On This Day
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Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico, one of the largest invasions of Spanish territories in America

San Juan is the capital city and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory, and insular area of the United States.

San Juan is the capital city and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory, and insular area of the United States. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico (Spanish for "Rich Port City").

Puerto Rico's capital is the second oldest European-established capital city in the Americas, after Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, founded in 1496, and is the oldest European-established city under United States sovereignty. Several historical buildings are located in the historic district of Old San Juan; among the most notable are the city's former defensive walls, Fort San Felipe del Morro and Fort San Cristóbal, and La Fortaleza, the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the Americas.

Historical Significance

San Juan is the capital city and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory, and insular area of the United States.

Events Before

  1. Napoléon Bonaparte is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the French Army in Italy

    The Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1801) were a series of conflicts fought principally in Northern Italy between the French Revolutionary Army and a Coalition of Austria,…

  2. Napoléon Bonaparte (26) marries his first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais (32), changing her name from Rose

    Napoléon Bonaparte (26) marries his first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais (32), changing her name from Rose

  3. English country doctor Edward Jenner administers his revolutionary cowpox-based vaccine for smallpox in Berkeley, Glouce

    English country doctor Edward Jenner administers his revolutionary cowpox-based vaccine for smallpox in Berkeley, Gloucestershire

  4. Armand-Gaston Camus becomes chairman of the Council of 500

    Armand-Gaston Camus becomes chairman of the Council of 500

  5. The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York

    York was a town and the second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the old city of Toronto (1834–1998).

Events After

  1. Russia appoints first Jewish censor to censor Hebrew books

    Russia appoints first Jewish censor to censor Hebrew books

  2. US Sedition Act prohibits "any false, scandalous, and malicious writing" about the government

    US Sedition Act prohibits "any false, scandalous, and malicious writing" about the government

  3. 11th Amendment ratified, judicial powers construed

    11th Amendment ratified, judicial powers construed

  4. Coup d'état in Batavian Republic

    The Batavian Republic (Dutch: Bataafse Republiek; French: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.

  5. Rep Matthew Lyon (Vt) spits in face of Rep Roger Griswold (Ct) in US House of Representatives, after an argument

    Rep Matthew Lyon (Vt) spits in face of Rep Roger Griswold (Ct) in US House of Representatives, after an argument

More from the 1790s

Albany replaces New York City as the capital of New York

Albany ( AWL-bə-nee) is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York. It is also the county seat of, and the most populous city in, Albany County.

Russia appoints first Jewish censor to censor Hebrew books

Russia appoints first Jewish censor to censor Hebrew books

First US President George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address

The 1790 State of the Union Address was the inaugural State of the Union address, delivered by President George Washington to the United States Congress on January 8, 1790, at the Senate Chamber of…

French King Louis XVI sentenced to death by the National Convention during the French Revolution

Louis XVI was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on April 17, 1797?
San Juan is the capital city and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory, and insular area of the United States. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico (Spanish for "Rich Port City"). Puerto Rico's capital is the second oldest European-established capital city in the Americas, after Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, founded in 1496, and is the oldest European-established city under United States sovereignty.
Why is Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico, one of the largest invasi... significant?
San Juan is the capital city and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory, and insular area of the United States.

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April 17 in HistoryYear 1797