Puerto Rico ( or ), officially the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( — literally
Associated Free State of Puerto Rico), is an
unincorporated territory of the
United States, located in the northeastern
Caribbean Sea, east of the
Dominican Republic and west of the
Virgin Islands.
Puerto Rico (Spanish for "rich port") is composed of an
archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller islands, the largest of which are
Vieques,
Culebra, and
Mona. The main island of Puerto Rico is the smallest by land area of the
Greater Antilles. It, however, ranks third in population among that group of four islands, which also include
Cuba,
Hispaniola, and
Jamaica.
Puerto Ricans often call the island
Borinquen, from
Borikén, its
indigenous Taíno name, which means "Land of the Valiant Lord".Allatson, Paul. Key Terms in Latino/a Cultural and Literary Studies, p. 47. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishing, 2007. ISBN 1405102500.
Dictionary: Taino Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean
Retrieved: February 21, 2008. (Based on the encyclopedia "Clásicos de Puerto Rico", 2nd. edition. Ed. Cayetano Coll y Toste. Publisher: Ediciones Latinoamericanas, S.A., 1972.).
H. B. Grose, Advance in the Antilles: the new era in Cuba and Porto Rico, Presbyterian Home Missions, 1910The terms
boricua and
borincano derive from
Borikén and
Borinquen respectively, and are commonly used to identify someone of Puerto Rican heritage. The island is also popularly known in Spanish as "
La Isla del Encanto" which means "The Island of Enchantment" in English.
History
Pre-Columbian era
The ancient history of the archipelago known today as "Puerto Rico" before the arrival of
Christopher Columbus is not well known. Unlike other larger more advanced indigenous communities in the New World (Aztec, Inca) which left behind abundant archeological and physical evidence of their societies, what is known today about the indigenous population of Puerto Rico comes from scarce archaeological findings and early Spanish scholarly accounts. Today, there are few and rare cave drawings, rock carvings and ancient recreational actitivity sites that have been identified with some degree of speculation as to who left them behind. The first comprehensive book on the history of Puerto Rico was written by
Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra in 1786, almost three centuries after the first Spaniards arrived on the island.
The first settlers were the
Ortoiroid people, an
Archaic Period culture of
Amerindian hunters and fishermen. An archaeological dig in the island of Vieques in 1990 found the remains of what is believed to be an
Arcaico (Archaic) man (named "Puerto Ferro Man") dated to around 2000 BC. Between AD 120 and 400 arrived the
Igneri, a tribe from the region of the
Orinoco river, in northern South America. Between the 4th and 10th centuries, the Arcaicos and Igneri co-existed, and perhaps clashed, on the island. Between the 7th and 11th centuries the
Taíno culture developed on the island, and by approximately 1000 AD had become dominant. This lasted until
Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493.
500 Years of Puerto Rican History through the Eyes of Others. The Newberry library.
Spanish colony
When
Christopher Columbus arrived in Puerto Rico during his second voyage on November 19, 1493, the island was inhabited by a group of
Arawak Indians known as
Taínos. They called the island "Borikén" or, in Spanish, "Borinquen".Today, Puerto Ricans are also known as Boricuas, or people from Borinquen. Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista, in honor of Saint
John the Baptist. Eventually, traders and other maritime visitors came to refer to the entire island as "Puerto Rico", and "San Juan" became the name of the main trading/shipping port. In 1508, Spanish
conquistador Juan Ponce de León became the island's
first governor to take office.
Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was the first appointed governor but he never arrived on the island.
Soon thereafter, The
Spanish began to colonize the island. The indigenous population (Taínos) came to be exploited and forced into slavery. Within 50 years they were reduced to near extinction by the harsh conditions of work and by European infectious diseases to which they had no natural immunity.
By 1520, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor issued a royal decree that collectively emancipated the remaining Taíno population. Essentially, the Taíno presence had almost vanished.
Puerto Rico. Russell Schimmer, GSP, Yale University.
Within 50 years, the Taino indigenous population while not completely extinct was no longer a physical or cultural presence of consequence on the island and the importation of Sub-Saharan African slaves was introduced to provide the manual work force for the Spanish colonists and merchants.
African slavery was primarily restricted to coastal ports and cities, while the interior of the island continued to be essentially unexplored and undeveloped. Spanish and other European colonists were concentrated in island's seaports. Puerto Rico soon became an important stronghold and a significant port for Spanish Main colonial expansion. Various forts and walls, such as
La Fortaleza,
El Castillo San Felipe del Morro and
El Castillo de San Cristóbal, were built to protect the strategic port of San Juan from numerous European invasion attempts. San Juan served as an important port-of-call for ships of all European nations for purposes of taking on water, food and other commercial provisions and mercantile exchange.
In 1607, Puerto Rico served as a port for provisions for the English ships, the Godspeed, Susan Constant and the Discovery who were on their way to establish the Jamestown Settlement, the first English settlement in the New World.
France, the Netherlands and England made several attempts to capture Puerto Rico but failed to wrest the long-term occupancy of Spain, who held tenaciously onto its increasingly prized island colony of Puerto Rico. During the late 17th and early 18th centuries Spain's colonial emphasis continued to be focused on the more prosperous mainland North, Central and South American colonies.
This continued distraction on the part of the Spanish Crown, left the island of Puerto Rico virtually unexplored, undeveloped and uncolonized (with the exception of coastal colonist outposts) until the 1800s. Subsequently, with the growth of successful independence movements in the larger Spanish colonies, Spain soon began to focus its attention on Puerto Rico as one of the last remaining Spanish maritime colonies.
In 1779, citizens of the still-Spanish colony of Puerto Rico fought in the
American Revolutionary War under the command of
Bernardo de Gálvez, named
Field Marshal of the Spanish colonial army in North America. Puerto Ricans participated in the capture of
Pensacola, the capital of the British colony of
West Florida, and the cities of
Baton Rouge,
St. Louis and
Mobile. The Puerto Rican troops, under the leadership of Brigadier General Ramón de Castro,Interview of Thomas Ellingwood Fortin, Producer, NEW ALBION PICTURES helped defeat the British and Indian army of 2,500 soldiers and British warships in Pensacola.
In 1809, in a further move to secure its political bond with the island and in the midst of the European
Peninsular War, the
Supreme Central Junta based in
Cádiz recognized Puerto Rico as an overseas province of Spain with the right to send representatives to the recently convened
Spanish parliament with equal representation to Mainland Iberian, Mediterranean (Balearic Islands) and Atlantic maritime Spanish provinces (Canary Islands).
The first Spanish parliamentary representative from the island of Puerto Rico,
Ramon Power y Giralt, died after serving a three-year term in the Cortes. These
parliamentary and constitutional reforms, which were in force from 1810 to 1814 and again from 1820 to 1823, were reversed twice afterwards when the traditional monarchy was restored by
Ferdinand VII. Nineteenth century immigration and commercial trade reforms further augmented the island's European population and economy, and expanded Spanish cultural and social imprint the local character of the island.
With the increasingly rapid growth of independent former Spanish colonies in the South and Central American states in the first part of the century, Puerto Rico and Cuba continued to grow in strategic importance to the Spanish Crown.
In a very deliberate move to increase its hold on its last two new world colonies, the Spanish Crown revived the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815. This time the decree was printed in three languages: Spanish, English and French.
Its primary intent was to attract Europeans of non-Spanish origin, with the hope that the independence movements would lose their popularity and strength with increase of new loyalist settlers with strong sympathies to Spain.
As an incentive to immigrate and colonize, free land was offered to those who wanted to populate the two islands on the condition that they swear their loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church.
