Its creation was part of the, ultimately futile, Habsburg attempt in the late 16th century to prevent incursion into the Caribbean by competing European world powers.

The Columbus family appointed governors in Puerto Rico from then until 1536, when Diego's son, Luis Colón sold the rights to govern the Indies to the Crown.

Since governors were the king's highest representative on the island, they had oversight over the Church because of the right of patronage (real patronato) that the monarchs of Spain had in the Americas.

They controlled the construction and maintenance of church buildings, paid the salaries of the clergy, and ensured that only Papal bulls and encyclicals approved by the Council of the Indies were published on the island.

Due to Spain's growing military conflicts with other European powers, both in Europe and in the New World, the Crown added the office of captain general to the governor in 1580.

On the other side of the island, San Germán was left practically defenseless, and was easy prey to French attacks throughout the century from its colonies in the Caribbean.

The improvements to the city's defenses proved to be ready by the time they faced their first major challenge, an assault by a 27-ship fleet led by Francis Drake.

During these periods of shifting formal and informal conflict, trading in contraband proved to be a crucial element of the local economy, as was common in many peripheral areas of Spanish America.

To supplement the inadequate number of regular soldiers, local militias (milicias urbanas) were organized in each of the islands five districts (partidos) outside of the capital: San Germán, Arecibo, Aguada, Coamo, Loíza and Ponce.

Their weapons consisted of farm implements: machetes, improvised wooden lances and regular knives, but the governors-captains general usually attested to their courage.

Shaken by the losses of the Seven Years' War, in particular the capture of Cuba by the British in 1762, Charles III sent several officials to the Caribbean to review the defenses of the area.

The early 19th century presented the dual challenge of Spain suffering invasion by French forces and revolt among its colonies in the Americas.

Some individual Puerto Ricans, such as Antonio Valero de Bernabé, later chose to join the struggle for independence going on in the South American mainland.

In response to the junta movement gathering strength on the mainland, the peninsular government gave Governor Salvador Meléndez extraordinary powers to deal with any revolt on the island.

As the government in opposition to the French began to take shape in the form of a Supreme Central Junta, it recognized the overseas possessions as integral parts of the Spanish nation.

They elected as Puerto Rico's representative, the native criollo Ramón Power y Giralt, but before he could leave for Spain, the Supreme Junta had dissolved itself.

He quickly had the Cortes suspend the governor of Puerto Rico's extraordinary powers, and he also secured separation of the office of the intendant from that of the governor-captain general.

After the King of Spain restored traditional government, he sought to maintain and reward the loyalty of Puerto Ricans by granting the island a limited form of the long-sought free trade.

Francisco González de Linares, a long-time Venezuelan resident who had fled after collapse of its royalist government, was appointed governor.

Pablo Morillo's successor as head of the royalist forces in Venezuela, Miguel de la Torre, was appointed captain general.

After Ferdinand VII's second abolition of the Constitution, La Torre was made joint governor and captain general, with extraordinary powers to suppress any potential revolt.

[2] But in Puerto Rico, slaves made up only 11.5 to 14 percent of the work force, a much lower proportion compared to other Caribbean islands of the time, .

The democratic institutions, such as the Diputación Provincial and the cabildos, established by the 1812 Constitution were removed, and the extraordinary powers granted to the governor maintained.

The Gloriosa Revolt of 1868, which removed Queen Isabel II from power, initially reaffirmed the right of Puerto Rico's residents to participate in the Spanish government.

Finally and most seriously, the Lares revolt coincided with the Ten Years' War in Cuba, which made the government apprehensive of granting autonomy to either of the Caribbean islands.