Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Motto: Latin: Joannes Est Nomen Eius Spanish: Juan es su nombre (English: "His name is John")
Anthem: "La Borinqueña"
Capital (and largest city)		San Juan
Official languages		Spanish and EnglishNancy Morris (1995), Puerto Rico: Culture, Politics, and Identity, Praeger/Greenwood, p. 62, ISBN 0275952282, <http://books.google.com/books?id=vyQDYqz2kFsC&pg=RA1-PA62&lpg=RA1-PA62&dq=%22puerto+rico%22+official+language+1993&source=web&ots=AZKLran6u3&sig=8fkQ9gwM0B0kwVYMNtXr-_9dnro>
Ethnic groups		Spanish, French, German, Irish, Italian, Corsican, Black, Taíno, Chinese
Demonym		Puerto Rican
Government		Republican three-branch government
-	Head of State	George W. Bush
-	Federal Legislative Branch	United States Congress The statutory laws of the United States not locally inapplicable, ... shall have the same force and effect in Puerto Rico as in the United States.United States Code TITLE 48 - TERRITORIES AND INSULAR POSSESSIONS, Sec. 734 Puerto Rico sends a non-voting Resident Commissioner who serves a four-year term.
-	Head of Government	Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Sovereignty		United States sovereignty.US Department of State. Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty
Area
-	Total	9,104 km²  3,515 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.6
Population
-	July 2007 estimate	3,994,259 (127th in the world; 27th in U.S.)
-	2000 census	3,913,054
-	Density	438/km² (21st in the world; 3rd in U.S.) 1,115/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2006 estimate
-	Total	$86.5 billion (N/A)
-	Per capita	$20,058 (N/A)
Currency		United States dollar (USD)
Time zone		AST (UTC-4)
-	Summer (DST)	No DST (UTC-4)
Internet TLD		.pr
Calling code		+1  spec. +1-787 and +1-939

Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: "Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" [literally, English: "Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"]), is a semi-autonomous territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands. The territory is composed of an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller islands and keys the largest of which are Vieques, Culebra, and Mona. The main island of Puerto Rico is the smallest by land area but third largest by population among the four Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico).

Puerto Ricans sometimes call the island Borinquen, from the old Taíno language Borikén . Allatson, Paul. Key Terms in Latino/a Cultural and Literary Studies, p. 47. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishing, 2007. ISBN: 1405102500. Borikén was the name for the island used by indigenous Taíno people. Dictionary: Taino Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean Retrieved: February 21, 2008. (Based on the encyclopedia "Clásicos de Puerto Rico", 2nd. edition. Ed. Cayetano Coll y Toste. Publisher: Ediciones Latinoamericanas, S.A., 1972.). The current terms boricua and borincano derive from Borikén and Borinquen respectively, and are commonly used to identify someone of Puerto Rican heritage. The island is also widely know as "la isla del encanto" which translated means "the island of enchantment."

Puerto Rico is not an independent country. Instead it is a “non incorporated territory�. According to the United States Supreme Court, an unincorporated territory is “a territory appurtenant and belonging to the United States, but not a part of the United States.� Downes v. Bidwell 182 U.S. 244, 287 (1901); Balzac v. Porto Rico, 258 U.S. 298 (1922). This is true today, even after the Federal Relations Act of 1950 and the Constitution of 1952 which gave Puerto Rico substantially more authority to regulate local affairs.See, Efrén Rivera-Ramos, The Legal Construction of Identity: The Judicial and Social Legacy of American Colonialism in Puerto Rico (APA, 2001). Thus, the Island is subject to the Congress’ plenary powers under the “territorial clause� of Article IV, sec. 3, of the U.S. Constitution’s. U.S. Const. art. IV, § 3, cl. 2 (“The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States . . .�).

Furthermore, United States federal law is applicable to Puerto Rico, even though Puerto Rico is not a state of the Union and has no voting representative in the United States Congress. By virtue of the Federal Relations Act of 1950 all federal laws that are “not locally inapplicable� are automatically the law of the land in Puerto Rico. 39 Stat. 954, 48 USCA 734 “The statutory laws of the United States not locally inapplicable, except as hereinbefore or hereinafter otherwise provided, shall have the same force and effect in Porto Rico as in the United Status…".

