The Effect of American Colonialism on Puerto Rico's Identity

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The Effect of American Colonialism on Puerto Rico's Identity

The Pandora’s box of information that I have discovered about Puerto Rico under early U.S rule provide some fascinating details on the background of contradictions that characterize debates on the political, economic and social issues concerning the island. Since its invasion in 1898, the United States has shaped the policies of the island according to its own discretion in spite of the people of Puerto Rico. The country did not have time to shed the skin of Spanish colonial rule before the United States set foot on the island to add its own layer of imperial legacy. The island was taken as a compromise to end the Spanish American War. How the newly acquired territory would take shape, and some of the local and international influences that might have contributed to the evolution of the Puerto Rican political, social and economical structure are some of the issues that I hope to address. As is customary an attempted commentary of this sort cannot be complete without the subject of identity, after all, this issue seems to be at the core of the status of the island.

While Puerto Rico was being held under the care of the department of War, the political leaders in the United States capital pondered how to legislate the policies of the new possessions. The Treaty of Paris that was drafted as a means to end the Spanish American War had declared the new possessions, (The Philippines, Hawaii and Puerto Rico among others) colonies of the United States of America. Decisions made by the U.S. regarding one of these countries would evidently influence the policies towards the other. Although they were acquired during the same period of time, the legislation would vary accordin...

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.... The people took the offer of citizenship without much choice. They must still deal with the fact that although citizens they are essentially disenfranchised, and at the same time their status as nation remains in limbo.

Bibliography

Dietz, James. Economic History of Puerto Rico. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986. PP 98-170; 194 –231; 242-250.

Fernandez, Ronald. The Disenchanted Island: Puerto Rico and the United States in the twentieth Century. Westport Connecticut: Praeger Publishing, 1996. PP 1-104.

Guerra Lillian. Popular Expression and National Identity in Puerto Rico: The Struggle for self, community and nation. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1998. PP 45-121

Trias Monge, Jose. "The shaping of colonial policy," from: Trias Monge The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World. New Haven: Yale University press, 1997. PP 36-51

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