Puerto Rico (Borinquén), originally inhabited by the Taíno people, was a colony of the Spanish Empire for more than 400 years (1492–1898). It was then seized during the Spanish-American War and became a colony of the United States in 1898. The Foraker Act (1900) referred to Puerto Rico as “the acquired country” and extended selected provisions of the U.S. Constitution to the island. In 1902, the U.S. Treasury Department issued new immigration guidelines that reclassified all Puerto Ricans as “foreigners.” In this course, we will offer a fresh analysis of what colonialism means in the present day. We will also examine the “inconvenient truth”: the hidden history of Puerto Rico and the actions Congress has taken to suppress the island’s independence movement. The Jones Act (1917) made Puerto Ricans limited U.S. citizens—unable to vote for the U.S. president yet subjecting the island’s men to the American military draft. We will explore the notion that “white supremacy” shaped policies and power structures on the island. Despite its long history of colonialism, Puerto Rico remains a beautiful island with lush flora and fauna, national parks, and natural treasures unknown to many mainlanders. Its landscapes inspired numerous 19th-century artists. We will learn about its traditional music and dances as well as its writers and scholars who continue to work in Spanish and preserve strong cultural ties to Spain. Puerto Ricans’ struggle to maintain and define their cultural identity endures. Large migrations to the continental United States began in the late 1940s, particularly to New York City. The most recent major migration followed Hurricane María (2017), since which the island’s population has sharply declined. Finally, we will explain why Puerto Ricans have developed a distinct Boricua culture, why Spanish remains central to daily life, and why Taíno words and traditions are being revived. We will also address Puerto Rico’s unresolved political status as a U.S.-controlled commonwealth, an ongoing anomaly in the modern political landscape.
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