History and Politics of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is a Caribbean Island that has a vast political history. 

Native Taíno People

Puerto Rico’s Native population consisted of the Taíno people, who were hunter-gatherers. They first named the island Boringuén and labeled themselves the Boricua. The Boricua populated the island for over a thousand years prior to the Spanish coming. During Christopher Columbus’s second voyage to the Indies in 1493, he declared the island Boringuén for Spain, rechristening the island to San Juan Bautista. It was not until 1508 when the first European colony, Caparra, was established by Juan Ponce de León. Caparra was stationed on the island’s northern coast and was later renamed to Puerto Rico in 1521. As time went on, the people began describing the complete island as Puerto Rico, whilst the port city became recognized as San Juan. The native Taíno people were immeasurably erased as smallpox was introduced. The lasting natives were imprisoned by the Spanish to mine and assemble villages.

El Grito de Lares

While under Spanish rule, they wanted to harvest the island of cash crops, like sugar cane, tobacco, coffee, and ginger. To do this, the Spanish started bringing in more slaves from Africa. The Spanish also used an abundance of their resources to build a reinforced fortress for the governor and two additional immense forts called San Felipe del Morro and San Cristobál. The Spanish turned San Juan into an impenetrable military settlement that endured numerous raids from England, the Netherlands, and France. Puerto Rico also faced contrasting intensities of economic and political sovereignty over the times under the Spanish rule. Independence movements began sparking in the Spanish’s South American Colonies. So, in 1868, the Puerto Ricans held an uprising in the town of Lares. There were around 600 people involved, but the military was still able to stop the revolt. Still, as a show of national honor, Puerto Ricans still commemorate the movement with “El Grito de Lares.”

Puerto Ricans in World War 1

During the Spanish American War between Spain and America, the United States was able to occupy the south side of Puerto Rico, which was still under Spanish control. When the United States beat the Spanish, the Treaty of Paris was signed. This treaty gave Guam, Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico to the United States. The United States Congress passed the Foraker Act in 1900, which officially started a civil government in Puerto Rico. It also ended the military government that was formally recognized on the island. The United States Congress later approved an additional piece of legislation labeled the Jones-Shafroth Act, which made all Puerto Rican males qualified for the draft and approved all Puerto Ricans with US citizenship. Using this for their own benefit, the United States enlisted roughly 18,000 of Puerto Rico’s male residents into the draft to fight in World War 1.

La Gran Migración

After World War 2, Puerto Rico went through major adjustments. For starters, the United States Congress passed an act in 1948 that would permit the people of Puerto Rico to elect their own governor. In the next few years Puerto Rico also became a US commonwealth, which allowed the island to establish its own constitution, along with many other self-government functions. However, at this time both the United States and Puerto Rican authorities initiated an industrial development attempt known as Operation Bootstrap. Puerto Rico attracted many big US organizations, which dubbed it to be a manufacturing and tourist country. This did cause the agriculture opportunities to decline, which led many Puerto Ricans to leave the island and find work in America instead. During this time period of 1950 to 1970, almost twenty five percent of Puerto Rico’s populations had left the island. This became known as La Gran Migración, or The Great Migration. Now, there are nearly 5 million people living in the United States that are of Puerto Rican descent, with many large communities in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Miami.

Overall, Puerto Rico has had a very interesting history. From the people starting as hunters and gatherers, to Spain invading to take control, and now to the United States declaring it one of their commonwealths, Puerto Rico has been through quite the journey. The islands politics have also been majorly influenced and guided by the United States, while still under their rule.

Sources

History.com Editors. “Puerto Rico.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 Sept. 2017, www.history.com/topics/us-states/puerto-rico-history.

“Puerto Rico.” The Virtual Caribbean Library, Virtual Caribbean, ggccaribbean.wpengine.com/listing/puerto-rico/.