The Jones-Shafroth Act, enacted in 1917, conferred U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans. Puerto Rico has a republican form of government,Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Article I, Section 2 subject to U.S. jurisdiction and sovereignty.U.S. Department of State. Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty Its current powers are all delegated by the U.S. Congress and lack full protection under the U.S. Constitition.

The nature of Puerto Rico\'s political relationship with the U.S. is the subject of ongoing debate in Puerto Rico, the United States Congress, and the United Nations.Keith Bea (May 25, 2005). Political Status of Puerto Rico: Background, Options, and Issues in the 109th Congress. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.Department of Public Information, United Nations General Assembly (13 June, 2006). "Special committee on decolonization approves text calling on United States to expedite Puerto Rican self-determination process". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-10-01. In 2005 and 2007, two reports on this matter were issued by the U.S. President\'s Task Force on Puerto Rico\'s Status.Report by the President\'s task force on Puerto Rico\'s Status (December 2005). Retrieved on 2007-10-01. Report by the President\'s task force on Puerto Rico\'s Status (December 2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-24. The Popular Democratic Party (PDP), founder of Puerto Rico\'s current political status, has challenged the reports\' conclusions, stating that it had been under the impression that in 1953 Puerto Rico enacted a "new constitution that was entered into in the nature of a pact between the American and the Puerto Rican people" that was recognized by the UN (subject to continued monitoring). The Popular Democratic Party administration also holds the view that "if the Task Force and the Bush Administration stand by their 2005 conclusions (which occurred on Dec. 21, 2007), then for over 50 years the U.S. government has perpetuated a \'monumental hoax\' on the people of Puerto Rico, on the people of the United States and on the international community."Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Chief of Government and President of the Popular Democratic Party, in a letter sent to U.S. President George W. Bush\'s President\'s Task Force on Puerto Rico\'s Status (formally addressed to the Co-Chairs of the Bush Administration\'s Task Force on Puerto Rico\'s Status); October 23, 2007

On the other hand, the White House Task Force on Puerto Rico\'s Political Status in its December 21, 2007 report, argues that it is not breaking new ground. The United States Department of Justice affirmed the Commonwealth\'s territorial status in 1959, shortly after the enactment of Public Law 600. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that Puerto Rico remains fully subject to the authority of Congress under the Territory ClauseArt. IV, Sec. 3, clause 2, U.S. Constitution of the U.S. Constitution (See, e.g., Harris v. Rosario, 446 U.S. 651 1980). The report also explains that the U.S. in its official written submission to the UN in 1953, never represented that Congress could not change its relationship with Puerto Rico without the territory\'s consent, prior to the official submission, the U.S. representative to the UN indicated orally that common consent would be needed to make changes to the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. The remaining two-major parties New Progressive Party and the Puerto Rican Independence Party welcomed the recommendations of both reports.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Puerto Rico

Map of Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico consists of the main island of Puerto Rico and various smaller islands, including Vieques, Culebra, Mona, Desecheo, and Caja de Muertos. Of the latter five, only Culebra and Vieques are inhabited year-round. Mona is uninhabited most of the year except for employees of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources. There are also many other even smaller islands including Monito and "La Isleta de San Juan" which includes Old San Juan and Puerta de Tierra.

Puerto Rico has an area of 5,324 sq mi (13,790 km²), of which 3,515 sq mi (8,870 km²) is land and 1,809 sq mi (4,920 km²) is water.CIA - The World Factbook -- Puerto Rico#Geography The maximum length from east to west from Punta Puerca to Punta Higuero of 110 miles (180 km) and with a maximum width from north to south from Isabela to Punta Colón of 40 miles.Welcome to Puerto Rico!, topuertorico.org, <http://www.topuertorico.org/descrip.shtml>. Retrieved on 2007-12-30. It is larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined, but slightly smaller than Connecticut. It is mostly mountainous with large coastal areas in the north and south regions of the island. The main mountain range is called "La Cordillera Central" (The Central Range). The highest elevation point of Puerto Rico, Cerro de Punta (4,390 feet; 1,338 m),Elevations and Distances in the United States. U.S Geological Survey (29 April 2005). Retrieved on November 9, 2006. is located in this range. Another important peak is El Yunque, one of the highest in the Sierra de Luquillo at the El Yunque National Forest, with an elevation of 3,494 feet (1,065 m). The capital, San Juan, is located on the main island\'s north coast.

