The Ducoudray Holstein Expedition was an attempt by commercial interests to invade Puerto Rico and declare it the independent "Republica Boricua" in 1822. In the 1820s there was a plot to invade Puerto Rico, declare its independence from Spain, proclaim the Republica Boricua and establish its capital in Mayagüez. This invasion was different from all its precursors since none before had intended to make Puerto Rico an independent nation, and use the Taino name Boricua as the name of the republic. It was also intended more as a mercantile venture than a patriotic endeavor. It was the first time an invasion intended to make the city of Mayagüez the capital of the island. The enterprise was conceived and carefully planned, organized and directed as a for-profit commercial enterprise by general Henri La Fayette Villaume Ducoudray Holstein, a Germano-French veteran of the Napoleonic wars and of the Bolivarian wars. Background In 1819, Ducoudray Holstein moved to Curaçao, there he began socializing with wealthy French foreigners living in western Puerto Rico that conducted business with Curaçao. These foreigners resented the restrictions on commerce and sea transportation by the Spanish Authorities on the island as a consequence to the insurgent activities of Simon Bolivar in Venezuela. They courted Ducoudray because of his military experience, with the intention of making him interested in leading an armed movement to invade Puerto Rico to convert the island into a republic. For this thus group of foreigners would give him support in any way possible and they counted on a simultaneous general rebellion organized by them amongst the black slaves of the island. Even though they counted on the help of the slaves, the political program of the República Boricua, inspired on European Republican Ideals, it did not include the emancipation of the slaves. While Ducoudray Holstein was in Curaçao he was visited by numerous men including: A. Mattei (“Matthey”), a businessman of French origin with connections in Puerto Rico, George Curiel a Jewish businessman established beforehand in Saint Thomas who in 1819 would return to his native Curaçao, a sailor whose surname was Bouyet, believed to be Juan Bautista Buyé, a contrabandist of French origin and a collaborator of Roberto Cofresí (a beach in Cabo Rojo bears his name). Ducoudray also socialized with a lawyer from the United States called Baptiste Irvine, and editor for the New York Columbian, who would later be a diplomatic agent