Real Cédula de 1789 "para el comercio de Negros". It was very successful and European immigration continued even after 1898 and Puerto Rico today still receives Spanish and European immigration.
Toward the end of the 19th century, poverty and political estrangement with Spain led to a small but significant uprising in 1868 known as "
Grito de Lares". It began in the rural town of Lares, but was subdued when rebels moved to the neighboring town of San Sebastián. Leaders of this independence movement included
Ramón Emeterio Betances, considered the "father" of the Puerto Rican independence movement, and other political figures such as
Segundo Ruiz Belvis.
In 1897,
Luis Muñoz Rivera and others persuaded the liberal Spanish government to agree to Charters of Autonomy for Cuba and Puerto Rico. In 1898, Puerto Rico's first, but short-lived, autonomous government was organized as an 'overseas province' of Spain. This bi-laterally-agreed upon charter maintained a governor appointed by Spain, which held the power to annul any legislative decision, and a partially elected parliamentary structure. In February, Governor-General
Manuel Macías inaugurated the new government under the Autonomous Charter. General elections were held in March and the autonomous government began to function on July 17, 1898.
United States colony
In 1890, Captain Alfred Thayler Mahan, a member of the Navy War Board and leading U.S. strategic thinker, wrote a book titled
The Influence of Sea Power upon History in which he argued for the creation of a large and powerful navy modeled after the British Royal Navy. Part of his strategy called for the acquisition of colonies in the Caribbean Sea which would serve as coaling and naval stations and which would serve as strategical points of defense upon the construction of a canal in the
Isthmus."Strategy as Politcs'; by: Jorge Rodriguez Beruff; Publisher: La Editorial; Universidad de Puerto Rico; page 7; ISBN: 978-0-8477-0160-5
This idea was not new, since
William H. Seward, the former Secretary of State under the administrations of various presidents, among them
Abraham Lincoln and
Ulysses Grant, had stressed that a canal be built either in
Honduras,
Nicaragua or
Panama and that the United States annex the
Dominican Republic and purchase Puerto Rico and Cuba. The idea of annexing the Dominican Republic failed to receive the approval of the U.S. Senate and Spain did not accept the 160 million dollars which the U.S. offered for Puerto Rico and Cuba.
Captain Mahan made the following statement to the War Department: "Having therefore no foreign establishments either colonial or military, the ships of war of the United States, in war will be like land birds, unable to fly far from their own shores. To provide resting places for them where they can coal and repair, would be one of the first duties of a government proposing to itself the development of the power of the nation at sea"A.T.Mahan, "The Influence of Sea Power upon History (1660-1783)", London: Sampson Low, Marston, Seale; page 83
Since 1894, the
Naval War College had been formulating
contingency plans for a war with Spain. By 1896, the Office of Naval Intelligence had prepared a plan which included military operations in Puerto Rican waters.Op. cit. . This prewar planning did not contemplate major territorial acquisitions. Except for one 1895 plan which recommended annexation of the
Isle of Pines, a recommendation dropped in later planning, plans developed for attacks on Spanish territories were intended as support operations against Spain's forces in and around Cuba.Op. cit. . However, Jorge Rodriguez Beruf, recognized as a foremost researcher on United States militarism in Puerto Rico,
Jorge Rodríguez Beruff,
peacehost.net. writes that not only was Puerto Rico considered valuable as a naval station, Puerto Rico and Cuba were also abundant in sugar - a valuable commercial commodity which the United States lacked."Strategy as Politcs'; by: Jorge Rodriguez Beruff; Publisher: La Editorial; Universidad de Puerto Rico; page 13; ISBN: 978-0-8477-0160-5
On July 25, 1898, during the
Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States with a landing at
Guánica. As an outcome of the war, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, along with
Cuba, the
Philippines, and
Guam to the U.S. under the
Treaty of Paris.
The United States and Puerto Rico thus began a long-standing relationship. Puerto Rico began the 20th century under the military rule of the U.S. with officials, including the governor, appointed by the
President of the United States. The
Foraker Act of 1900 gave Puerto Rico a certain amount of civilian popular government, including a popularly elected House of Representatives, also a judicial system following the
American legal system that includes both
state courts and
federal courts establishing a Puerto Rico Supreme Court and a
United State District Court; and a non-voting member of Congress, by the title of "Resident Commissioner". In 1917, "Puerto Ricans were collectively made U.S. citizens"The Louisiana Purchase and American Expansion: 1803-1898. By Sanford Levinson and Bartholomew H. Sparrow. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. 2005. Page 166, 178. "U.S. citizenship was extended to residents of Puerto Rico by virtue of the Jones Act, chap. 190, 39 Stat. 951 (1971) (codified at 48 U.S.C. § 731 (1987)") via the
Jones Act. The same Act also provided for a popularly elected Senate to complete a bicameral Legislative Assembly, a
bill of rights and authorized the election of a Resident Commissioner to a four-year term. As a result of their new U.S. citizenship, many Puerto Ricans were drafted into World War I and all subsequent wars with U.S. participation in which a national military draft was in effect.
Natural disasters, including a major
earthquake, a
tsunami and several
hurricanes, and the
Great Depression impoverished the island during the first few decades under U.S. rule. Some political leaders, like
Pedro Albizu Campos who led the
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, demanded change. On March 21, 1937, a march was organized in the southern city of
Ponce by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. This march turned bloody when the Insular Police, "a force somewhat resembling the
National Guard which answered to the U.S.-appointed governor", opened fire upon unarmed and defenseless
Five Years of Tyranny, Speech before the U.S. House of Representatives. The entire speech is contained in the
Congressional Record of August 14, 1939. It is reported in the Cong. Rec., and various other publications elsewhere, that among those shot in the back was a 7-year-old girl, Georgina Maldonado, who "was killed through the back while running to a nearby church" cadets and bystanders alike, as reported by a U.S. Congressman
Vito Marcantonio and the "Hays Commission" led by
Arthur Garfield Hays. 19 were killed and over 200 were badly wounded, many in their backs while running away.
Photos of police shooting with rifles (from positions previously occupied by marchers and bystanders) at bystanders running away. An
ACLU report declared it a
massacre and it has since been known as the
Ponce Massacre.
The internal governance changed during the latter years of the
Roosevelt–
Truman administrations, as a form of compromise led by
Luis Muñoz Marín and others. It culminated with the appointment by President Truman in 1946 of the first Puerto Rican-born governor,
Jesús T. Piñero. On June 11, 1948, Piñero signed the "Ley de la Mordaza" (Gag Law) or Law 53 as it was officially known, passed by the Puerto Rican legislature which made it illegal to display the
Puerto Rican Flag, sing patriotic songs, talk of independence and to fight for the liberation of the island. It resembled the anti-communist
Smith Law passed in the United States.
Puerto Rican History.
Commonwealth
In 1947, the U.S. granted Puerto Ricans the right to elect democratically their own
governor. Luis Muñoz Marín was elected during the 1948 general elections, becoming the first popularly elected governor of Puerto Rico. In 1950, the U.S. Congress approved Public Law 600 (P.L. 81-600) which allowed for a democratic
referendum in Puerto Rico to determine whether Puerto Ricans desired to draft their own local constitution.Act of July 3, 1950, Ch. 446, 64 Stat. 319. This Act left unchanged all the articles under the Jones Act of 1917 that regulated the relationships between Puerto Rico and the United States.
View of Congress, the Courts and the Federal Government.