Geology

Main article: Geology of Puerto Rico

Illustration of the Puerto Rico Trench.

Puerto Rico is composed of Cretaceous to Eocene volcanic and plutonic rocks, overlain by younger Oligocene and more recent carbonates and other sedimentary rocks^{[citation needed]}. Most of the caverns and karst topography on the island occurs in the northern region in the carbonates. The oldest rocks are approximately 190 million years old (Jurassic) and are located at Sierra Bermeja in the southwest part of the island. They may represent part of the oceanic crust and are believed to come from the Pacific Ocean realm.

Puerto Rico lies at the boundary between the Caribbean and North American plates and is being deformed by the tectonic stresses caused by their interaction. These stresses may cause earthquakes and tsunamis. These seismic events, along with landslides, represent some of the most dangerous geologic hazards in the island and in the northeastern Caribbean. The most recent major earthquake occurred on October 11, 1918 and had an estimated magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale.Earthquake History of Puerto Rico. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. It originated off the coast of Aguadilla and was accompanied by a tsunami.

The Puerto Rico Trench, the largest and deepest trench in the Atlantic, is located about 75 miles (120 km) north of Puerto Rico in the Atlantic Ocean at the boundary between the Caribbean and North American plates.Uri ten Brink. Explorations: Puerto Rico Trench 2003 - Cruise Summary and Results. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. It is 1,090 miles (1,754 km) long and about 60 miles (97 km) wide. At its deepest point, named the Milwaukee Deep, it is 27,493 feet (8,380 m) deep, or about 5.2 miles (8.38 km).

Climate

Located in the tropics, Puerto Rico enjoys an average temperature of 82.4 °F (28 °C) throughout the year. The temperature does not change drastically with a change in season. The temperature in the south is usually a few degrees higher than the north and temperatures in the central interior mountains are always cooler than the rest of the island. Hurricane season spans June to November. The all-time low in Puerto Rico has been 40 Â°F (4 Â°C), registered in Aibonito^{[citation needed]}.

Puerto Rico has 17 lakes, all man-made,Los Lagos de Puerto Rico (Spanish) and more than 50 rivers, most originating in the Cordillera Central. Rivers in the northern region of the island are typically longer and of higher water flow rates than those of the south, since the south receives less rain than the central and northern regions.

Fauna

Main article: Fauna of Puerto Rico

Species endemic to the archipelago are 239 plants, 16 birds and 39 amphibians/reptiles, recognized as of 1998. Most of these (234, 12 and 33 respectively) are found on the main island.Island Directory. The most recognizable endemic species and a symbol of Puerto Rican pride is the Coquí, a small frog easily identified by the sound of its call, and from which it gets its name. Most Coquí species (13 of 17) live in the El Yunque National Forest, a tropical rainforest in the northeast of the island previously known as the Caribbean National Forest. El Yunque is home to more than 240 plants, 26 of which are endemic to the island. It is also home to 50 bird species, including one on the top 10 endangered birds in the world, the Puerto Rican Amazon. Across the island in the southwest, the 10,000 acres (40 km²) of dry land at the Guánica Dry Forest Reserve contain over 600 uncommon species of plants and animals, including 48 endangered species and 16 endemic to Puerto Rico.

History

Main article: History of Puerto Rico

Pre-Columbian era

Taíno Village at the Tibes Ceremonial Center

The history of the archipelago of Puerto Rico (Spanish for "Rich Port") before the arrival of Christopher Columbus is not well known. What is known today comes from archaeological findings and from early Spanish accounts. The first comprehensive book on the history of Puerto Rico was written by Fray Iñigo Abbad y Lasierra in 1786, 293 years after the first Spaniards arrived on the island.Iñigo Abbad y Lasierra. Historia Geográfica, Civil y Natural de la Isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico.

