Puerto Rican Identity and Spanish Colonial Rule Essay

Before we Critique the bourgeoisie in Puerto Rico, we must first understand how they came to be. How did a nation of enslaved people produce individuals who would rather subjugate themselves and other for fringe benefits? In the present day, Puerto Rico is officially known as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. But make no mistake about it Puerto Rico is a colony. A colony that has never experienced freedom for the last 525 years. In 1493, Columbus landed on the island now known as Puerto Rico, claiming the island for Spain, even though a vibrant group of people, The Taino’s, already called the island home. From 1493 to 1898, the Spanish killed thousands of indigenous people and enslaved thousands of Africans, and robbed Puerto Rico of its natural

Juan Gonzalez discusses the historical relationship between Puerto Rico and the U.S. in Harvest of an Empire, interestingly enough the author’s family were a part of the surge of Puerto Ricans emigrated to New York in 1946. With the signing of the Treaty of Paris the Spanish-American War came to a close with Puerto Rico now under the control of the U.S. along with Cuba, Guam, and the Philippians. In 1900 the Foraker Act established Puerto Rico as a U.S. territory, but it had less autonomy than when under the control of Spain. The Foraker Act allowed the U.S. to dominate the economy of Puerto Ricans by replacing the peso with the dollar and not allowing for any outside commercial treaties. Challenges were unsuccessful with the dreadful ruling

It is not uncommon that you’ll hear Puerto Ricans refer to themselves as the mutts of the Spanish community, this is because of the island’s history. Soon after Christopher Columbus “discovered” the island in 1493, it became known as the “rich port” for the Spanish or Puerto Rico, due to the fact that it produced mass amounts of cattle, sugar cane, tobacco, and coffee, especially considering the island’s size. Such prosperity and wealth opened the door for the slave trade to enter the colony, and as a result Puerto Rican bloodlines and cultures evolved not only from the Spanish, but also from Africans, and indigenous Taíno and Carib people (“Puerto Rico- History and Heritage”). In addition, over the centuries many failed attempts where made by the French, Dutch, and English to conquer the island which even further changed the bloodlines. Of course, as history has it, at the end of the Spanish American war in 1898, the Treaty of Paris declared the the Spanish would surrender Puerto Rico to the United States, therefore infiltrating American culture and beauty ideals.

The population of Puerto Rico is a mix of culture and ethnicities, whose origins can be traced back to native Taino, Spanish and West African roots. On Columbus ' second voyage to the New World in 1493, the Spaniards came across the island of Puerto Rico. At that time the island was populated by peaceful indigenous people called the Taino indians (prfdance.org). The Taino welcomed the Spaniards, but the Spaniards treated them severely. Due to the slave labor conditions and new European diseases

The international perception of Puerto Rico as an American colony a failed economy or a misunderstood predicament of colonization

For instance, many other Americans fail to realize that Puerto Ricans are natural-born American citizens or wrongly view their native island as a primitive tropical land of grass huts and grass skirts. Puerto Rican culture is often confused with other Latin American cultures, especially that of Mexican Americans. The author explains that because Puerto Rico is an island, some mainlanders have trouble distinguishing Pacific Islanders of Polynesian descent from the Puerto Rican people, who have Euro-African and Caribbean

Within my household a larger focus has been placed upon my Puerto Rican roots as I have traveled over 15 times to the island; which in turn has strengthened my cultural bonds. The food, the people, the music, the history, and the beauty of the island have not only encapsulated me, but have directly opened my eyes to different cultural realities present within a multitude of locations across the globe. Puerto Rico may be a United states territory, but it is nothing like the United States. Being a such a small island a tighter knit idea of nationality is formed and the notion of constant elation can be felt throughout the entire nation. Warm magnanimity is perceived from the poorest woman to the richest man. Every visit to the island has been met with the warmth of the stifling heat and the hugs of my grandparents. Grandparents who hold the Puerto Rican values of love, acceptance, and fun. Such values have framed my culturally diverse background while also unhinging the systematic societal impressions found within my own

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, things they did not know would continue under American rule. The Americans were regarded as change and chance for progress, even though they retained the fear of not knowing U.S. intentions.