On October 30, 1950,
Pedro Albizu Campos and other nationalists led a 3-day revolt against the United States in various cities and towns of Puerto Rico. The most notable occurred in
Jayuya and
Utuado. In the Jayuya revolt, known as the
Jayuya Uprising, the United States declared
martial law and attacked Jayuya with infantry, artillery and bombers. The
Utuado Uprising culminated in what is known as the Utuado massacre. On November 1, 1950, Puerto Rican nationalists
Griselio Torresola and
Oscar Collazo attempted to assassinate President
Harry S Truman. Torresola was killed during the attack, but Collazo was captured. Collazo served 29 years in a federal prison, being released in 1979. Don Pedro Albizu Campos also served many years in a federal prison in
Atlanta, Georgia, for seditious conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government in Puerto Rico.
The
Constitution of Puerto Rico was approved by a Constitutional Convention on February 6, 1952, ratified by the U.S. Congress, approved by President Truman on July 3 of that year, and proclaimed by Gov. Muñoz Marín on July 25, 1952, on the anniversary of the July 25, 1898 landing of U.S. troops in the
Puerto Rican Campaign of the
Spanish-American War, until then an annual Puerto Rico holiday. Puerto Rico adopted the name of
Estado Libre Asociado (literally translated as "Free Associated State"), officially translated into English as
Commonwealth, for its
body politic.
Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico - in Spanish (Spanish).
Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico - in English (English translation). The United States Congress legislates over many fundamental aspects of Puerto Rican life, including citizenship, currency, postal service,
foreign affairs, military defense,
communications,
labor relations, the
environment,
commerce, finance, health and welfare, and many others.
During the 1950s Puerto Rico experienced rapid industrialization, due in large part to
Operación Manos a la Obra ("
Operation Bootstrap"), an offshoot of FDR's New Deal, which aimed to transform Puerto Rico's economy from agriculture-based to manufacturing-based. Presently, Puerto Rico has become a major tourist destination, and it is the world's leading pharmaceutical manufacturing center.
Puerto Rico: The Last Colony By Héctor Reyes. International Socialist Review. Online Edition. Issue 3, Winter 1997.. Retrieved November 5, 2009. Yet it still struggles to define its political status. Three plebiscites have been held in recent decades to resolve the political status, but no changes have been attained. Support for the pro-statehood party,
Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP), and the pro-commonwealth party,
Partido Popular Democrático (PPD), remains about equal. The only registered pro-independence party, the
Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (PIP), usually receives 3-5% of the electoral votes.
Government and politics
Puerto Rico has a
republican form of government, subject to U.S. jurisdiction and sovereignty. Its current powers are all delegated by the
United States Congress and lack full protection under the
United States Constitution. Puerto Rico's head of state is the
President of the United States.
The government of Puerto Rico, based on the formal
republican system, is composed of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The
executive branch is headed by the
Governor, currently
Luis Fortuño. The
legislative branch consists of a
bicameral Legislative Assembly made up of a
Senate upper chamber and a
House of Representatives lower chamber. The Senate is headed by the President of the Senate, while the House of Representatives is headed by the Speaker of the House.
The
judicial branch is headed by the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. The legal system is a mix of the
civil law and the
common law systems. The governor and legislators are elected by popular vote every four years. Members of the Judicial branch are appointed by the governor with the "advice and consent" of the Senate.
Puerto Rico is represented in the United States Congress by a nonvoting delegate, formally called a
Resident Commissioner (currently
Pedro Pierluisi). Current legislation has returned the Commissioner's power to vote in the
Committee of the Whole, but not on matters where the vote would represent a decisive participation.
Rules of the House of Representatives. Puerto Rican elections are governed by the
Federal Election Commission and the
State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico Primary Election Report Notice.
2008 Presidential Primary Dates and Candidates Filling Datelines for Ballot Access. While residing in Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections, but they can vote in
primaries. Puerto Ricans who become residents of a
U.S. state can vote in presidential elections.
As Puerto Rico is not an independent country, it hosts no
embassies. It is host, however, to
consulates from 41 countries, mainly from the
Americas and Europe.
Consulados. Link to Puerto Rico. Most consulates are located in San Juan. As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico does not have any first-order administrative divisions as defined by the U.S. government, but has 78
municipalities at the second level.
Mona Island is not a municipality, but part of the municipality of
Mayagüez.
Mayagüez. Enciclopedia de Puerto Rico.
Municipalities are subdivided into wards or
barrios, and those into sectors. Each municipality has a
mayor and a municipal legislature elected for a four year term. The municipality of
San Juan (previously called "town"), was founded first, in 1521,
San Germán in 1570,
Coamo in 1579,
Arecibo in 1614,
Aguada in 1692 and
Ponce in 1692. An increase of settlement saw the founding of 30 municipalities in the 18th century and 34 in the 19th. Six were founded in the 20th century; the last was
Florida in 1971.
LinktoPR.com - Fundación de los Pueblos.
From 1952 to 2007, Puerto Rico had three political parties which stood for three distinct future political scenarios. The
Popular Democratic Party (PPD) seeks to maintain the island's "association" status as a commonwealth, improved commonwealth and/or seek a true free sovereign-association status or Free Associated Republic, and has won a plurality vote in referendums on the island's status held over six decades after the island was invaded by the U.S. The
New Progressive Party (PNP) seeks
statehood. The
Puerto Rican Independence Party seeks
independence. In 2007, a fourth party, the
Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party (PPR), was ratified. The PPR claims that it seeks to address the islands' problems from a status-neutral platform. Non-registered parties include the
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, the
Socialist Workers Movement, the
Hostosian National Independence Movement, and others.
Political status
The nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the U.S. is the subject of ongoing debate in Puerto Rico, the
United States Congress, and the
United Nations.
Estado Libre Asociado
In 1950, the U.S. Congress granted Puerto Ricans the right to organize a constitutional convention via a referendum that gave them the option of voting their preference, "yes" or "no", on a proposed U.S. law that would organize Puerto Rico as a "commonwealth" that would suppose continued United States sovereignty over Puerto Rico and its people. Puerto Rico's electorate expressed its support for this measure in 1951 with a second referendum to ratify the constitution. The
Constitution of Puerto Rico was formally adopted on July 3, 1952. The Constitutional Convention specified the name by which the
body politic would be known. The purpose of Congress in the 1950 and 1952 legislation was to accord to Puerto Rico the degree of autonomy and independence normally associated with a State of the Union.{{Cite document |url=http://puertoricoadvancement.org/Documents/Consejo%20De%20Salud%20Playa%20De%20Ponce%20V.%20Johnny%20Rullan%20-%20Secretary%20of%20Health%20of%20the%20Commonwealth%20of%20Puerto%20Rico.pdf
|title= Consejo de Salud Playa de Ponce v Johnny Rullan, Secretary of Health of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Page 25
|publisher= The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
|accessdate=2010-02-06 |postscript=}}
On February 4, 1952, the convention approved Resolution 22 which chose in English the word "
Commonwealth", meaning a "politically organized community" or "state", which is simultaneously connected by a compact or treaty to another political system. The convention adopted a translation into Spanish of the term, inspired by the
Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) of "Estado Libre Asociado" (ELA) to represent the agreement. Literally translated into English the phrase
Estado Libre Asociado means "Associated Free State."
While the approval of the commonwealth constitution marked a historic change in the civil government for the islands, neither it, nor the public laws approved by Congress in 1950 and 1952, revoked statutory provisions concerning the legal relationship of Puerto Rico to the United States. This relationship is based on the Territorial Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The statutory provisions that set forth the conditions of the relationship are commonly referred to as the Federal Relations Act (FRA). While specified subsections of the FRA were "adopted in the nature of a compact", other provisions, by comparison, are excluded from the compact reference. Matters still subject to congressional authority and established pursuant to legislation include the citizenship status of residents, tax provisions, civil rights, trade and commerce, public finance, the administration of public lands controlled by the federal government, the application of federal law over navigable waters, congressional representation, and the judicial process, among others.