The first indigenous settlers were the Ortoiroid, an Archaic age culture. An archaeological dig in the island of Vieques in 1990 found the remains of what is believed to be an Arcaico (Archaic) man (named Puerto Ferro man) dated to around 2000 BC.Vieques Island - What lies beneath. The Arcaico Indians, hunters and fishermen, were the first inhabitants Puerto Rico.Brief Chronology of Puerto Rico. Between AD 120 and 400, the Igneri, a tribe from the Orinoco region, arrived. Between the 4th and 10th centuries, the Arcaicos and Igneri co-existed (and perhaps clashed) on the island. Between the 7th and 11th century the Taíno culture developed on the island and by approximately 1000 AD had become dominant. This lasted until Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. In 1494, The Spanish were attacked, but survived and won the battle.^{[citation needed]}

Spanish colony

When Christopher Columbus arrived at Puerto Rico during his second voyage on November 19, 1493, the island was inhabited by a group of Arawak Indians known as Taínos. They called the island "Borikén" or, in Spanish, "Borinquen".Today, Puerto Ricans are also known as Boricuas, or people from Borinquen. Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista, in honor of Saint John the Baptist. Later the island took the name of Puerto Rico while the capital was named San Juan. In 1508, Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León became the island\'s first governor to take office.Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was the first appointed governor but he never arrived on the island.

The Spanish soon colonized the island. Taínos were forced into slavery and were decimated by the harsh conditions of work and by diseases brought by the Spaniards. African slaves were introduced to replace them. Puerto Rico soon became an important stronghold and port for the Spanish Empire. During the late 17th and early 18th centuries colonial emphasis was on the more prosperous mainland territories, leaving the island impoverished of settlers. By the early 18th century there were less than 10,000 Taíno Indians primarily inhabiting the central mountainous region (Las Cordillas), the areas currently consisting of the municipalities of Orocovis, Morovis, Ciales, and Corozal.

Garita at Fort San Felipe del Morro

Various forts and walls were built over the centuries to protect the port of San Juan from European enemies — such as La Fortaleza, El Castillo San Felipe del Morro and El Castillo de San Cristóbal. France, The Netherlands and England made several attempts to capture Puerto Rico but failed to wrest long-term occupancy.

In 1809 a populist assembly based in Cádiz recognized Puerto Rico as an overseas province of Spain with the right to send representatives to the Spanish Court. The representative, Ramon Power y Giralt, died soon after arriving in Spain. These constitutional reforms were reversed soon afterwards when autocratic monarchy was restored. Nineteenth century reforms augmented the population and economy, and expanded the local character of the island. After the rapid gains of independence by the South and Central American states in the first part of the century, Puerto Rico and Cuba became the sole New World remnants of the large Spanish empire.

The Original Lares Revolutionary Flag.

Toward the end of the 19th century, poverty and political estrangement with Spain led to a small but significant uprising in 1868 known as "Grito de Lares". It began in the rural town of Lares but was easily and quickly crushed when rebels moved to the neighboring town of San Sebastián. Leaders of this independence movement included Ramón Emeterio Betances, considered the "father" of the Puerto Rican nation, and other political figures such as Segundo Ruiz Belvis. In 1897, Luis Muñoz Rivera and others persuaded the liberal Spanish government to agree to a Charters of Autonomy for Cuba and Puerto Rico.

In 1898, Puerto Rico\'s first, but short-lived, autonomous government was organized as an \'overseas province\' of Spain. The charter maintained a governor appointed by Spain, which held the power to annul any legislative decision, and a partially elected parliamentary structure. In February, Governor-General Manuel Macías inaugurated the new government under the Autonomous Charter which gave town councils complete autonomy in local matters. Subsequently, the governor had no authority to intervene in civil and political matters unless authorized to do so by the Cabinet. General elections were held in March and the autonomous government began to function on 17 July 1898.USA Seizes Puerto RicoHistory. topuertorico.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.Chronology of Puerto Rico in the Spanish-American War

