author
R. A. (Rudolph Adams) Van Middeldyk
b. 1832
Best known for an early English-language history of Puerto Rico, this little-known writer and librarian drew on local archives to tell the island’s story for a wider readership. His work remains notable for bringing together Spanish chronicles and Puerto Rican historical sources in one accessible narrative.
1 Audiobook
The History of Puerto Rico From the Spanish Discovery to the American Occupation
by R. A. (Rudolph Adams) Van Middeldyk
About the author
Born in 1832, Rudolph Adams Van Middeldyk is a somewhat obscure figure today, and only a few biographical details are easy to confirm. He is best known as the author of The History of Puerto Rico, first published in 1903.
Contemporary and library records describe him as librarian of the Free Public Library of San Juan. That role gave him access to local materials and helped shape his best-known book, which was recognized as an early major history of Puerto Rico in English.
Because surviving biographical information is limited, it is safest to remember him chiefly through that work: a broad historical account tracing Puerto Rico from the era of Spanish discovery to the period of American occupation. His writing helped introduce English-language readers to Puerto Rico’s historical record at a time when such studies were still relatively rare.