2.1.Geography and history of Spanglish

2.1.1.Geography

There are just a few geographical facts to be mentioned which are important for a later understanding of Spanglish.

First of all I would like to quote a couple of statistics which I find interesting and significant for the use of Spanglish and its geographical context²:

• Latino immigrants comprise nearly 12% of the U.S. population (about 40 million)

• 43% of Latino population in the U.S. is currently under 18

• the majority of immigrants are Mexicans (28 million = 64%), then Puerto Ricans (nearly 4 million = 9) and Cubans (1,5 million = 3,4%)

• most Latino immigrants live in California (13 million), Texas (8 million), Florida (less than 4 million) and New York (3 million)

Spanglish speaking countries and cities are not only those on the boarders, as one could suppose. Even Ilan Stavans in his book defines the term Spanglish as “The verbal encounter between Anglo and Hispano civilization”, which would suggest the encounter on the borders (Stavans 2003: 5). Still, as mentioned above among the statistics, there is an outstanding number of Latino immigrants in California, Texas, Florida and New York out of which Florida is not really a country on the borders, though close to Caribbean islands, and New York is not a borderland at all.

Spanglish can be seen and heard nearly everywhere, where Latino communities are present, but as a common vehicle of communication on the streets and among Latinos in general it is mainly used in Miami, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Denver, Tallahassee and numerous other cities (Stavans 2003: 5).

Latino (or Hispanic) immigrants form the most numerous group of immigrants in the USA. However, not all the Latinos have the same conditions for living in the United States. For example Puerto Ricans studying in the States is free of charge, but they must sign an agreement that in case of the war they would be among the first to be recruited to fight for the flag. On the other hand Cubans are regarded as political refugees and Mexicans are usually illegal immigrants to the USA.

2.1.2.History

“We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us.”

(Morales 2002: 20)

Spanglish might seem a recent phenomenon. In fact the history of the countries where Spanglish is used shows us it is not just a matter of recent years, but that the roots of it can be found even in the colonial times. The purpose of this chapter is not to give a detailed description of the history of each Spanish speaking country on the American continent, however, there is some key information important to understanding the creation of Spanglish.

Mexico

Spanish spread to Mexico mainly thanks to Hernán Cortés and his soldiers in 1519, pushing out the old language of the Aztecs. Since the second half of the 16^th century (1521) until the beginning of the 19^th century (1810) Mexico belonged to the viceroyalty of New Spain (Nueva España), which included not only Mexico, but also Spanish Caribbean islands, Costa Rica, Central America, Philippine Islands and today’s southwestern part of the United States.

After Napoleon invaded Spain, Miguel Hidalgo y Castilla (a Catholic priest in Mexico) declared independence from Spain (on 16^th September 1810). This declaration started a long war of independence, which led to the first official document of independence “Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America” in 1813.

In 1821 the Treaty of Córdoba was signed and it meant the official independence of Mexico. In the same year the First Mexican Empire was proclaimed, though it only lasted until 1823 when the United Mexican States were established (including almost all the lost Spanish colonies in the Central America).

Between 1846 and 1848 there was a U.S.-Mexican war. Texas won independence from Mexico and in 1845 voted to be annexed to the United States. In addition to that the U.S. sent troops to Texas to secure its territory. Mexico took that as an intervention into its internal politics and as a support of the rebel area. What made the problems more serious were the disagreements about boundaries – Mexicans considered Nueces River to be the border line, however the Republic of Texas (and so the U.S.) claimed the border line to be the Rio Grande river – and so the war was declared.

Mexico was defeated and forced to sell most of its northern territories to the United States (among others they lost the areas of today’s California, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and Arizona).

The defeat can be seen as the key point for the creation of Spanglish culture and language. The original (Spanish speaking) inhabitants of those areas became American citizens over night. A lot of Americans went there to settle and English was the official language, the assimilation process began – which meant a great change for the Spanish speaking people who, in an effort to save at least a part of their cultural heritage, started creating fresh, new culture containing both Spanish and English elements.

