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
Puerto Rico Under American Rule The United States gained control of the island of Puerto Rico as a result of the Spanish American war in 1898, claiming its intention to "free" the island from Spanish colonialism. When the United States took possession of the island, Puerto Rico became merely that, a controlled possession given little or insignificant power in many facets of Puerto Rican life. In a matter of a few months, Puerto Rico moved from being a Spanish possession to an American one
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
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
Puerto Rican Music and Its Significance Although the policies of Americanization and degradation of Puerto Rican culture heritage improved by the United States in Puerto Rico during the early decades of the twentieth century, the utmost concern for the United States was the strategic location of the island for political and economic advantages, not of the people who inhabited it. Puerto Rico, though a poor colony, was a rich cultural spot in an area of dynamic cultural influence of the Caribbean
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 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
Disentangling Blackness, Colonialism, and National Identities in Puerto Rico, she reconstructs defining historical moments between the 1870s and 1910s when over-racialized boundaries became politically expedient in the building of a cohesive Puerto Rican national identity. Ileana M. Rodríguez-Silva is an associate professor of Latin American and Caribbean history at the University of Washington, Department of History. She earned her B.A. at the Universidad de Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras and her M.A. and Ph.D.
Differences Between Island and Mainland Puerto Ricans As many immigrants arrive in the United States of America and begin to call it “home”, comparisons between such immigrants are certainly inevitable. In particular, the U.S. Hispanic population gives more room for such comparisons since their cultures and traditions are very similar. Most of their similarities stem from a common Spanish heritage. However, there is a lot more to being Hispanic than just speaking Spanish or eating rice and beans. What
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