Puerto Rico is the smallest of the Greater Antilles and the largest of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea.

Ramón Emeterio Betances Alacán was the son of Felipe Betances, a Dominican immigrant tied to the world of the sugar trade and business, and María del Carmen Alacán, a native of Cabo Rojo.

On March 22, 1873, the Spanish Cortes approved the law that eliminated slavery in Puerto Rico.