Texas

The first colonizers to come to Texas were the French (1682). They wanted to separate the two Spanish colonies – Florida and New Mexico – and so soften the influence of the Spanish kingdom in America. Therefore, in 1683, French king Louis XIV established a French colony near the Mississippi river.

The French were defeated by the Indians of that area and when the Spanish arrived (they searched for the French to fight, as they could have been a danger for them in America), they did not find any French left in Texas and they claimed that area their new colony.

Still the French wanted to get Texas back, however later they gave up the idea and Louisiana become Spanish (for about forty years). In 1800 (1^st October the agreement was signed) the French were given back Louisiana for the Italian throne. However, later they sold it to the U.S. (Louisiana Purchase in 1803). There was a dispute between the U.S. and Spain about the borders of Louisiana which ended in 1819, when Spain gave Florida to the U.S. in order to get back the disputed area of Texas.

In 1821 Texas gained independence from Spain together with Mexico. Since then Texas was controlled by Mexico. Two years later Mexico united Texas and the state Coahuila to form “Coahuila y Tejas”.

There were many immigrants to Texas from the United States. Thanks to that and the institutional changes in Mexico (Texas was once declared a state, than it was abandoned etc.), Texas people started to revolt and wanted independence. The Texas revolution lasted from the 2^nd October 1835 to 21^st April 1836, when Texas governed itself as the Republic of Texas (though Mexico still did not recognized it as an independent state).

There were two political fractions in Texas – one advocated the continuing independency of Texas, the other wanted peaceful annexing to the U.S. Texas people voted for the annexation and since the year 1845 Texas has been a state of the United States (which led to the U.S. – Mexican war, as mentioned above).

California

European colonizers (Spanish and English) were arriving in California from the early 1500s till the mid-1700s. One of those who came to California was Hernán Cortés, who was told by an Indian slave about a land full of silver and gold.

In the middle of the 1700s Russian and British explorers began to travel to the area to explore it more deeply.

Since 1697 there had been a permanent Jesuit mission (at that time California territory was part of New Mexico). Jesuits were developing their control over the area.

During the last 20 years of the 18^th century the first Spanish colonies were established in order to prevent further Russian and British interests. By 1820 there were missions from Loreto (north of San Diego) to the north of the area where San Francisco is today.

When Mexico gained independence from Spain, California became a part of Mexico and all the Spanish born people were made to leave.

At the time of the U.S.-Mexico war Californian settlers (mainly Americans) took their chance to proclaim their own republic (it was not accepted). When the war ended, the U.S. bought California (for a small amount of money) from Spain and it became part of the U.S.

Arizona

The first Europeans came to the area of today’s Arizona around in 1528. There were large deposits of silver and copper, which made this area even more attractive and, since the late 17^th century, Spanish colonists were continuously arriving in Arizona.

In 1821, Mexico won independence, as did the area of Arizona, which became its part. At that time, there were problems with the Apaches. At the same time American mountain men³ began entering the area.

In 1848 Arizona became part of the U.S., together with other northern territories, which belonged to Mexico.

New Mexico

The first Europeans came to the area in the 1500s. There was the legend of Seven Golden cities of Cibola and hence there were many expeditions between 1540 and 1542. In 1598 San Juan was founded as the first permanent settlement of the area of the future New Mexico.

As a part of New Spain, New Mexico came under the power of Mexico later on. However, Mexican government was not very interested in that part of the country.

After the Mexican-American war and after the disputes about boundaries, New Mexico was established the Territory of New Mexico belonging to the U.S and later in 1912 was claimed the 47^th state of the U.S.

Puerto Rico

The Spanish came to Puerto Rico in 1493, when Christopher Columbus on his second voyage landed on the island. He became the first governor of the island. During the 1520s, the island got the name Puerto Rico (previously it was named San Juan Bautista).

