Moca, Puerto Rico: History
Moca, known as La Capital del Mundillo (The Mundillo Capital), is famous for its lace or Mundillo. It was founded by Don José de Quiñones on June 22, 1772. Diverse versions exist on the date of its foundation. Manuel de Ubeda and Delgado, in his "Isla de Puerto Rico. "Estudio histórico, geográfico y estadístico", published in San Juan in 1878, says Moca was founded in 1774. On the other hand, Cayetano Coll y Toste, in the "Boletín histórico de Puerto Rico", maintains it was founded on June 22, 1772.
In 1841, construction of the main parish, “Parroquia Nuestra Señora de la Monserrate” began.
Slavery was legal in Puerto Rico until 22 March 1873—and thus, Moca by extension is known to have had slave populations within its boundaries. The populations are recorded as such:
1775: 48 (29 men and 19 women).
1828: 625.
Moca’s own founder Don José de Quiñones was also a slave owner, his slaves were known to have been baptized. In 1945, Leoncia Lasalle and Juana Rodríguez Lasalle who were 112 and 85 respectively, were recorded as having been slaves of Marcelino Lasalle. They recorded a powerful testimony regarding their time as slaves.
In 1870, the Electoral Law stated that in order to be eligible to vote, the person must have:
Economic capacity: contribute to the economy.
Intellectual capacity: be able to read and write.
Employment capacity: be a public worker.
or be a “Cura Ecónomo” of the town. Out of all the citizens recorded in 1891 in Moca, only 106 were “capable of voting”—and out of this number, only 86 were actually eligible.
Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became an unincorporated territory of the United States.In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Moca was 12,410.
On May 16, 2010, Moca was the epicenter of a strong 5.8 earthquake. The earthquake was felt in the entire island and also in the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands. Damage was reported in various towns.
On September 20, 2017 Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. In Moca, landslides and the flooding of the Río Culebrinas caused major destruction to bridges, roads and homes. About 1300 homes were impacted by landslides and flooding, bridges collapsed, and residents were left without access to electrical power, telecommunication services and basic necessities. Close to a month and a half later, 25% of the 31,117 residents of Moca had electrical power and access to drinking water and 75% did not.