The Saber and Scroll
Soon , writers like Richard Van Deusen continued to play a role in creating images of Puerto Rico through their descriptions . In 1931 , Van Deusen wrote Puerto Rico : A Caribbean Isle , which is a book that emphasized that Puerto Rico was “ not merely material riches , but embraces the idea of luxuriousness , of lavish beauty , of deep contentment , of slumberous peace , of constant pleasure and plentiful harvests …” 16 Describing Puerto Rico as a place that is not materialistically rich is significant because he wrote of Puerto Rico ’ s natural beauties as a commodity that can be sold . Puerto Rico ’ s prior image of being a land of problems was changing as some misconceptions of the island were addressed through the Good Neighbor Policy . The demand for travel guides rose as Puerto Rico became known for its “ legend , romance , scenic beauty and cultural traditions ” rather than the backwardness it was attributed to years prior . 17
Van Deusen ’ s description of Puerto Rico is appealing to Americans because beauty became a commodity that could be sold . As the island was depicted as a tropical paradise , the image of the Puerto Rico was no longer associated with laziness and backwardness . The repairs made to the image of Puerto Rico itself meant that the misconceptions of Puerto Ricans needed to be addressed too . FDR ’ s Good Neighbor Policy led to Puerto Ricans becoming recognized for their ethnic whiteness and their willingness to become Americans rather than their blackness .
Van Deusen addressed the misconception that it “ is sometimes erroneously stated that Puerto Rico is a country of negroes .” 18 In 1920 , Puerto Rico ’ s population was 73 percent white , 23.3 percent mulatto , and 3.8 percent black . Van Deusen thought that since white people overwhelmingly outnumbered black people it meant that the black population would eventually “ fall into insignificance .” 19
He described Puerto Rico in the sixteen-century as a military colony that encouraged a great influx of population through the “ constant renewal of the garrison .” The Puerto Rican population was infused with “ Flemish , Walloons , Alsatians , Poles , and Italians ” people that were historically and ethnologically merged with the Spanish “ leaving but their foreign names .” 20 Along with those peoples , Frenchmen and Spanish Dominicans made their way to the neighboring island as well . Since the island had a substantial population of Europeans breeding with Puerto Ricans , the people on the island were not just attaining European traditions , but they were also “ whitening .” 21 And it is because of this sense of whiteness that Americans believed Puerto Ricans could become Americans themselves . Van Deusen was aware of how difficult it would be to Americanize Puerto Ricans , but he was convinced that the traditions that they had obtained through European immigration would encourage them to adopt American traditions .
Van Deusen saw potential in them due to their “ qualities of hidaligoism ,” which is a Spanish term referring to word “ gentleman .” Those qualities consist of “ honor , gallantry , dignity ” and “ pride .” These characteristics were
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