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Portal:Puerto Rico

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The Puerto Rico Portal

Location of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico (Spanish for 'rich port'; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a self-governing Caribbean archipelago and island organized as an unincorporated territory of the United States under the designation of commonwealth. Located about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida, between the Dominican Republic in the Greater Antilles and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Lesser Antilles, it consists of the eponymous main island and numerous smaller islands, including Vieques, Culebra, and Mona. With approximately 3.2 million residents, it is divided into 78 municipalities, of which the most populous is the capital municipality of San Juan, followed by those within the San Juan metropolitan area. Spanish and English are the official languages of the government, though Spanish predominates.

Puerto Rico was settled by a succession of Amerindian peoples beginning 2,000 to 4,000 years ago; these included the Ortoiroid, Saladoid, and Taíno. It was claimed by Spain following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1493 and subsequently colonized by Juan Ponce de León in 1508. Puerto Rico was contested by other European powers into the 18th century but remained a Spanish possession for the next 400 years. The decline of the indigenous population, followed by an influx of Spanish settlers, primarily from the Canary Islands and Andalusia, and African slaves vastly changed the cultural and demographic landscape of the archipelago. Within the Spanish Empire, Puerto Rico played a secondary but strategically significant role compared to larger and wealthier colonies like Peru and New Spain. By the late 19th century, a distinct Puerto Rican identity began to emerge, centered around a fusion of European, African, and indigenous elements. In 1898, following the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States.

Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917 and can move freely between the archipelago and the mainland. However, residents of Puerto Rico are disenfranchised from federal elections and generally do not pay federal income tax. In common with four other territories, Puerto Rico sends a nonvoting representative to the U.S. Congress, called a Resident Commissioner, and participates in presidential primaries; as it is not a state, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the U.S. Congress, which oversees it under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950. Congress approved a territorial constitution in 1952, allowing residents of the archipelago to elect a governor in addition to a senate and house of representatives. The political status of Puerto Rico is an ongoing debate.

Beginning in the mid-20th century, the U.S. government, together with the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, launched a series of economic projects to develop Puerto Rico into an industrial high-income economy. It is classified by the International Monetary Fund as a developed jurisdiction with an advanced, high-income economy; it ranks 40th on the Human Development Index. The major sectors of Puerto Rico's economy are manufacturing, primarily pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, and electronics, followed by services, namely tourism and hospitality. (Full article...)

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The famous Roosevelt Clock Tower, constructed in 1937, is the center point of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus.

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Early Puerto Rican immigrants in New York City

Puerto Ricans have both immigrated and migrated to New York City. The first group of Puerto Ricans immigrated to New York City in the mid-1800s when they were still colonized under Spanish rule. The following wave of Puerto Ricans to move to New York City did so after the Spanish–American War in 1898. Puerto Ricans were no longer Spanish subjects and citizens of Spain, they were now Puerto Rican citizens of an American possession and needed passports to travel to the Contiguous United States.

That was until 1917, when the United States Congress approved Jones–Shafroth Act which gave Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico U.S. citizenship with certain limitations. Puerto Ricans living in the mainland United States however, were given full American citizenship and were allowed to seek political office in the states in which they resided. Two months later, when Congress passed the Selective Service Act, conscription was extended to the Puerto Ricans both on the island and on the mainland. It was expected that Puerto Rican men 18 years and older serve in the U.S. military during World War I. The Jones–Shafroth Act also allowed Puerto Ricans to travel between Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland without the need of a passport, thereby becoming migrants. The advent of air travel was one of the principal factors that led to the largest wave of migration of Puerto Ricans to New York City in the 1950s, known as "The Great Migration." (Full article...)

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Kenny Omar Galarza Arocho (born October 16, 1985) is a professional boxer. He competes in the light welterweight division, and represented Puerto Rico at numerous events as an amateur. Galarza won seven national championships locally and earned several recognitions in international competition. These include: two gold medals at the Junior Olympics Invitational, silver at the 2005 Pan American Boxing Championships and bronze in the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games. Prior to the 2007 Pan American Games, Galarza closed his amateur career, signing with Seminole Warriors Boxing. He debuted defeating Jesse Francisco on May 16, 2007. This victory marked the beginning of a knockout streak, which has lasted for thirteen contests. On September 18, 2009, Galarza won his first professional title, defeating Joshua Allotey to become the first interim light welterweight champion of the North American Boxing Organization. Amassing a perfect record and knockout ratio earned him inclusion in other sanctioning bodies, including the World Boxing Organization (11th), WBO Latino (7th), World Boxing Association's FEDECARIBE (6th) and World Boxing Foundation's International (10th) rankings. (Full article...)

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Elsa Miranda in 1950

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Sources

  1. ^ Mayor Announces Agreement by Largest Hispanic Bank in United States to Remain in New York City
  2. ^ Guillo dice “hasta pronto” y entra a Guinness: El Vocero[dead link]
  3. ^ Geisler, Lindsey (September 11, 2006). "Mendez case paved the way for Brown v. Board". Topeka Capital-Journal.
  4. ^ "Sauceda, Isis (March 28, 2007). "Cambio Historico (Historic Change)". People en Espanol (in Spanish): 111–112.
  5. ^ Chiquita Banana
  6. ^ "Histórico nombramiento de ingeniero ciego para el DTOP", La Perla del Sur (in Spanish), Ponce, Puerto Rico, December 8, 2016
  7. ^ Banuchi, Rebecca (December 8, 2016). "Ricardo Rossello nombra al secretario del DTOP". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). San Juan, Puerto Rico: GFR Media. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
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