The Foraker Act of April 12, 1900, installed the first civilian government under U.S. rule in Puerto Rico. Section 18 of the Act established an executive council comprising eleven presidentially appointed members. Out of those eleven members, six had to be from the United States, and the remaining five were to be from Puerto Rico. 

This photograph shows the executive council under the administration of the first civil governor, Charles H. Allen, who served from May 1, 1900, through September 15, 1900. The picture was presumably taken around June 28, when the council met for the first time at the executive mansion, La Fortaleza. William H. Hunt, standing on the right, was elected president of the council and eventually succeeded Allen as civil governor. The five Puerto Rican members of the council included Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón, Manuel Camuñas, José Celso Barbosa, Andrés Crosas, and José de Diego.