In 1967, the Puerto Rico's Legislative Assembly polled the political preferences of the Puerto Rican electorate by passing a
plebiscite Act that provided for a vote on the status of Puerto Rico. This constituted the first plebiscite by the Legislature for a choice on three status options (commonwealth, statehood, and independence). Claiming "foul play" and dubbing the process as illegitimate and contrary to International Law norms regarding decolonization procedures, the plebiscite was boycotted by the major pro-statehood and pro-independence parties of the time, the
Party of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican Independence Party, respectively. The Commonwealth option, represented by the PDP, won with a majority of 60.4% of the votes. After the plebiscite, efforts in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, to enact legislation to address the status issue died in U.S. Congressional committees. In subsequent plebiscites organized by Puerto Rico held in 1993 and 1998 (without any formal commitment on the part of the U.S. Government to honor the results), the current political status failed to receive majority support (receiving 48.6% in 1993 and less than one percent, 0.3%, in 1998), when the "none of the above option" received the 50.3 % of the votes which was the
Popular Democratic Party sponsored choice and was the winner option. Disputes arose as to the definition of each of the ballot alternatives; and Commonwealth advocates, among others, reportedly urged a vote for “none of
the above".
Political Status of Puerto Rico: Options for Congress. Report RL32933. By Keith Bea and R. Sam Garrett, Congressional Research Service. Dated June 19, 2009. Page 29. Table B-1: Puerto Rico Status Votes in Plebiscites and Referenda, 1967-1998. Page 29.. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
Elections in Puerto Rico: 1993 Status Plebiscite Results.
Elections in Puerto Rico: 1998 Status Plebiscite Results.
Within the United States
Puerto Rico is an "unincorporated territory" of the United States which according to the U.S. Supreme Court's
Insular Cases is "a territory appurtenant and belonging to the United States, but not a part of the United States."Downes v. Bidwell 182 U.S. 244, 287 (1901); Balzac v. Porto Rico, 258 U.S. 298 (1922). Puerto Rico is subject to the Congress’ plenary powers under the
territorial clause of Article IV, sec. 3, of the U.S. Constitution.U.S. Const. art. IV, § 3, cl. 2 ("The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States..."). U.S. federal law applies to Puerto Rico, even though Puerto Rico is not a
state of the American Union and has no voting representative in the U.S. Congress. Because of the establishment of the Federal Relations Act of 1950, all federal laws that are "not locally inapplicable" are automatically the law of the land in Puerto Rico.39 Stat. 954, 48 USCA 734 . "The statutory laws of the United States not locally inapplicable, except as hereinbefore or hereinafter otherwise provided, shall have the same force and effect in Porto Rico as in the United Status...". In 1907, the
U.S. Supreme Court, in
Grafton v.
United States206 U.S. 333 (1907), Justice Harlan clarified the meaning of
plenary powers: "'The government of a state derives its powers from the people of the state, whereas the government of a territory owes its existence wholly to the United States'. The Court thus seems to equate plenary power to exclusive power. The U.S. government could exert over the territory power that it could not exercise over the state. This power, however, is not absolute, for it is restrained by some then-undefined
fundamental rights possessed by anyone subject to the authority of the U.S. government." The Louisiana Purchase and American Expansion: 1803-1898. By Sanford Levinson and Bartholomew H. Sparrow. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. 2005. Page 168.
Since 1917, people born in Puerto Rico have been given
U.S. citizenship. United States citizens residing in Puerto Rico, whether born there or not, are not residents of a state or the District of Columbia and, therefore, do not qualify to vote, personally or through an absentee ballot, in federal elections.
See also: "
Voting rights in Puerto Rico".
Under the
Constitution of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico is described as a Commonwealth and Puerto Ricans have a degree of
administrative autonomy similar to citizens of a
U.S. state.
Puerto Ricans "were collectively made
U.S. citizens" in 1917 as a result of the
Jones-Shafroth Act.
Louisiana Purchase and American Expansion: 1803-1898. By Sanford Levinson and Bartholomew H. Sparrow. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. 2005. Page 166, 178."U.S. citizenship was extended to residents of Puerto Rico by virtue of the Jones Act, chap. 190, 39 Stat. 951 (1971) (codified at 48 U.S.C. § 731 (1987)") The act was signed into law by President
Woodrow Wilson on 2 March 1917. U.S. Federal law , approved by President
Harry S. Truman on 27 June 1952, declared all persons born in Puerto Rico on or after 13 January 1941 to be U.S. citizens at birth and all persons born in Puerto Rico between 11 April 1899 and 12 January 1941, and meeting certain other technical requirements, and not citizens of the United States under any other Act, are declared to be citizens of the U.S. as of 13 January 1941.
In addition, an April 2000
report by the
Congressional Research Service, asserts that citizens born in Puerto Rico are legally defined as
natural born citizens and are therefore eligible to be elected President, provided they meet qualifications of age and 14 years residence within the United States. According to this report, residence in Puerto Rico and U.S. territories and possessions does not qualify as residence within the United States for these purposes.
Since Puerto Rico is an
unincorporated territory (see above) and not a U.S. state, the
United States Constitution does not fully
enfranchise US citizens residing in Puerto Rico.
Only the "
fundamental rights" under the federal constitution apply to Puerto Rico, including the
Privileges and Immunities Clause (
U.S. Constitution, Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1, also known as the 'Comity Clause') that prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner, with regard to basic civil rights. The clause also embraces a right to travel, so that a citizen of one state can have privileges and immunities in any other state; this constitutional clause regarding the rights, privileges, and immunities of citizens of the United States was expressly extended to Puerto Rico by the
U.S. Congress through the federal law and signed by President Truman in 1947.
Torres v. Puerto Rico.
Other fundamental rights such as the
due process clause and the
equal protection guarantee of the
Fourteenth Amendment were expressly extended to Puerto Rico by the
U.S. Supreme court.
Posadas de Puerto Rico Associates v. Tourism Company of Puerto Rico Examining Board v. Flores de Otero
In a brief concurrence in the judgment of
Torres v. Puerto Rico, , Supreme Court Justice
Brennan argued that any implicit limits from the Insular Cases on the basic rights granted by the Constitution (including especially the
Bill of Rights) were anachronistic in the 1970s.
Article Three of the United States Constitution establishes the
judicial branch of the
federal government. This article was expressly extended to the
United States District Court for
the District of Puerto Rico by the U.S. Congress through Federal Law 89-571, 80 Stat. 764, signed by President
Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. After that date, judges appointed to the Puerto Rico federal district court have been Article III judges appointed under the Constitution of the United States. In addition in 1984 one of the judges of the federal district court, Chief Judge
Juan R. Torruella, a native of the island, was appointed to serve in the
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit with jurisdiction over Puerto Rico,
Massachusetts,
Rhode Island,
Maine, and
New Hampshire.
Federal executive branch agencies have significant presence in Puerto Rico, just as in any state, such as the
U.S. Attorney,
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Homeland Security,
National Labor Relations Board,
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Safety Authority,
Environmental Protection Agency,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
Internal Revenue Service, and
Social Security Administration. The island’s economic,
commercial, and banking systems are integrated to those of the United States.
President
George H. W. Bush issued a 30 November 1992 memorandum to heads of executive departments and agencies establishing the current administrative relationship between the federal government and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This memorandum directs all federal departments, agencies, and officials to treat Puerto Rico administratively as if it were a state, insofar as doing so would not disrupt federal programs or operations.