In 1511, The Christian Church saw the opportunity to get more power and Pope Julius II founded one (out of three) diocese in the New World in Puerto Rico. As a part of the colonization, Spanish colonizers brought African slaves to work on the island.

As soon as the French realized the strategic position of Puerto Rico, they destroyed some of the Spanish settlements and the only one left was the capital San Juan. The Spanish defended and kept Puerto Rico.

Another nation who realized the importance of Puerto Rico was England. Sir Francis Drake sailed to the island, but he was defeated as were the French. The following British attack was successful (led by George Clifford) and they held the island for a few months. However, they did not manage to keep it any longer and they abandoned it with Spain returning to power.

In the 18^th and 19^th century there were several other attacks on the island – by the Dutch, French and the English who were the most successful. In 1797, the Spanish and the French declared the war on the United Kingdom – the result was that the English tried to conquer the island again, however, the attempt was unsuccessful.

During the early 19^th century, when Napoleon reigned in Spain, Puerto Rico gained a little autonomy and more rights for a short period of time (thanks to the Royal Decree of Grace, in 1815) which ended with the end of Napoleon mastery over Spain.

For the second half of the century the fighting for autonomy was significant. The poor economy and social conditions led to the uprising in 1868, called Grito de Lares (grito means cry, scream). The Spanish army soon put down this revolt.

In the 1870s, the first political organizations appeared in Puerto Rico, above all two – Traditionalists and Autonomist. Traditionalists were in favour of assimilation into the Spanish political party system, whereas Autonomist wanted to escape the Spanish central control.

In 1898, Puerto Rico gained a little autonomy from Spain again, this was short-lived, however, since the same year US troop invaded the island. After the Treaty of Paris was signed on 10^th December 1898, Puerto Rico (together with Cuba, Guam and the Philippines) became a part of the U.S.

The “Americanization” brought quite a lot of advantages, however the island was still under the military control of the U.S. until 1900. Puerto Rico was a kind of colony, not a co-ordinate part of the United States but there were voices to change that. They partly succeeded when they achieved the Jones Act in 1917. Puerto Rico was made a United States territory, all of the inhabitants gained U.S. citizenship.

In 1950 Puerto Ricans achieved even more rights by signing the Public Act, which established the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It changed the political status of the island but still has still been considered a part of the U.S. up till today. There have been voices for Puerto Rico’s independence, even for Puerto Rico to become the 51st state of the USA, however none of those attempts have been successful to date.

Cuba

The first Spaniard on the island was (again) Christopher Columbus, when on his second voyage landed on the beach, today called Guantánamo Bay. However, not until the year 1511 was the first settlement formed on the island.

The 17^th century was primarily significant due to the invasion of British troops. The occupation only lasted for eleven months but with the Spanish managing to keep control over the island.

The Spanish traded more and more with tobacco and sugar. In the 1800s, Cuba became the most important sugar-producer, especially when Spain opened the trade ports (also thanks to the slave uprising in Haiti, which removed Cuba’s main sugar-producing rival out of the trade).

The first war of independence burst out in Cuba in October 1868 and lasted for at least ten years, with the defeat of the rebels. Another unsuccessful uprising took place in 1895.

The Americans were very interested in Cuba and when, in February 1898, a U.S. warship exploded (under mysterious circumstances) near Havana harbour, the Spanish-American war began. In December of the same year the war ended, with the defeat of the Spanish army.

The U.S. was forced by law to respect Cubans self-government and could not “absorb” it as they did it with Puerto Rico. However, they established their governor and initiated many public projects, supporting constructions of schools, hospitals etc. The tourism flourished at that time and thousands of Americans went there for holidays. However, with the accession of the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista Cuba was on the decline.

In twenty years (in 1959) the control over the country was taken by Fidel Castro (he was named prime minister). He started to reform the country and claimed it to be socialist country – on that account Russia was fast to help and sent the support of all kinds to Cuba so they could “get free” from the control of the USA.

Since that time many Cubans have left to the USA due to the political reasons and formed a numerous immigrant group there.