Under United States sovereignty

On July 25, 1898 during the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States with a landing at Guánica. As an outcome of the war, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, along with Cuba, the Philippines, and Guam to the U.S. under the Treaty of Paris.Treaty of Paris (1898) Puerto Rico began the 20th century under the military rule of the U.S. with officials, including the governor, appointed by the President of the United States. The Foraker Act of 1900 had given Puerto Rico a certain amount of popular government, including a popularly-elected House of Representatives. By 1917, the Jones-Shafroth Act granted Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship — which they still hold — and provided for a popularly-elected Senate to complete a popularly-elected bicameral Legislative Assembly. Until the first gubernatorial election in 1948, the Presidency of the Senate and the Resident Commissioner seat in Congress were held by Puerto Rico\'s top politicians.

Many Puerto Ricans served in the United States Armed Forces beginning in World War I. Natural disasters, including a major earthquake, a tsunami (1918 Puerto Rico earthquake) and several hurricanes, and the Great Depression impoverished the island during the first few decades under American rule. Some political leaders demanded change; some, like Pedro Albizu Campos, led a nationalist movement in favor of independence (the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party). Albizu-Campos and other nationalists lead a revolt against the United States (known as The Jayuya Uprising). The revolt took place on October 30, 1950, in the town of Jayuya, and went on for three days. The United States declared martial law in Puerto Rico and sent the Puerto Rico National Guard to attack Jayuya. The town was attacked by land with infantry and artillery and by bombers of the U.S. Air Force. Don Pedro Albizu Campos served many years in a federal prison in Atlanta, Georgia for seditious conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government in Puerto Rico.García, Marvin. Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos. National-Louis University. Retrieved on April 28, 2006. Luis Muñoz Marín initially favored independence, but saw a severe decline of the Puerto Rican economy and growing violence and uprisings, and opted to support the "commonwealth" option instead like some predecessors.

The internal governance changed during the latter years of the Roosevelt–Truman administrations, as a form of compromise led by Muñoz Marín and others. It culminated with the appointment by President Truman in 1946 of the first Puerto Rican-born governor, Jesus T. Piñero. In 1947, the U.S. granted the right to democratically elect the governor of Puerto Rico. Muñoz Marín became the first elected governor in the 1948 general elections, and served for 16 years, until 1964.

Starting at this time, there was heavy migration from Puerto Rico to the Continental United States, particularly New York City, in search of better economic conditions. Puerto Rican migration to New York displayed an average yearly migration of 1,800 for the years 1930-1940, 31,000 for 1946-1950, 45,000 for 1951-1960, and a peak of 75,000 in 1953.Latino/a Education Network Service, retrieved 5 February 2007 As of 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that more people of Puerto Rican birth or ancestry live in the US than in Puerto Rico.Anglelo Falcón, "Atlas of Stateside Puerto Ricans", Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, published 6 December 2004, retrieved 5 February 2007

On November 1, 1950, Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempted to assassinate President Harry S Truman. That year, the Truman Administration allowed for a democratic referendum in Puerto Rico whether Puerto Ricans desired to draft their local constitution.Act of July 3, 1950, Ch. 446, 64 Stat. 319. A local constitution was approved by a Constitutional Convention on February 6, 1952, approved by Congress and President Truman on July 3 of that year and proclaimed by Gov. Muñoz Marín on July 25, 1952, the anniversary of the 1898 arrival of U.S. troops. Puerto Rico adopted the name of Estado Libre Asociado (literally translated as "Free Associated State"), officially translated into English as Commonwealth, for its body politic, the name customarily used to denote the current relationship with the U.S.Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico - in Spanish (Spanish).Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico - in English (English translation). During the 1950s Puerto Rico experienced rapid industrialization, due in large part to Operación Manos a la Obra ("Operation Bootstrap"), an offshoot of FDR\'s New Deal, which aimed to transform Puerto Rico\'s economy from agriculture-based to manufacturing-based.

