The invasion of Puerto Rico by North American troops in July I898 and the consequent transfer of the island to the United States brought changes of such crucial importance that other previous and decisive events of that year have remained rather obscure. One of these almost forgotten events was the introduction of universal male suffrage. This change first became a factor in the political life of Puerto Rico during the March I898 elections for the House of Representatives, elections mandated by the Autonomic Charter that Spain had recently granted to the island. Colonial liberals had struggled for many years to obtain this reform, which was finally granted in the midst of the profound political crisis that resulted from the Cuban war of independence. In bargaining for peace and in responding to United States diplomatic pressure, Spain modernized the political regime of her Antillean possessions. Along with the charter came the new electoral law that changed the basis of male suffrage. In Puerto Rico, where there was no widespread armed insurrection for independence, the March I898 elections offered a unique opportunity for political mobilization. More than ioo,ooo votes were cast-II percent of the island's total population and 7I percent of all men age 25 and above who had been included in an electoral census. The Liberal party obtained an overwhelming majority, with 8I percent of the votes cast.1 By introducing the