Puerto Rico does participate in the internal political process of both the
Democratic and
Republican parties in the U.S., accorded equal-proportional representation in both parties, and delegates from the islands vote in each party's national convention.
The U.S. Government classifies Puerto Rico as an independent taxation authority by Federal Law . Puerto Rico residents are required to pay U.S. federal taxes, import/export taxes, federal commodity taxes,
Puerto Ricans pay federal commodity taxes. social security taxes etc. Individuals working with the Federal Government pay
federal income taxes while the rest of the residents are required to pay federal
payroll taxes (
Social Security and
Medicare), as well as Commonwealth of Puerto Rico income taxes. All federal employees,}} plus those who do business with the federal government, in addition to Puerto Rico-based corporations that intend to send funds to the U.S., and some others also pay
federal income taxes. In 2009, Puerto Rico paid $3.742 billion into the
US Treasury..
Because residents of Puerto Rico pay into Social Security, they are eligible for Social Security benefits upon retirement, but are excluded from the
Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and the island actually receives less than 15% of the
Medicaid funding it would normally receive if it were a U.S. state. Yet Medicare providers receive less-than-full state-like reimbursements for services rendered to beneficiaries in Puerto Rico, even though the latter paid fully into the system.
Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration.
Since 1961 several Puerto Ricans have been appointed by the
President, upon the advice and consent of the
Senate to serve as
United States Ambassadors to
Venezuela,
Spain,
Costa Rica,
Chile, the
Dominican Republic, and the Republics of
Mauritius and
Seychelles. A Puerto Rican was also appointed by President
Obama as ambassador to
El Salvador. Pending the advice and consent of the United States Senate, the President issued a recess appointment so that the Ambassador could assume her post.http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/20/1784514/obama-names-aponte-el-salvador.html As embassies fall within the
Department of State, ambassadors answer to the
Secretary of State.
Puerto Ricans may enlist in the U.S. military. Since 1917 Puerto Ricans have been included in the compulsory draft whenever it has been in effect and more than 400,000 Puerto Ricans have served in the United States Armed Forces. Puerto Ricans have participated in all U.S. wars since 1898, most notably
World War I,
World War II, the
Korean and
Vietnam wars, as well as the current
Middle Eastern conflicts. Several Puerto Ricans became notable commanders, five have been awarded the
Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration in the United States, and several Puerto Ricans have attained the rank of
General or
Admiral, which requires a Presidential nomination and Senate confirmation, as is the case of judges and ambassadors. In World War II,
Who was Agustín Ramos Calero?,
The Puerto Rican Soldier, 17 August 2005. PDF format. Retrieved 19 November 2006. the Korean War and the Vietnam War Puerto Ricans were the most decorated Hispanic soldiers and in some cases were the first to die in combat.Nieves,
New York Times, 1993
International status
On November 27, 1953, shortly after the establishment of the Commonwealth, the General Assembly of the
United Nations approved
Resolution 748, removing Puerto Rico's classification as a
non-self-governing territory under article 73(e) of the Charter from UN. But the General Assembly did not apply the full list of criteria which was enunciated in 1960 when it took favorable note of the cessation of transmission of information regarding the non-selfgoverning status of Puerto Rico.
resolution 740 (27 november 1953), "
Cessation of transmission o the information under article 73 e of the Charter in respect of Puerto Rico".
GA Resolution 1541 (15 December 1960), "''Principles which should guide Members in determining whether or not an obligation exists to transmit the information called for in article 73 e of the Charter. (See ANNEX). According to the White House Task Force on Puerto Rico's Political Status in its December 21, 2007 report, the U.S., in its written submission to the UN in 1953, never represented that Congress could not change its relationship with Puerto Rico without the territory's consent. It stated that the U.S. Justice Department in 1959 reiterated that Congress held power over Puerto Rico pursuant to the Territorial ClauseArt. IV, Sec. 3, clause 2, U.S. Constitution. of the U.S. Constitution.
In 1993, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit stated that Congress may unilaterally repeal the Puerto Rican Constitution or the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act and replace them with any rules or regulations of its choice. In a 1996 report on a Puerto Rico status political bill, the
U.S. House Committee on Resources stated, "Puerto Rico's current status does not meet the criteria for any of the options for full self-government under Resolution 1541" (the three established forms of full self-government being stated in the report as (1) national independence, (2) free association based on separate sovereignty, or (3) full integration with another nation on the basis of equality). The report concluded that Puerto Rico "... remains an unincorporated territory and does not have the status of 'free association' with the United States as that status is defined under United States law or international practice", that the establishment of local self-government with the consent of the people can be unilaterally revoked by the U.S. Congress, and that U.S. Congress can also withdraw the U.S. citizenship of Puerto Rican residents of Puerto Rico at any time, for a legitimate Federal purpose.{{cite web
|url=http://www.congress.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/R?cp105:FLD010:@1%28hr131%29: |title=Puerto Rico Status Field Hearing |publisher=Committee on Resources, U.S. House of Representatives, 105th Congress |date=April 19, 1997 |accessdate=2007-10-01}} The application of the U.S. Constitution to Puerto Rico is limited by the
Insular Cases.
Recent developments
In 2005 and 2007, two reports were issued by the U.S. President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status. Both reports conclude that Puerto Rico continues to be a territory of U.S. under the plenary powers of the U.S. Congress. Reactions from Puerto Rico's two major political parties were mixed. The Popular Democratic Party (PPD) challenged the task force's report and committed to validating the current status in all international forums, including the United Nations. It also rejected any "colonial or territorial status" as a status option, and vowed to keep working for the enhanced Commonwealth status that was approved by the PPD in 1998, which included sovereignty, an association based on "respect and dignity between both nations", and common citizenship.
Independence Hearing by the
Puerto Rico Herald. The New Progressive Party (PNP) supported the White House Report's conclusions and supported bills to provide for a democratic referendum process among Puerto Rico voters.
According to a
CRS report, the recent activity regarding Puerto Rico’s political status, in Congress and on the island, suggests that action may be taken in the 111th Congress.
The reports issued in 2007 and 2005 by the
President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status may be the basis for reconsideration of the existing commonwealth status, as legislative developments during the 109th and 110th Congresses suggested. Agreement on the process to be used in considering the status proposals has been as elusive as agreement on the end result. Congress would have a determinative role in any resolution of the issue. The four options that appear to be most frequently discussed include continuation of the commonwealth, modification of the current commonwealth agreement, statehood, or independence. If independence, or separate national sovereignty, were selected, Puerto Rican officials might seek to negotiate a compact of free association with the United States.
On June 15, 2009, the
United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization approved a draft resolution calling on the Government of the United States to expedite a process that would allow the Puerto Rican people to exercise fully their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.
On April 29, 2010, the U.S. Congress voted 223–169 to approve a measure for a federally sanctioned process for Puerto Rico's self determination, allowing Puerto Rico to set a new referendum on whether to continue its present form of commonwealth political status or to have a different political status. If Puerto Ricans vote to continue to have their present form of political status, the Government of Puerto Rico is authorized to conduct additional plebiscites at intervals of every 8 years from the date on which the results of the prior plebiscite are certified; if Puerto Ricans vote to have a different political status, a second referendum would determine whether Puerto Rico would become a U.S. state, an independent country, or a sovereign nation associated with the U.S. that would not be subject to the Territorial Clause of the United States Constitution. During the House debate, a fourth option, to retain its present form of commonwealth (
status quo) political status, was added as an option in the second plebiscite.