Now Puerto Rico has become a major tourist destination and a leading pharmaceutical and manufacturing center. Yet it still struggles to define its political status. Three locally-authorized plebiscites have been held in recent decades to decide whether Puerto Rico should pursue independence, enhanced commonwealth status, or statehood. The relationship with the U.S. has remained unchanged due to narrow victories by commonwealth supporters over statehood advocates in the first two plebiscites, and an unacceptable definition of commonwealth by the pro-statehood leadership on the ballots in the third. In the latest status referendum of 1998, the "none of the above" option won over Statehood, a rejection by Commonwealthers of the definition of their status on the ballots, with 50.2% of the votes. Support for the pro-statehood party, Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP) and the pro-commonwealth party, Partido Popular Democrático (PPD) remains about equal. The only registered pro-independence party, the Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (PIP), usually receives 3-5% of the electoral votes, though there are several smaller independence groups like the Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico ("Puerto Rican Nationalist Party"), el Movimiento Independentista Nacional Hostosiano ("National Hostosian Independence Movement"), and the Macheteros - Ejercito Popular Boricua ("Boricua Popular Army").

On 25 October2006, the Puerto Rico State Department conferred Puerto Rican Citizenship to Juan Mari Brás Comunicado de Prensa, Departamento de Estado Concederá Certificacion de Ciudadania de Puerto Rico al Licenciado Juan Mari Bras, 25 de Octubre de 2006. Retrieved: February 24, 2008. . The Puerto Rico Supreme Court and the Puerto Rican Secretary of Justice determined that the Puerto Rican citizenship exists and was recognized in the Constitution of Puerto Rico, as in the Insular Cases (Casos Insulares in Spanish) of 1901 through 1922 of the U.S. Supreme Court. Since the summer of 2007, the Puerto Rico State Department has developed the protocol to grant the Puerto Rican citizenship to Puerto Ricans.Ciudadanía de Puerto Rico (Spanish). Departamento de Estado, Estado del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Puerto Rico

During the 1800s hundreds of Corsican, French, Lebanese, Chinese, and Portuguese families arrived in Puerto Rico, along with large numbers of immigrants from Spain (mainly from Catalonia, Asturias, Galicia, the Balearic Islands, Andalusia, and the Canary Islands) and numerous Spanish loyalists from Spain\'s former colonies in South America. Other settlers included Irish, Scots, Germans, Italians and thousands others who were granted land by Spain during the Real Cedula de Gracias de 1815 ("Royal Decree of Graces of 1815"), which allowed European Catholics to settle in the island with a certain amount of free land. This mass immigration during the 19th century helped the population grow from 155,000 in 1800 to almost a million at the close of the century. A census conducted by royal decree on September 30,1858, gives the following totals of the Puerto Rican population at this time: 300,430 identified as Whites; 341,015 as Free colored; and 41,736 as Slaves^{[citation needed]}. More recently, Puerto Rico has become the permanent home of over 100,000 legal residents who immigrated from not only Spain, but from Latin America: Argentines, Cubans, Dominicans, Colombians and Venezuelans.

Emigration has been a major part of Puerto Rico\'s recent history. Starting soon after WWII, poverty, cheap airfare and promotion by the island government caused waves of Puerto Ricans to move to the continental United States, particularly to New York City, New York; Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and Camden, New Jersey; Chicago, Illinois; Springfield and Boston, Massachusetts; Orlando, Miami and Tampa, Florida; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Hartford, Connecticut; Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, California. This trend continued even as Puerto Rico\'s economy improved and its birth rate declined.

Royal Decree of Graces, 1815

In the 2000 U.S. Census Puerto Ricans were asked to indicate in which racial categories they consider themselves to belong; 80% described themselves as "white"; 8% as "black"; 12% as "mulatto" and 0.4% as "American Indian or Alaska Native".Puerto Rico. The Dispatch Online (25 June 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-26.Puerto Rico DP-1. Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000. (The U.S. Census does not consider Hispanic a race, and asks if a person considers himself Hispanic in a separate question.)

