib people (“Puerto Rico- History and Heritage”). In addition, over the centuries many failed attempts where made by the French, Dutch, and English to conquer the island which even further changed the bloodlines. Of course, as history has it, at the end of the Spanish American war in 1898, the Treaty of Paris declared the the Spanish would surrender Puerto Rico to the United States, therefore infiltrating American culture and beauty ideals.
Puerto Ricans are another major Hispanic group that has also arrived to the U.S and brought less work for Americans. Puerto Ricans' current association with the United States, like that of the Mexican people, began as the result of the outcome of a war. The island of Borinquen, subsequently called Puerto Rico, was claimed by Spain in 1493. The native inhabitants, the Taino Indians, were significantly reduced in number by conquest, slavery, and genocide. (Schaefer, R. 2006, p.266). After Puerto Rico had been ruled by Spain for four centuries, the island was seized by the United States in 1808 during the Spanish-American War. The value of Puerto Rico for the United States, as it had been for Spain, was mainly its strategic location, which was advantageous for maritime trade. (Schaefer, R. 2006, p.226). The most significant difference between the meaning of race in Puerto Rico and on the mainland is that Puerto Rico, like so many other
Puerto Rico is an island that is impacted by not having enough land for cultivation. The Three thousand four hundred and ninety-two square miles of this island is about seventy-five percent hills or mountains (Worldmark Encyclopedia of the States b). With the large amount of land consisting of hill or mountains, Puerto Rico has limited amounts of natural resources. While under Spanish colonial rule, the island was largely neglected because of its limited mineral resources. Following the Spanish-American war in 1898, the U.S. took over control of the island. The U.S. found itself in control of an island that produced small scale amounts of sugar and coffee. The U.S would then expand the sugarcane operations and establish markets to use as a viable trade resource.
Taino indians were the indigenous group that lived in the Caribbean Islands that consisted of Hispaniola, Cuba, and Puerto Rico before Christopher Columbus arrived in the new world. Columbus’ conquest and founding of Puerto Rico resulted in the genocide of the Tainos. Due to this atrocity, right now there is only a small percentage of people on the island who are descendants of the Taino lineage.
When Cuba was first discovered by Europeans when Columbus arrived in 1492, they discovered several groups of indigenous peoples already living on the island. These groups, known as the Taino, subTaíno, Mayarí, Ciboney Cayo Redondo, and Guayabo Blanco groups, did not have many members, and were largely wiped out by illnesses brought by the Europeans. Some populations in the rural western- and easternmost parts of the island, however, still retain these early indigenous genes (Stubbs, Haines, & Haines, 1996, p.
Puerto Rico, whose word meaning is “rich port” in Spanish, is a beautiful Island located in the middle of the Caribbean. Its strategic location made it a must have territory to the Spaniards who colonized it over four hundred years before the United States took a special interest. It all started in the year 1898, with the Treaty of Paris Puerto Rico now is property of the United States. After centuries of being led by Sevilla and Madrid, Puerto Rico was now forced to look upon Washington. The series of events leading the Spanish-American War changed Puerto Rico permanently. From changing the Island’s name from Porto Rico to Puerto Rico to Americanizing the Puerto Rican people in all ways possible, the acquisition of Puerto Rico from the United States had numerous economic, social and political impacts.
The "discovery" or infiltration of the island of Borinquen (or Puerto Rico as it was later renamed) in 1493 by Spain resulted in the decimation of the native Taino population. With the loss of an immediate source of cheap labor to work the fields for their sugar cane industry, they introduced African culture into the region by importing slaves to replace the Taino field workers. In addition to the introduction of African culture into Puerto Rico voluntary immigration brought
Puerto Rico is located in the Caribbean Sea (under Florida). The capital of Puerto Rico is San Juan. The national anthem of Puerto Rico is La Borinqueña. The total area of Puerto Rico is 3,50 square feet. The population is 3,578,056 people since July of 2016. The official language of puerto rico is spanish and english. Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1493, one year after he discovered the Americas. He named it San Juan Bautista, after John the Baptist.The tasty and spicy food of Puerto Rico comes from a mixture of Spanish, America, British and African inspirations. In Puerto Rico, it is very well-mannered to kiss someone on the cheek when greeting them. The legal drinking age in Puerto Rico is 18. Puerto Rico is very famous for
In the Everglades these patches of trees or islands of them are an essential piece of the landscape. These islands of trees are seen in both the short and the long hydro period wetland of the Everglades. What these islands start to do is provide a web of shade and they gives opportunity for these forest-dwelling plants and animals to perform important biodiversity and nutrient cycling functions (Gained et al. 2002, Ross 2009). Tree islands can be all different sizes, in the short hydro period area these sizes can vary from anything of two to three trees to as big as several hectares with hundreds of trees. The size of these tree islands have a direct effect on the amount of species there are, the larger the tree island the more chance there is to have more
The experience Puerto Rice has had in the few thousands has been rough to say. They have been under the control of two separate countries. Their native people practically extinct, and they still cannot again their own independence till this day like they had 5,000 years ago. To understand the history of Puerto Rico and how they became a part of the United States, you have to go back a few thousand years. There is not much ancient history surrounding present day Puerto Rico as there is with the ancient empires such as the Mayans, Aztecs, and the Incas. There are some scholars that suggest that a tribe of Ortoiroid people who came from South America arrived and inhabited the land, dating back to about 4,000 years ago. The more known history
Christopher Columbus discovered this European island, as he landed in Puerto Rico in 1493. This island was then claimed by the Spanish. The island was under a constant ‘fight’ for permanent possession, as Europeans fought for control by the French, English, and Danish. During the 19th century, the Spanish tried to gain full control of this island. In 1811 the governor of Puerto Rico, Don Salvador Melendez sent military commander Juan Ressello to try and gain control of this island. In 1898, after the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico and many offshore islands were given to the United States. The United States used this island for military training, just like the island of Culebra. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States started to reevaluate their controls of military bases on islands. The people of Vieques started to become worried about their own lives, as the Navy would be shooting guns in their island’s home. Vieques did not make this list, so the United States Navy returned the power back to Puerto Rico.
The europeans the came to america after christopher columbus came to america left huge cultural impacts by causing the death of almost the entire group of people. This is shown by what the europeans did to the taino during the early years of the european exchange. Before the europeans came to america the taino came from Venezuela and traveled across the Antilles in groups of voyaging and settlement. They developed many successful communities in the area around venezuela. They farmed basic crops like maize, beans, yucca, and sweet potatoes. When columbus came they were quite generous to his crew. This gave columbus the wrong idea however as he thought that they would be easy to take advantage of. Soon after that spanish men took native away
The few surviving Tainos took off to the mountains for survival. The first two important elements of whom and what makes up Puerto Rican people, is here. The Taino Indians are 1/3 of the element. The second element, were the Spaniards.
The rate of deforestation is increasing and the tropical forests are falling at approximately 140,000 acres per day (Miller & Tangley 1991: xvi). The forests are crucial to the environment. They are important in minimizing erosion, providing a stable habitat for many animals, and helping to keep the environment clean. Deforestation has devastating effects, not only on the biological dependents within the depleted forests, but also on the surrounding human-populated communities.