[ISL] The Corsicans of Puerto Rico

[rfmcdonald]

Because of their generally small size and their necessary dependence upon larger economies elsewhere, islands are frequently sources of immigrant diasporas. Puerto Rico and Corsica (at least the native-born segment of the population) are particularly famous for their emigrations. This is why I was surprised to discover that there was large-scale Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico in the mid-19th century, at a time when one of the last Spanish colonies was still doing better than France's insular dependency in the Mediterranean. The Wikipedia article seems to suggest that the Corsicans who did move to Puerto Rico had some technical skills, as evidenced by their influence in the modernization of the island's coffee industry.