Spanish Colonialism on the History of Puerto Rican People "Puerto Rico". The name immediately brings to mind images of a beautiful lush tropical island of enchantment. The name "Puerto Rico" usually does not conjure the image of Taino Indians or African slaves, yet these populations have great importance in laying the foundation for the notion of identity of Puerto Ricans. In contemporary debates of Puerto Rican identity, it is essential to examine the history of the island to determine the effects…

The Identity of Puerto Rican People Race is an inescapable reality of modern American society. It dominates all of our perceptions and divides them into two distinct categories: black and white. Within these two categories, all Americans are lumped together. But what about the people who racially belong to both groups, but ethnically belong to neither? Where do Puerto Ricans fit into this biracial society? How do you classify Puerto Ricans when one brother has light skin with light eyes and…

The Identity of a Puerto Rican Sidney W. Mintz describes the Caribbean as "a scattering of some fifty inhabited units spanning nearly 2, 500 miles of sea between Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and the north coast of South America, constitute the oldest colonial sphere of Western European overseas expansion... these territories were dominated and navigated and explored, their aborigines had been thrust into the consciousness of European monarchs, philosophers, and scientists" (17). The islands in the…

The Identity of an American Puerto Rican Am I "American" or "Puerto Rican", a question that wanders along the halls of my mind all the time? Many Puerto Ricans might not agree, but I feel that I am, "American", Puerto Rican American that is. As a child my own parents deprived me of my culture and true identity. They spoke to me in a language that many Puerto Ricans refused or detested to learn, English. The only thing I can actually say that I know about Puerto Rican heritage is the comida…

The Impact of Spanish Rule on Puerto Ricans Today What was Puerto Rico like under Spanish rule, and how important is that rule to the formation of the Puerto Rican people today? To answer these questions, we must take a look at the history of the Spanish and their colonization of the island of Puerto Rico. As we know, Puerto Rico was a colony of Spain "found" by Christopher Columbus on November 19, 1493, and remained a colony of Spain for the next 400 years. But the interesting fact…

United States Colonial Rule of Puerto Rico When the United States invaded the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico (Guanica and Ponce), a majority of Puerto Ricans welcomed the Americans and enabled their invasion. They cooperated and aided the American expulsion of Spaniards. However, it is obvious by the consequences that the end result of U.S. invasion and rule was not what Puerto Ricans had welcomed in July of 1898. Puerto Ricans wished an end to autocratic rule and concentration of wealth…

The Effect of Politics and Race on Identity of Puerto Ricans As is present in many articles we read about Spanish rule and American rule, there were always references to race, and the mix of races that the Puerto Ricans are, and how that has affected their identity. Kristen Moran hypothesized as to what was the origin of Spaniard's need to assert their clean lineage: "The attitude of the Spaniards concerning pure lineage, which can be traced back to the Muslim occupation of Spain, further complicated…

Misrepresentation of Puerto Ricans' Needs Under American Rule In 1898 the future of the island of Puerto Rico, according to American imperialists, differed from the future that Puerto Ricans had been fighting for during the Spanish American War. After the American invasion of Puerto Rico two versions of the history of this colonization have been created. The first reveals the Puerto Rican opposition and resistance to American occupation. This is a history exposing U.S. oppression of Puerto Ricans as well as…

Puerto Rico's Identity Formation Under U.S. Colonial Rule Upon continuing the discussion of what it means to be Puerto Rican, it is clear that the early US colonial rule fundamentally shaped the character of this definition. At the conclusion of the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico became a possession of the United States subject only to the privileges that the US was willing to grant it. The dichotomy between Puerto Rico’s expectations and what it actually became after 1898, helped to formulate…

Spanish Language's Influence on the Puerto Rican Identity The initial occupation of Puerto Rico by the Spaniards carries an important implication for language as part of the Puerto Rican identity. The Spanish language was imposed upon the inhabitants of the island, the Tainos, in the sixteenth century, when the Spanish inhabited the island in 1502, after the Spanish conquerors claimed the island in the name of Spain in 1493. Eventually, the Spanish had moved out or taken over the ways of the…