Mona, Puerto Rico
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- "Mona Island" redirects here. Mona Island is also an ancient name of Anglesey.
Monito Island at top left
Mona (Isla de Mona, in Spanish) is an island of the archipelago of Puerto Rico located in the Mona Passage, a strait between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, 61 km east of the Dominican Republic, 66 km west of the main island of Puerto Rico and 49 km southwest of Desecheo Island, another island in the Mona Passage.
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[edit] Geography
Mona has an area of more than 50 km² and is located 80 km away from the main island of Puerto Rico. It is uninhabited and has been designated an ecological preserve by the island's government. The census of 2000 reports six housing units, but zero population. The island is a ward (barrio) of the municipality of Mayagüez, together with Monito Island 5 km northwest (Isla de Mona e Islote Monito barrio). This is the largest ward of Mayagüez by area, and at the same time the only one without permanent population. Desecheo Island, 49 km to the northeast, however, is part of Sabanetas barrio. The total land area of both islands in the barrio is about 56.93 km² (Mona Island 56.783 km² and nearby Monito Island 0.147 km²) [1] and it comprises 28.3 percent of the total land area of the municipality of Mayagüez.
The island is mainly flat and is composed of dolomite and limestone with many caves found throughout. With an arid climate and untouched by human development, many endemic species inhabit the island, such as the Mona Ground Iguana. In the past, the island once had the presence of a small guano mining center.[2] Its topography, ecology, and modern history are similar to that of Navassa Island, a small limestone island located in the Jamaica Channel, between Jamaica and Haiti.
[edit] Land Cover
Four types of land cover can be identified [3]:
- Cactus (11,27 km²)
- Highland Forest (40,28 km²)
- Central Depression Forest (1,47 km²)
- Coastal Forest (3,77 km²)
[edit] Beaches
[edit] Southeast
- Playa Escalera
- Playa Pájaros
- Playa Brava
- Playa Coco
- Playa Caigo
[edit] Southwest
- Playa Uvero-1
- Playa Uvero-2
- Playa U-8
- Playa U-1
- Playa Carabinero
- Playa Mujeres
- Playa Carite
[edit] West
- Playa Sardinera
- Playa Carmelitas
The only campsites are at Playa Uvero and Playa Sardinera. In addition, Playa de Pájaros, Plaja Mujeres and Playa Brava are important to visitors.
[edit] History
Mona Island is believed to have been originally settled by Arawak Indians that arrived from Hispaniola (present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic). An archeological excavation during the 1980s discovered many Pre-Columbian objects on the island that helped support their theories of the island's first inhabitants. Later the island was settled by the much more docile Tainos and remained so until it was first sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1493 during his second voyage to the New World.
[edit] Discovery and early history
On November 19, 1493, Columbus encounters the island of Puerto Rico, which the natives call Borinquen (or Boriken according to some historians), but he baptizes it San Juan Bautista (or Saint John the Baptist). It was within hours after setting foot in what is presently Guánica that Columbus and his ships head west in order to reach Hispaniola, where he expected to meet several crewmembers who remained behind from his first voyage. As he left Puerto Rico, became the first European to make contact with the island the Taínos called Ámona (for which the name Mona is derived from), a name that was bestowed by the natives in honor of the ruling Cacique or chief of the island.
In 1502, Fray Nicolas de Ovando was sent to Isla Mona to keep an eye, from a safe distance, on the native revolts occurring in Hispaniola. With a group of 2,000 Spanish settlers, Ovando was left in charge of creating a permanent settlement on the island. Due to its small size and location, the island proved to be inadequate to accommodate such a large settlement, and therefore food became scarce as shipments from Hispaniola and Puerto Rico were received infrequently.
Juan Ponce de León who accompanied Columbus on his first two voyages, became the first ruling governor of the colony.[1] In 1508, de León made several visits to Mona Island to gather goods and food from the Tainos residing there. The island which had an abundant supply of food and other products commonly used by the Tainos both on Mona Island and Puerto Rico, was considered to be a valuable possession to personally have. In 1509, he became interested in possession of the island. This caused a bitter rivalry between him and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. By then, Isla Mona was an important point of trade between Spain and the rest of Latin America, as well as a rest stop for boat crews carrying slaves.
In 1514, Ferdinand II wanted Mona Island to become his private vacation retreat. After some wrangling, in 1515 he was able to reclaim the island from Diego Colon. With his possession of the island King Ferdinand II gave the Tainos residing on the island two options if they wished to continue living on the island: (1) they could either work by fishing, making hammocks and cultivating plants, or (2) they could become miners and help in the mining of guano and other minerals. Realizing that mining would require intense labor, the majority of inhabitants chose to work as fishermen and farmers. By accepting this option, they also were exempted from paying imposed taxes, and were able to avoid the hard labor many other natives endured in mines. With time, natives from other neighboring islands were brought to Mona Island to assist with labor.
After the death of Ferdinand II in 1516 ownership of the island was transferred to Cardenal Cisneros. Yet again the island changed ownership when in 1520, Francisco de Barrionuevo became the island's new landlord. By 1524, Alonso Manso, bishop of Puerto Rico, had become interest in gaining personal wealth, and he accused Barrionuevo, among others, of various criminal charges before the Spanish justice system of the time. Because of this situation, Barrionuevo self exiled himself to one of Spain's colonies in South America, taking many Tainos along with him, and leaving the island practically deserted.
