Puerto Rico - Spanish Colony, US Territory, Caribbean

Puerto Rico

Table of Contents

Introduction & Quick Facts
The land
- Relief
- Drainage and soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
- Settlement patterns
The people
- Ethnic composition
- Language and religion
- Demographic trends
- Puerto Ricans in the United States
The economy
- Resources
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Manufacturing
- Services
  - Finance and trade
  - Tourism
- Transportation
Administration and social conditions
- Government
- Armed forces and police
- Education
- Health and welfare
Cultural life
- Daily life
- Cultural institutions
- Visual arts
- Literature
- Performing arts
- Sports and recreation
- Press and broadcasting
History
- Spanish colonial rule
  - Early settlement
  - Liberal reforms and regional turmoil
  - Economic and political shifts
  - Movements toward self-government
  - The Spanish-American War
- Rule by the United States
  - Early years
  - Socioeconomic concerns
  - Political developments
- The commonwealth
- The debate over political status
- Hurricanes Maria and Fiona

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images

San Felipe del Morro castle, San Juan, Puerto Rico

For Students

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The following discussion focuses on Puerto Rican history from the time of European settlement. For treatment of the island in its regional context, see Latin America, history of, and West Indies, history of. The first inhabitants of Puerto Rico were hunter-gatherers who reached the island more than 1,000 years before the arrival of the Spanish. Arawak Indians, who developed the Taino culture, had also settled there by 1000 ce. The clan-based Taino lived in small villages led by a cacique, or chief. They had a limited knowledge of agriculture but grew such domesticated tropical crops as pineapples, cassava, and sweet ...(100 of 11302 words)

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