Mayaguez
1918 earthquake rebuilt 'La Sultaness del Oeste' for industrial era—80% of US tuna processed here by 1990s, then 11,000 jobs vanished. The university remains; will knowledge replace canning?
Mayagüez exists because geography made a western capital inevitable—and because catastrophe proved an opportunity for reinvention. Founded in 1760 on Taíno lands, the 'Sultaness of the West' grew into Puerto Rico's third-largest city, earning city charter in 1877 and the Spanish Crown's special title 'Excellent City' in 1894. When US troops arrived in 1898, Mayagüez welcomed them without a fight.
The 1918 San Fermín earthquake changed everything. At 10:14 AM on October 11, the ground shook and a tsunami followed, killing 116 people and causing damage worth twice Puerto Rico's annual budget. The city was rebuilt almost entirely—a new City Hall modeled on New York's, a reconstructed cathedral after lightning struck its damaged towers. What emerged was a modern western hub ready for 20th-century industry.
Three economies dominated successive eras. The College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts arrived in 1911, evolving into the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez—the Caribbean's leading science and engineering institution, contributing 15,000-20,000 students to the city's economy. Ron Superior Puerto Rico (1909-1970s) made Mayagüez a rum capital. Then came tuna: between 1962 and 1998, StarKist, Chicken of the Sea, and Bumble Bee collectively processed 80% of US canned tuna here. The port became Puerto Rico's third busiest.
The collapse was equally dramatic. Textile factories and canneries closed through the 1990s, eliminating 11,000 permanent jobs—second only to Flint, Michigan for industrial losses during that period. The last tuna cannery shuttered in 2012. What remains is the university, a smaller rum operation (Destilería Coquí produces 100 bottles daily), and the port. By 2026, Mayagüez tests whether knowledge economy replaces extraction, or whether the Sultaness joins Flint in post-industrial decline.