NNP

Extracted from Documenta & Instrumenta (2014), pp. 195-208, in Spanish.

Abstract: In our paper we present and make a brief discussion of the issuing of paper money (1781) in Puerto Rico under the reign of Charles III (Carlos III), in response to the lack of the “Situado Mexicano” and the war between Spain and England. There was a previous issue of paper money in 1766, due to the lack of the “Situado Mexicano” which was supposed to be received annually in Puerto Rico. Very little is known about the history of both issues, but the issue of paper money in 1766 and this issue of 1781, entitles Puerto Rico to be listed as the first country in Latin America (still under Spanish rule) to issue paper money; also, evidence suggests that rudimentary printing existed on the island 25 years before the commonly accepted date among historians in Puerto Rico (1806).