Immediately following
U.S. House of the
U.S. Congress passage, H.R. 2499 was sent to the
U.S. Senate, where it was given two formal readings and referred to the
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
A Senate hearing was held on May 19, 2010 for the purpose of gathering testimony on the bill. Among those offering testimony were
Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico,
Pedro Pierluisi;
Governor of Puerto Rico,
Luis Fortuño; President of the
Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico,
Héctor Ferrer; and President of the
Puerto Rican Independence Party,
Rubén Berríos.
In December, 2009, Gov. Fortuño signed into law a bill that would prohibit the long-standing tradition by many public and private institutions in Puerto Rico of requiring an original birth certificate for many transactions, such as enrolling in schools, sports leagues and summer camps. It also invalidated all Puerto Rico-issued birth certificates, effective July 1, 2010, and mandated the issuance of new, more secure birth certificates effective that date.
Three Month Extension of Current Puerto Rico Birth Certificates Enacted to Provide Transition to New, More Secure Documents, Puerto rico federal Affairs Administration, June 28, 2010. The law was in response to a request by federal agencies that had identified major national identity fraud through a disproportionately fraudulent use of Puerto Rico-issued birth certificates. Several organizations, including the
National Institute for Latino Policy and the
Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, had urged the governor to delay the date on which all previously issued birth certificates would be invalidated
Activists tell Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno a new birth certificate law harms mainland residentsLos Angeles Times. In June, a law was signed by Fortuño extending the validity of birth certificates issued on or before June 30, 2010 until September 30, 2010, in order to provide additional time for new birth certificates to be procured.
Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock made it clear that there had always been the intention to allow for a short period between the date new certificates would be issued and old certificates would become invalid, previously unannounced so that the sense of urgency would not be lost.Isolde Raferty,
Puerto Rico Extends Deadline for Birth Certificates, The New York Times, June 29, 2010.
Geography
Puerto Rico consists of the main island of Puerto Rico and various smaller islands, including
Vieques,
Culebra,
Mona,
Desecheo, and
Caja de Muertos. Of these last five, only Culebra and Vieques are inhabited year-round. Mona is uninhabited most of the year except for employees of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources. There are also many other even smaller islands including
Monito and "La Isleta de San Juan" which includes
Old San Juan and
Puerta de Tierra and is connected to the main island by bridges.
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has an area of , of which is land and is water.
CIA - The World Factbook -- Puerto Rico#Geography. The maximum length of the main island from east to west is , and the maximum width from north to south is .{{cite web
|url=http://www.topuertorico.org/descrip.shtml|title=Welcome to Puerto Rico!|publisher=topuertorico.org|accessdate=2007-12-30
|postscript=}} Puerto Rico is the smallest of the Greater Antilles. It is 80% of the size of
Jamaica, just over 18% of the size of
Hispaniola and 8% of the size of
Cuba, the largest of the Greater Antilles.
Puerto Rico is mostly mountainous with large coastal areas in the north and south. The main mountain range is called "
La Cordillera Central" (The Central Range). The highest elevation in Puerto Rico,
Cerro de Punta , is located in this range. Another important peak is
El Yunque, one of the highest in the
Sierra de Luquillo at the
El Yunque National Forest, with an elevation of .
Puerto Rico has 17 lakes, all man-made, and more than
50 rivers, most originating in the Cordillera Central.
Los Lagos de Puerto Rico (archived from
the original on 2007-06-29). Rivers in the northern region of the island are typically longer and of higher
water flow rates than those of the south, since the south receives less rain than the central and northern regions.
Puerto Rico is composed of
Cretaceous to
Eocene volcanic and
plutonic rocks, overlain by younger
Oligocene and more recent
carbonates and other
sedimentary rocks. Most of the
caverns and
karst topography on the island occurs in the northern region in the carbonates. The oldest rocks are approximately 190 million years old (
Jurassic) and are located at Sierra Bermeja in the southwest part of the island. They may represent part of the
oceanic crust and are believed to come from the Pacific Ocean realm.
Puerto Rico lies at the boundary between the Caribbean and North American
plates and is being deformed by the
tectonic stresses caused by their interaction. These stresses may cause
earthquakes and
tsunamis. These
seismic events, along with
landslides, represent some of the most dangerous
geologic hazards in the island and in the northeastern Caribbean. The
most recent major earthquake occurred on October 11, 1918 and had an estimated magnitude of 7.5 on the
Richter scale. It originated off the coast of
Aguadilla and was accompanied by a tsunami.
The
Puerto Rico Trench, the largest and deepest trench in the Atlantic, is located about north of Puerto Rico at the boundary between the Caribbean and North American plates. It is long. At its deepest point, named the
Milwaukee Deep, it is almost deep, or about 5.2 miles. The island experiences frequent tremors and is an area of concern for major earthquakes.
Located in the
tropics, Puerto Rico has an average temperature of throughout the year. Temperatures do not change drastically throughout the seasons. The temperature in the south is usually a few degrees higher than the north and temperatures in the central interior mountains are always cooler than the rest of the island. The
Hurricane season spans from June to November. The all-time low in Puerto Rico has been , registered in
Aibonito.
Species
endemic to the archipelago are 239 plants, 16 birds and 39
amphibians/
reptiles, recognized as of 1998. Most of these (234, 12 and 33 respectively) are found on the main island.
Island Directory. The most recognizable endemic species and a symbol of Puerto Rican pride is the
Coquí, a small frog easily identified by the sound of its call, and from which it gets its name. Most
Coquí species (13 of 17) live in the
El Yunque National Forest, a
tropical rainforest in the northeast of the island previously known as the Caribbean National Forest. El Yunque is home to more than 240 plants, 26 of which are endemic to the island. It is also home to 50 bird species, including the critically endangered
Puerto Rican Amazon. Across the island in the southwest, the of dry land at the Guánica Commonwealth Forest Reserve contain over 600 uncommon species of plants and animals, including 48 endangered species and 16 endemic to Puerto Rico.
Administrative divisions
As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico does not have any first order administrative divisions as defined by the
U.S. Government, but there are 78
municipalities at the secondary level which function as counties. Municipalities are further subdivided into
barrios, and those into sectors. Each municipality has a
mayor and a municipal legislature elected for four year terms.
The first municipality (previously called "town") of Puerto Rico,
San Juan, was founded in 1521. In the 16th century two more municipalities were established,
San Germán (1570) and
Coamo (1579). Three more municipalities were established in the 17th century. These were
Arecibo (1614),
Aguada (1692) and
Ponce (1692). The 18th and 19th century saw an increase in settlement in Puerto Rico with 30 municipalities being established in the 18th century and 34 more in the 19th century. Only six municipalities were founded in the 20th century with the last,
Florida, being founded in 1971.
LinktoPR.com - Fundación de los Pueblos .
Economy
is a major financial centre in Puerto Rico.]]
, one of the newest hotels, from the beach in
Condado.]]
In the early 1900s the greatest contributor to Puerto Rico's economy was
agriculture and its main crop was sugar. In the late 1940s a series of projects codenamed
Operation Bootstrap encouraged a significant shift to manufacture via tax exemptions. Manufacturing quickly replaced agriculture as the main industry of the island. Puerto Rico is classified as a "high income country" by the
World Bank.
Data and Statistics of Country Groups of the
World Bank Income report for Puerto Rico by the
World Bank.
Economic conditions have improved dramatically since the
Great Depression because of external investment in capital-intensive industries such as
petrochemicals,
pharmaceuticals and
technology. Once the beneficiary of special tax treatment from the U.S. government, today local industries must compete with those in more economically depressed parts of the world where wages are not subject to U.S. minimum wage legislation. In recent years, some U.S. and foreign owned factories have moved to lower wage countries in Latin America and Asia. Puerto Rico is subject to U.S. trade laws and restrictions.
