the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Catholic Church. After five years they could request a "Letter of Naturalization" that would make them Spanish subjects. Hundreds of Corsicans and their families immigrated to Puerto Rico from as early as 1830, and their numbers peaked in the 1850s. The first Spanish settlers settled and owned the land in the coastal areas, the Corsicans tended to settle the mountainous southwestern region of the island, primary in the towns of Adjuntas, Lares, Utuado, Ponce, Coamo, Yauco, Guayanilla and Gu�nica. However, it was Yauco whose rich agricultural area attracted the majority of the Corsican settlers. The three main crops in Yauco were coffee, sugar cane and tobacco. The new settlers dedicated themselves to the cultivation of these crops and within a short period of time some were even able to own and operate their own grocery stores. However, it was with the cultivation of the coffee bean that they would make their fortunes. Cultivation of coffee in Yauco originally began in the Rancheras and Diego Hern�ndez sectors and later extended to the Aguas Blancas, Frailes and Rubias sectors. The Mariani family created a machine out of a cotton gin in the 1860s, which was used in the dehusking of coffee. This represented a significant improvement in Puerto Rico's coffee appearance and an opportunity to stand out in the international coffee market. By the 1860s the Corsican settlers were the leaders of the coffee industry in Puerto Rico and seven out of ten coffee plantations were owned by Corsicans.
Intentona de Yauco
The second and last major revolt against Spanish colonial rule in Puerto Rico, by Puerto Rico's pro-independence movement, known as the Intentona de Yauco a.k.a. the "Attempted Coup of Yauco", was staged in Yauco. The revolt, which occurred on of March 26, 1897, was organized by Antonio Mattei Lluberas, Meteo Mercado and Fidel Velz and was backed up by leaders of "El Grito de Lares", the first major
