Puerto Rico Research Paper

Puerto Rican is an island located in the Northeastern Caribbean Sea in the East of the Dominican Republic and the West of the Virgin Islands. The country is home to 3.6 Million people while the capital Citi of San Juan is home to almost 400,00 people. Puerto Rico is one of few in the world that is officially bilingual. The Primary languages are both Spanish and English; they do not have an official religion. The currency in Puerto Rico is United States dollar, often referred as the peso.

Puerto Rico’s economy hasn’t always been steady throughout history. In the 1940s manufacturing boosted the country’s economy. Before the 1940s, agriculture kept the economy afloat. The island has 8,949 miles of paved roadways. They have some 30 international and domestic fly for

easy access to various cities on the island to provide transportation for industry and tourism. The advanced infrastructure and transportation systems make it easier to profit from the booming tourism industry. Puerto Rico location between the Americas and Panama Canal is valuable Port City that boosts the economy through trade commerce.
Puerto Rico has numerous beautiful places on the island. One of the well-known areas is El Yunque a National Forest. It is the only tropical rain forest in the forest system. Puerto is filled beautiful beaches in the Caribbean’s and has excellent Caves in Camuy. The Arecibo Observatory is the world’s largest single-aperture telescope.
The Cultural History of Puerto Rico started when Christopher Columbus arrived on the island of Puerto Rico on November 19, 1493, during his second voyage to the so-called “New world “.

The island inhabited by the Arawak group of indigenous people known as Tainos, who called the island “Borike’n” or “Borinquen.” The Tainos referred to as a peaceful nation. However, they were also warriors and often fought against the Caribs, who in more than one occasion attempt to invade the island. Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista in honor of Saint John the Baptist. The main port was named Puerto Rico (Rich Port) (eventually the island of Puerto Rico and the port which was to evolve into the capital of the island got the name, San Juan). They estimated the Tainos at thirty thousand; they were reduced to two thousand by the seventeenth century through exploitative labor, disease, native uprising, and immigration to the other islands. Many filled into the highlands or intermarried: Spanish immigration to the island was mostly male and interracial relations less stigmatizing than among Anglo settlers. The contemporary revival of Taino identity is based on the survival of Taino great land

communities.
From that time Puerto Rico was part of the Spanish Empire in the fourth century, they defended themselves against invasion from the British, French, and Dutch. Puerto Rico was considered the “Key to the Antilles” by the location as a way station and port for Spanish vessel. In 1540, with money from the Mexican mine, Spain started the construction of the Fort San Felipe Del Morro in San Juan. With the completion in 1589, El Morro became the island’s main military defense, guarded by the professional soldier.
The Puerto Rican citizens stayed active in many wars, and the main enemies of Spain included the English, Dutch, and French. In 1693, militias organized in almost every town in Puerto Rico. In 1897, Spain gave Puerto Rico the right to economic development and internal government. The first independent government constituted in April 1898, but, its attainment got postponed when the United States declared war on Spain. That declaration of war from The United States started the quest for Latin America’s independence from Spain. Puerto Rico had a short-lived revolution known as the Grito de Lares. The island got invaded by the United States during the Spanish-American war. After the war ended, Spain officially ceded the island to the United States under the terms established by the Treaty of Paris of 1898. Puerto Rico became a United States territory.
When the United States took over Puerto Rico, they try to include an English-only system and the implementation of an American educational system. The incorporation of the common law principles and practices into the island’s legal system, the grant of U.S. citizenship on the eve of World War 1, and the introduction of U.S. currency and the devaluation of the local peso. Political the head of the State is the President of the United States even though Puerto Rican can’t vote in the presidential election. A local governor is elected every four years through universal suffrage. An elected resident commissioner represent the island in the U.S. Congress but has no vote Puerto Rico made its constitution. The island is fully integrated into the U.S. military system. Puerto Ricans serve in the armed forces force. There is Army National Guard and Airforce National Guard. The U.S ceased maneuvers in Culebra in the mid- 1970, but they move the procedures to the island of Vieques. The training range was use for the Navy in naval gunfire, air to ground training and amphibious training for Marines. The military installation ended operation in 2001 and eventually left the island. Puerto Rico still uses Camp Santiago in Salinas for ranger training.