Also, starting around 1950, there was heavy migration from Puerto Rico to the
Continental United States, particularly New York City, in search of better economic conditions. Puerto Rican migration to New York displayed an average yearly migration of 1,800 for the years 1930-1940, 31,000 for 1946–1950, 45,000 for 1951–1960, and a peak of 75,000 in 1953. As of 2003, the
U.S. Census Bureau estimates that more people of Puerto Rican birth or ancestry live in the U.S. than in Puerto Rico.
Anglelo Falcón, "Atlas of Stateside Puerto Ricans", Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, published December 6, 2004, retrieved February 5, 2007
On May 1, 2006, the Puerto Rican government faced significant
shortages in cash flows, which forced the closure of the local Department of Education and 42 other government agencies. All 1,536 public schools closed, and 95,762 people were furloughed in the first-ever partial shutdown of the government in the island's history. On May 10, 2006, the
budget crisis was resolved with a new tax reform agreement so that all government employees could return to work. On November 15, 2006 a 5.5% sales tax was implemented. Municipalities are required by law to apply a municipal sales tax of 1.5% bringing the total sales tax to 7%.
Tourism is an important component of Puerto Rican economy supplying an approximate $1.8 billion. In 1999, an estimated 5 million tourists visited the island, most from the U.S. Nearly a third of these are
cruise ship passengers. A steady increase in hotel registrations since 1998 and the construction of new hotels and new tourism projects, such as the
Puerto Rico Convention Center, indicate the current strength of the tourism industry.
Puerto Ricans had
median household income of $17,741 for 2007, which makes Puerto Rico's economy comparable to the independent nations of
Latvia or Poland. By comparison, the poorest state of the Union,
Mississippi, had median household income of $36,338 in 2007. Nevertheless, Puerto Rico's GDP per capita compares favorably to other independent Caribbean nations, and is one of the highest in North America.See
List of North American countries by GDP per capita.
Puerto Rico's public debt has grown at a faster pace than the growth of its economy, reaching $46.7 billion in 2008. In January 2009,
Luis Fortuño enacted several measures aimed at eliminating the government's $3.3 billion deficit, including laying off nearly 24,000 government employees. Puerto Rico's unemployment rate was 15.9 percent in January 2010. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some analysts said they expect the government's layoffs to propel that rate to 17 percent.
Demographics
Population and racial makeup
Racial distribution
-->
During the 1800s hundreds of
Corsican,
French,
Lebanese,
Chinese, and
Portuguese families arrived in Puerto Rico, along with large numbers of immigrants from Spain (mainly from
Catalonia,
Asturias,
Galicia, the
Balearic Islands,
Andalusia, and the
Canary Islands) and numerous Spanish loyalists from Spain's former colonies in South America. Other settlers included
Irish,
Scots,
Germans,
Italians and thousands others who were granted land by Spain during the
Real Cedula de Gracias de 1815 ("
Royal Decree of Graces of 1815"), which allowed European Catholics to settle in the island with land allotments in the interior of the island, provided they agreed to pay taxes and continue to support the Catholic church.
Continuous European immigration during the 19th century helped the population grow from 155,000 in 1800 to almost a million at the close of the century. A census conducted by royal decree on September 30, 1858, gives the following totals of the Puerto Rican population at this time: 300,430 identified as
Whites; 341,015 as Free
colored; and 41,736 as
Slaves.
Between 1960 and 1990 the census questionnaire in Puerto Rico did not ask about race or color. However, the
2000 United States Census included a racial self-identification question in Puerto Rico. According to the census, most Puerto Ricans self-identified as White and few declared themselves to be Black or some other race.
U.S Census
Immigration
Recently, Puerto Rico has become the permanent home of over 100,000 legal residents who immigrated from not only the
Dominican Republic, but from other
Latin American countries:
Cuba,
Colombia and
Venezuela, as well as from surrounding
Caribbean Islands:
Haiti,
Barbados, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands.
Emigration has been a major part of Puerto Rico's recent history. Starting soon after
World War II, poverty, cheap airfare and promotion by the island government caused waves of Puerto Ricans to move to the United States, particularly to
New York,
New Jersey,
Massachusetts and
Florida. Although this trend continued even as Puerto Rico's economy improved and its birth rate declined, Puerto Ricans continue their "circular migration" pattern.
Language
The official languages are Spanish and English with Spanish being the primary language. English is taught as a second language in public and private schools from elementary levels to high school and at the university level.
The Spanish of Puerto Rico has evolved into having many idiosyncrasies in vocabulary and syntax which differentiate it from the Spanish spoken in other Spanish-speaking countries. While the Spanish spoken in all Iberian, Mediterranan and Atlantic Spanish Maritime Provinces was brought to the island over the centuries, the most profound regional impact on the Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico has been from the Spanish spoken in present day Canary Islands.
As a result of the natural inclusion of indigenous vocabulary in all New World former European colonies (English, French, Spanish, Dutch, etc.), the Spanish of Puerto Rico also includes occasional "Taino" words, which are typically in the context of vegetation, natural phenomenon or primitive musical instruments. Similarly, African-attributed words exist within the contexts of foods, music or dances developed in coastal towns with concentrations of descendants of former Sub-Saharan slaves.
Since the acquistion of the Island by the USA from Spain in 1898, the linguistic impression of American English increasingly leaves its linguistic impact on the island in all aspects of social, commercial and educational exchange.
According to a study by the University of Puerto Rico, nine of every ten Puerto Ricans residing in Puerto Rico do not speak English at the advanced level and according to a brief report of the U.S. Census 2000, seven of every ten Puerto Ricans residing in Puerto Rico does not speak English at advanced levels of fluency, while possessing familiar levels of English vocabulary in the written medium.{{cite web
| url = http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-29.pdf
| title = Language Use and English-Speaking Ability: 2000 Census 2000 Brief Issued October 2003
| accessdate = 2010-01-19
| date = 2003-08-01
| work = U.S. Census 2000 Brief
| publisher = U.S. Census
|format=PDF}}
Religion
The
Roman Catholic Church has historically been the dominant religion in Puerto Rico. The first
dioceses in the Americas was erected in Puerto Rico in 1511. All
municipalities in Puerto Rico have at least one Catholic church (building), most of which are located at the town center or "
plaza". Protestantism which was suppressed under the Spanish regime has been encouraged under American rule making modern Puerto Rico interconfessional.
Taíno religious practices have been rediscovered/reinvented to a degree by a handful of advocates. Various African religious practices have been present since the arrival of African slaves. In particular, the
Yoruba beliefs of
Santeria and/or
Ifá, and the
Kongo-derived
Palo Mayombe find adherence among a few individuals who practice some form of
African traditional religion.
In 2007,
Islam had over 5,000
Muslims in Puerto Rico, representing about 0.10% of the population
Institute of Islamic Information and Education: Number of Muslims and Percentage in Puero Rico Retrieved June 11, 2009.
Percent Puerto Rican population that are Muslims Retrieved June 8, 2009.
There were eight Islamic
mosques spread throughout the island, with most Muslims living in
Rio Piedras Muslim mosques in Pto. Rico Retrieved June 8, 2009.
Muslims concentrated in Rio Piedras. Puerto Rico is also home to the largest and richest Jewish community in the Caribbean with 3,000 Jewish inhabitants. Puerto Rico is the only Caribbean island in which the
Conservative,
Reform and
Orthodox Jewish movements are represented.