By 1522, ships from other major sea powers such as England, France, and the Netherlands began to arrive at Isla Mona to replenish supplies for their transatlantic voyages. The island also provided them and pirates with a refuge where they could attack and plunder Spanish galleons.
In 1561, during an audience held in Santo Domingo, it was recommended that Isla Mona become a part of that colony (which at the times occupied the eastern half of Hispaniola). Their reasons were simply that the island is much closer to Santo Domingo (presently the Dominican Republic) than it is to Puerto Rico, and it had a small population which could help the former colony's economy in overall agricultural production. However, their petition was turned down and the island continued to remain politically part of Puerto Rico.
In 1583, the Spanish archbishop of Puerto Rico received royal permission to bring Christianity to Mona Island. However, by the 1600s, most Tainos remaining on the island had either died or fled to mainland Puerto Rico.
[edit] 20th century
With the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Isla Mona as well as the rest of Puerto Rico were handed by Spain to the United States. Within two years of occupation, the Mona Island Lighthouse began operations. The lighthouse was designed by famous French engineer Gustave Eiffel (who also designed the world famous Eiffel Tower in Paris). It remained in continuous operations until was decommissioned in 1976 after being replaced by a newer modern structure.
On December 22, 1919 the island was declared an "Insular Forest of Puerto Rico", under the auspices of the U.S. Forest Law #22. From 1945 to 1955 Mona Island was leased to the U.S. Air Force as a military exercise area. Since 1941 the island has also been utilized for hunting and for camping. In order to monitor the island, since 1960 the island has a small ranger post that is operated by the Puerto Rico Department Of Natural Resources.
The island also has a history of smuggling during Prohibition. In 1923, a stash of liqour, drugs, and perfumes, reportedly from the French islands of Martinique and Saint Martin were found in a cave by customs officials. Reportedly worth US$75,000 in value, the island geographic location made it a prime location for rum runners to smuggle rum, bourbon, and other liquor prohibited as a result of the passage of the amendment. While other external territories under European control such as the Bahamas and St. Pierre and Miquelon were successful havens for smuggling, Mona's arid climate and turbulent waters didn't attract much attention for future smuggling.
In 1943, German submarine bombarded the southern coast of the island during the height of World War II. This incident is one of the few incidents of that war in the Caribbean.
In the 1970's geotechnical and bathymetry studies were conducted to determine the feasibility of using Mona as a deepwater terminal for transferring oil from supertankers to smaller tankers which would continue to the mainland US. Thankfully that never happened.
In recent years, the island has become a major drop-off point for Dominicans, Cubans, Chinese, Filipinos and even North Koreans trying to reach Puerto Rico illegally. As a U.S. Commonwealth, Puerto Rico is a seen by many illegal migrants as stepping stone to the United States. With the exceptions of Cubans, who are allowed to stay permanently in the United States due to that country's wet feet/dry feet policy, all other illegal immigrants are usually deported immediately.[4]
[edit] Mona Island today
The island presently serves as a retreat for many Puerto Ricans and nature enthusiasts from all around the world. Due to its unique topography, ecology, and location the island, along with Desecheo Island and Monito Island have been nicknamed The Galapagos Islands of The Caribbean. Scientists, ecologists, and students have visited the island to explore its distinct ecosystem. It has a giant iguana species that is unique to the island. The island is also home to many cave drawings that were left behind by the island's original inhabitants.
An FAA-certified airport that can handle small aircraft was built by the Puerto Rican government. The United States Coast Guard is able to provide transportation with helicopter flights from Eugenio Maria de Hostos Airport in Mayagüez, to help with medicines and first aid equipment; they also fly whenever an emergency requiring hospitalization occurs. Private and commercial planes require a special permit issued by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources to use the airport's facilities.
The most common form of transportation are private yachts, however commercial excursions are available from Cabo Rojo for small groups of up to twelve people traveling together.
Hunting is permitted once a year in order to control the population growth of non-endemic species (goats, pigs and wild cats) because they can represent a threat to various endangered species. Hunting season usually commences in December and ends in April. Camping is allowed from May through November. In modern times, the island has become a popular retreat for Puerto Rican Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
[edit] Modern tragedies
Many modern tragedies involving travelers, both legal and illegal, have happened in or close to Isla Mona. Here is a partial list of some of the most famous modern tragedies there:
- On February 15, 1985, the ferry A. Regina, off course on its nighttime trip from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico, breeched its hull on a coral reef and sank on the South Coast of Mona Island. None of the estimated 200 passengers and crew were injured and the 3,900 ton, 330-foot ship and its cargo of automobiles were abandoned and pirated. It lay broken on the reef for many years and was finally removed sometime in the 1990s after years of wrangling on who was to pay for the salvage removal.Phillipjones1 23:00, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
- In 1989, a ship carrying more than 300 illegal Dominican immigrants sank near Isla Mona. After surveying the area, the U.S. Coast Guard determined that there were no survivors.
- In 2002, a teenager was lost during a Boy Scout expedition on the island. His body was found a few days later. It was determined that he died of severe dehydration.
- In January, 2004, a psychologist became disoriented and found himself lost during a sightseeing trip to the southern part of the island. His body was recovered several days later. Dehydration also played a role in his demise.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Vicente Yañez Pinzón was appointed as the first governor of Puerto Rico, but he never arrived to the island
[edit] External links
- (Spanish) Map of Mona Island
- (English) Article on Cuban refugees arriving on Mona Island
- (Spanish) History of Mona Island
