Marcos Xiorro was an enslaved African in Spanish Puerto Rico who, led an unsuccessful slave revolt against the sugarcane plantation owners and the Spanish Colonial government in 1821. His story, though largely forgotten, remains a significant chapter in the history of enslaved Africans’ resistance to slavery in Puerto Rico.
Like many Africans forcibly taken from their homelands during the transatlantic slave trade, the details of Xiorro’s early life remain obscured by history. His birthplace, tribal affiliation, and the precise date of his birth are unknown, a common fate for those who were stripped of their identities and sold into slavery. What is known, however, is that Xiorro was brought directly from Africa to Puerto Rico and sold to Vicente Andino, a Militia Captain who owned a sugar plantation.
Sugarcane was the lifeblood of Puerto Rico’s economy at the time, and the demand for labor to cultivate the crop led to the widespread enslavement of Africans. The brutal conditions of the plantations, coupled with the complete lack of freedom, created an environment ripe for resistance.
What sparked the rebellion conspiracy was a letter written by Ramón Power y Giralt, a Puerto Rican naval hero and captain in the Spanish navy who had risen to become president of the Spanish Courts. Power y Giralt was a vocal critic of slavery, and in a letter to his mother, he suggested that if the proposals for the abolition of slavery were ever approved, she should be the first to grant freedom to her slaves.
Although these proposals were never discussed in sessions of the Spanish Courts, Josefa Giralt’s slaves learned about the letter and, believing that slavery had been abolished, they spread the “news” that they were free. These false rumors led to various confrontations between the slaves, the military and the slave masters.
In July 1821, capitalizing on the growing unrest, Xiorro planned a revolt that aimed to overthrow the colonial government and liberate the enslaved population. The rebellion was scheduled to coincide with the religious festival of Santiago (St. James) on July 27, when the colonial authorities would be distracted by the celebrations.
Xiorro’s plan involved a coordinated escape of slaves from several plantations in Bayamón, a town near San Juan. The rebels would then converge on the sugarcane fields owned by one Miguel Figueres, where cutlasses and swords had been secretly hidden. Armed and organized, the rebels intended to set fire to the city and kill all the white inhabitants. Following this, they planned to march on the capital, San Juan, where they would declare Xiorro as their king.
Despite the careful planning, the rebellion was betrayed before it could begin. Ambrosio, a loyal slave on Figueres’ plantation, informed his master of the conspiracy. Figueres, in turn, reported the plan to the mayor of Bayamón, who immediately mobilized 500 soldiers to suppress the uprising.
The response was swift and brutal. The conspirators were hunted down, and a total of 61 slaves were captured and imprisoned in Bayamón and San Juan. Ambrosio, the slave informant, was granted his freedom and rewarded with 500 pesos for the role he played in betraying the rebellion.
By August 15, 1821, the trials of the conspirators were concluded. Seventeen slaves were punished and sent back to the owners, while those who were considered to be among the leaders were executed. Xiorro himself was captured on August 14 in Mayagüez, tried separately, and subsequently executed.
Although the 1821 revolt led by Marcos Xiorro was ultimately unsuccessful, he achieved legendary status among the island’s slave population. Today, Xiorro is remembered as a symbol of the fight for freedom and justice, has become part of Puerto Rican folklore.
Although the 1821 revolt led by Marcos Xiorro was ultimately unsuccessful, he achieved legendary status among the island’s enslaved population. Today, Xiorro is remembered as a symbol of the struggle for freedom and justice, and his story has been preserved in Puerto Rican folklore, where he continues to be celebrated as a heroic figure.