A recent study of Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 800 Puerto Ricans found that 61.1% had Amerindian maternal mtDNA, 26.4% African, and 12.5% Caucasian.Martínez Cruzado, Juan C. (2002). The Use of Mitochondrial DNA to Discover Pre-Columbian Migrations to the Caribbean:Results for Puerto Rico and Expectations for the Dominican Republic. KACIKE: The Journal of Caribbean Amerindian History and Anthropology [On-line Journal], Special Issue, Lynne Guitar, Ed. Available at: http://www.kacike.org/MartinezEnglish.pdf [Date of access: 25 September, 2006] Conversely, patrilineal input, as indicated by the Y chromosome, showed that 70% of all Puerto Rican males have inherited Y chromosome DNA from a male European ancestor, 20% from a male African ancestor, and fewer than 10% from a male Amerindian ancestor. This suggests that the largest components of the Puerto Rican genetic pool are European/Caucasian, Amerindian, and African, in descending order.

Language

The official languages of the commonwealth are Spanish and English. Spanish is the primary language of Puerto Ricans, and English is taught as a second language in public and private schools from elementary levels to high school.Description of Puerto Rico by Topuertorico.org. The Spanish of Puerto Rico is well known for some interesting linguistic features.^{[citation needed]}

In 1991, Governor Rafael Hernández Colón signed a law declaring Spanish as the sole official language of the island\'s government. While some applauded this decision (mainly members of the political parties supporting commonwealth-status and independence), others opposed it, including statehood supporters. As a result of his actions, the People of Puerto Rico won the Literature\'s Prince of Asturias Award in 1991, which is awarded annually to those who defend and contribute to the growth of the Spanish language.Fundación Príncipe de Asturias Upon his election as governor in 1993, pro-statehood former Governor Pedro Rosselló overturned the law enacted by his predecessor and again established both English and Spanish as official languages.

Religion

The Roman Catholic Church has been historically the dominant religion in Puerto Rico. The first dioceses in the Americas was erected in Puerto Rico in 1511.  "Porto Rico". Catholic Encyclopedia. (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company.  All municipalities in Puerto Rico have at least one Catholic church (building), most of which are located at the town center or "plaza". The presence of various Protestant denominations has increased under American sovereignty, making modern Puerto Rico an interconfessional country. Protestantism was suppressed under the Spanish regime, but encouraged under American rule of the island.

Taíno religious practices have been rediscovered/reinvented to a degree by a handful of advocates. Various African religious practices have been present since the arrival of African slaves. In particular, the Yoruba beliefs of Santeria and/or Ifá, and the Kongo-derived Palo Mayombe (sometimes called an African belief system, but rather a way of Bantu lifestyle of Congo origin) find adherence among a few individuals who practice some form of African traditional religion.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Puerto Rico

In the early 1900s the greatest contributor to Puerto Rico\'s economy was agriculture and its main crop was sugar. In the late 1940s a series of projects codenamed Operation Bootstrap encouraged a significant shift to manufacture via tax exemptions. Manufacturing quickly replaced agriculture as the main industry of the island. Puerto Rico is classified as a high income country by the World Bank.Data and Statistics of Country Groups of the World BankIncome report for Puerto Rico by the World Bank.

Economic conditions have improved dramatically since the Great Depression due to external investment in capital-intensive industries such as petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and technology. Once the beneficiary of special tax treatment from the U.S. government, today local industries must compete with those in more economically depressed parts of the world where wages are not subject to U.S. minimum wage legislation. In recent years, some U.S. and foreign owned factories have moved to lower wage countries in Latin America and Asia. Puerto Rico is subject to U.S. trade laws and restrictions.

Tourism is an important component of Puerto Rican economy supplying an approximate $1.8 billion. In 1999, an estimated 5 million tourists visited the island, most from the U.S. Nearly a third of these are cruise ship passengers. A steady increase in hotel registrations since 1998 and the construction of new hotels and new tourism projects, such as the Puerto Rico Convention Center, indicate the current strength of the tourism industry.

See also: Tourism in Puerto Rico

Puerto Ricans had a per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $22,058 for 2006,Puerto rico fact Sheet, Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico, 2007, <http://www.gdb-pur.com/economy/factsheet/documents/PR.Eco.Fact.Sheet.pdf>. Retrieved on 2007-12-21 which shows a growth over the $14,412 level measured in the 2002 Current Population Survey by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.