Following the transport of thousands of slaves to the Caribbean Island in the 17th century, Puerto Rico is widely regarded as the home of many enslaved Africans. Those who escaped and sought refuge in Puerto Rico swore allegiance to the Spanish Crown and converted to Catholicism in exchange for their freedom.
According to Fredericknewspost.com, many of the enslaved are thought to have come from Saint Thomas and Saint Croix, where they were fleeing the harsh conditions and treatment on plantations.
While the freed slaves sought refuge in the Spanish colony, the Crown saw this as an opportunity to weaken its neighbors who planned to attack them.
Lester Nurse Allende, a psychologist and community historian, claimed that Spain was engaging in ambush marketing by telling enslaved Africans that they could escape to the region and gain their freedom. It was a tempting offer, but it did not favor European slave plantations, whose owners saw it as undue pressure.
Many of the enslaved Africans who escaped to Puerto Rico settled in Cangrejos. Because of the large tract of land surrounded by mangroves and beaches that became a fortress for the people, it was a safe haven from recapture. The Spanish named the area cimarrones in honor of the fact that the region was heavily populated by freed slaves.
According to oral history, the city got its name from ochre-colored crabs that lived on Cangrejos’ beaches. In the Spanish military campaign to defend its territory against British invasion, freed slaves provided a strong defense. The enslaved Africans became known as Black fighters, who used their knowledge of the swampy jungle to deflect British attacks.
When the freed slaves were confident in their contributions to the Puerto Rican region, they demanded that the Spanish crown recognize Cangrejos as a Black community. Historical documents also show that enslaved Africans requested the construction of a church so that they could worship on their own terms.
That request was covered in the newspapers, which are still displayed in the community church. San Mateo de Cangrejos was the first church built by Black slaves in 1729.
As the population grew, the freed slaves renovated the building, adding more towers and a brick dome above the altar. The church closed its doors to the public in 1971 and became a haven for Catholic nuns living in the Carmelite convent.
According to Allende, a community historian, this could be the result of bad blood between the church and the black community. The region experienced further decline after its town status was downgraded and divided into many districts in the late 1800s.
She described it as a community that was always buzzing with activity and where people felt a sense of belonging. Cangrejos had a great nightlife, and her parents instilled in her the importance of the community’s history.
However, as modernity infiltrated the region, the swamp, beaches, and parking lots were replaced with new infrastructure.
The church is one of the few historical relics that link the present to the past and the history of freed slaves.