The Virtual Jewish History Tour Puerto Rico Luxner News
Culture
Modern Puerto Rican culture is a unique mix of cultural antecedents, including African (from the slaves),
Taíno (Amerindians), Spanish, and more recently, North American.
From the Spanish Puerto Rico received the Spanish language, the Catholic religion and the vast majority of their cultural and moral values and traditions. The United States added English language influence, the university system and the adoption of some holidays and practices. On March 12, 1903,
University of Puerto Rico was officially founded, branching out from the "Escuela Normal Industrial", a smaller organism that was founded in Fajardo three years before.
Much of the Puerto Rican culture centers on the influence of music. Like the country as a whole, Puerto Rican music has been developed by mixing other cultures with local and traditional rhythms. Early in the history of Puerto Rican music, the influences of African and Spanish traditions were most noticeable. However, the cultural movements across the Caribbean and North America have played a vital role in the more recent musical influences that have reached Puerto Rico.Giovannetti, Jorge L. "Popular Music and Culture in Puerto Rico: Jamaican and Rap Music as Cross-Cultural Symbols." In Musical Migrations: Transnationalism and Cultural Hybridity in the Americas, ed. Frances R. Aparicio and Cándida F. Jáquez, 81-98.
The official symbols of Puerto Rico are the
Reinita mora or
Puerto Rican Spindalis (a type of bird), the
Flor de Maga (a type of flower), and the
Ceiba or
Kapok (a type of tree). The unofficial animal and a symbol of Puerto Rican pride is the
Coquí, a small frog genus. Other popular symbols of Puerto Rico are the "
jíbaro", the "countryman", and the carite.
Sports
Baseball was one of the first sports to gain widespread popularity in Puerto Rico. The
Puerto Rico Baseball League serves as the only active professional league, operating as a winter league. No
Major League Baseball franchise or affiliate plays in Puerto Rico, however, San Juan hosted the
Montreal Expos for several series in 2003 and 2004 before they moved to
Washington, D.C. and became the
Washington Nationals. The
Puerto Rico national baseball team has participated in the
World Cup of Baseball winning one gold (1951), four silver and four bronze medals and the
Caribbean Series, winning fourteen times. Famous Puerto Rican baseball players include
Roberto Clemente and
Orlando Cepeda, enshrined in the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973 and 1999, respectively.
Baseball Hall of Fame entry for Roberto Clemente. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
Baseball Hall of Fame entry for Orlando Cepeda. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
Boxing,
basketball, and
volleyball are considered popular sports as well.
Wilfredo Gómez and
McWilliams Arroyo have won their respective divisions at the
World Amateur Boxing Championships. Other medalists include
José Pedraza, who holds a silver medal, as well as three boxers that finished in third place, José Luis Vellón,
Nelson Dieppa and
McJoe Arroyo. In the professional circuit, Puerto Rico has the third-most
boxing world champions and its the global leader in champions per capita. These include
Miguel Cotto,
Félix Trinidad,
Wilfred Benítez and Gómez among others. The
Puerto Rico national basketball team joined the
International Basketball Federation in 1957. Since then, it has won more than 30 medals in international competitions, including gold in three
FIBA Americas Championships and the 1994
Goodwill Games. August 8, 2004, became a landmark date for the team when it became the first team to defeat the
United States in an Olympic tournament since the integration of
National Basketball Association players. Winning the inaugural game with scores of 92-73 as part of the
2004 Summer Olympics organized in
Athens, Greece.
BBC Sports - Olympics 2004.
Miscellaneous practices of this sport have experienced some success, including the "Puerto Rico All Stars" team, which has won twelve world championships in unicycle basketball. Organized
Streetball has gathered some exposition, with teams like "Puerto Rico Street Ball" competing against established organizations including the
Capitanes de Arecibo and
AND1's
Mixtape Tour Team. Consequently, practitioners of this style have earned participation in international teams, including
Orlando "El Gato" Meléndez, who became the first Puerto Rican born athlete to play for the
Harlem Globetrotters.
Orlando Antigua, whose mother is Puerto Rican, made history in 1995, when he became the first Hispanic and the first non-black in 52 years to play for the
Harlem Globetrotters.
The
Puerto Rico Islanders Football Club, founded in 2003, plays in the
United Soccer Leagues First Division, which constitutes the second tier of football in North America.
Puerto Rico is also a member of
FIFA and
CONCACAF. In 2008 the archipelago's first unified league, the
Puerto Rico Soccer League, was established. Secondary sports include
Professional wrestling and
road running. The
World Wrestling Council and
International Wrestling Association are the largest wrestling promotions in the main island. The
World's Best 10K, held annually in San Juan, has been ranked among the 20 most competitive races globally.
Puerto Rico has representation in all international competitions including the
Summer and
Winter Olympics, the
Pan American Games, the
Caribbean World Series, and the
Central American and Caribbean Games. Puerto Rican athletes have won 6 medals (1 silver, 5 bronze) in Olympic competition, the first one in 1948 by boxer
Juan Evangelista Venegas. On March 2006 San Juan's
Hiram Bithorn Stadium hosted the opening round as well as the second round of the newly formed
World Baseball Classic. The
Central American and Caribbean Games were held in
1993 in
Ponce and will be held in
2010 in
Mayagüez.
Education
Education in Puerto Rico is divided in three levels — Primary (elementary school grades 1-6), Secondary (intermediate and high school grades 7-12), and Higher Level (undergraduate and graduate studies). As of 2002, the literacy rate of the Puerto Rican population was 94.1%; by gender, it was 93.9% for males and 94.4% for females.
CIA FactBook According to the 2000 Census, 60.0% of the population attained a high school degree or higher level of education, and 18.3% has a bachelor's degree or higher.
Instruction at the primary school level is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 18 and is enforced by the state. The Constitution of Puerto Rico grants the right to an education to every citizen on the island. To this end, public schools in Puerto Rico provide free and non-sectarian education at the elementary and secondary levels. At any of the three levels, students may attend either
public or
private schools. As of 1999, there were 1532 public schools and 569 private schools in the island.
The largest and oldest university system in Puerto Rico is the public
University of Puerto Rico (UPR) with 11 campuses. The largest private university systems on the island are the
Sistema Universitario Ana G. Mendez which operates the
Universidad del Turabo,
Metropolitan University and
Universidad del Este, the multi-campus
Inter American University, the
Pontifical Catholic University, and the
Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. Puerto Rico has four schools of Medicine and four Law Schools.
Transportation
Cities and towns in Puerto Rico are interconnected by a system of roads,
freeways,
expressways, and
highways maintained by the Highways and Transportation Authority under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and patrolled by the
Puerto Rico Police Department. The island's
metropolitan area is served by a
public bus transit system and a
metro system called
Tren Urbano (in English: Urban Train). Other forms of public transportation include seaborne ferries (that serve Puerto Rico's archipelago) as well as
Carros Públicos (
private mini buses).
The island has three
international airports, the
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in
Carolina,
Mercedita Airport in Ponce, and the
Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla, and 27 local airports. The Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is the largest aerial transportation hub in the Caribbean, and one of the largest in the world in terms of passenger and cargo movement.
Puerto Rico has 9
ports in different cities across the main island. The
San Juan Port is the largest in Puerto Rico, and the busiest port in the Caribbean and the 10th busiest in the United States in terms of commercial activity and cargo movement, respectively. The second largest port is the
Port of the Americas in Ponce currently under expansion to increase cargo capacity to 1.5 million 20 ft. containers (
TEUs) per year.
See also
Notes and references
External links
DO
not ADD SPAM LINKS TO THIS ARTICLE. WIKIPEDIA IS
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; Puerto Rican government
; United States government
; United Nations (U.N.) Declaration on Puerto Rico