abuses of power, especially in the fields of race and gender, would be seen in the same fields that Morris wished to provide information to in his book. Politicians in Puerto Rico would first attempt to civilize the indigenous people through progressive reforms, such as divorce (Findlay 110-3). Subsequently, when WWI came around, an attempt to eliminate prostitution was enacted in order to save male soldiers from getting sexual diseases (Findlay 167-8). Here one witnesses Morris’ political ideas in action, the idea that the people of these territories need some form of help or boost in order to become truly civilized (Morris 6). Returning to Puerto Rico, the infiltration of U.S. businessmen becomes quite evident. U.S. investors saw islands like Puerto Rico as places to sell their products, collect raw materials, and obtain cheap labor. Money made through such endeavors would not make it back to the Puerto Rico, as the lives of the people on the island grew harder (Shakow, “Puerto Rico”). Morris provides key economic information, stating that sugar was the leading product to obtain from such territories. With that said, Morris informs the reader that it would benefit the tropical islands to come under American economic rule, an idea that was proven horribly incorrect (Morris 5). Information such as that of Morris provides the tools for abuse from abroad that would leave damaging results on the people of these

After being much pressured from his family, the boy has no choice other than to drink the “potion, familiar / from soda fountains in Brooklyn” (12-13). From the boy’s perspective, we can clearly see his emotional dissatisfaction as he states, “he was bored with this potion” (12). Espada’s comparison of Coca-Cola to “potion” suggests that the people of Puerto Rico are deeply mesmerized by American products, and that they are incapable of recognizing the copious amounts of goods that Puerto Rico has to offer to its people. The speaker emphasizes the significance of American culture on the Puerto Rican citizens and outstandingly illustrates the influences and effects of Americanization. These effects are clearly evident even with the older generation

When the Spanish American war occurred. Although the territory isn’t allowed to vote for president, they still are recognized as American citizens. The strange portion is that the island main language is Spanish rather than English, making their economy, although part of America, international. Currently the population of Puerto Rico is 3.411 million back in 2016, the population has gone down since then. Back in the 1976 there was a tax break that essentially created a tax loophole by allowing US manufacturers could get away with paying no income taxes on the island. These led to a lot of businesses coming to the island and start an industrial economy. Puerto Rico isn’t well known of producing much, so their exports don’t produce income for them. They mostly export alcohol, and canned tuna. With more companies migrating to Puerto Rico, more jobs opened up and more pension plans were in placed. As time went on Puerto Rico started to gain a GDP of 103.1 Billion, which, not much, helped sustain the island. The issue was even with jobs, at that time, Puerto Rico always lacked resources and after time became one of the poorer than the poorest state in the US – with 45% of the population living below the poverty line. When I last went to visit the island seem more like a part of South America in which the houses and buildings weren’t as advanced as American architect is. Things changed for Puerto

This has to do a large part with the discovery of gold mines. Many traveled to the island in order to find gold and hopefully get rich. Sadly, this also involved bringing slaves over. Puerto Rico used slaves to dig for gold, this contributed largely to the mixture and diversity of Puerto Rico. The variety of inhabitants became prominent. In addition to this, the conquerors also had a large impact on the culture. In specific, when Spain conquered Puerto RIco they had many spanish people move to inhabit the land. There were so many different ethnicities that spanish wasn’t declared the official language until the

When island inhabitants first heard that Americans were planning on invading Puerto Rico and driving out Spain's rulers, Puerto Ricans welcomed the North Americans to their home. (To view an in-progress work dealing with the Spanish-American War from a pro-colonial expansion point of view, visit this site/ For an objective historical account view this site). The Puerto Ricans were tired of not having a voice in politics and government and with the knowledge that America was a democracy, there was hope that this status quo would change. Although Puerto Ricans felt sentiments of fear at the arrival of the Americans, this did not curb their welcoming and enabling the American invasion. Unfortunately, the outcome of the invasion was not as

Myrmarie Graw-Gonzalez is a Professor of the Social Science Department of the Gateway High School at the Osceola County School District, in Kissimmee, Florida. She has received her Masters of Arts in History with the distinction award of Cum Laude, from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. Her dissertation is entitled "Puerto Rico and the American Dream: A closer connection to the suburban: Case study of Levittown, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico”.

This article from Encyclopedia Britannica mainly illustrates the history, economic and politic development of Puerto Rico in a big picture. It introduces several historical events which shape the modern Puerto Rico.