![\"Puerto](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Puerto-Rico-in-the-World-300x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
An archipelago among the Greater Antilles<\/a>, Puerto Rico includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller ones, such as Mona<\/a>, Culebra<\/a>, and Vieques<\/a>. \u00a0The capital and most populous city is San Juan<\/a>.<\/p>\n Its official languages are Spanish and English, though Spanish predominates. \u00a0The island’s population is approximately 3.4 million. \u00a0Puerto Rico’s history, tropical climate, natural scenery, traditional cuisine, and tax incentives make it a destination for travelers from around the world.<\/p>\n Originally populated by the indigenous Ta\u00edno<\/a> people, the island was claimed in 1493 by Christopher Columbus<\/a> for Spain<\/a> during his second voyage. \u00a0Later it endured invasion attempts from the French<\/a>, Dutch<\/a>, and British<\/a>. \u00a0Four centuries of Spanish colonial government influenced the island’s cultural landscapes with waves of African slaves<\/a>, Canarian<\/a>, and Andalusian<\/a> settlers. \u00a0In the Spanish Empire<\/a>, Puerto Rico played a secondary, but strategic role when compared to wealthier colonies like Peru<\/a> and the mainland parts of New Spain<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0Spain’s distant administrative control continued up to the end of the 19th century, helping to produce a distinctive creole Hispanic culture and language that combined elements from the Native Americans<\/a>, Africans<\/a>, and Iberians<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0In 1898, following the Spanish\u2013American War<\/a>, the United States<\/a> acquired Puerto Rico under the terms of the Treaty of Paris<\/a>. \u00a0The treaty took effect on April 11, 1899.<\/p>\n Puerto Rico means “rich port” in Spanish. \u00a0Puerto Ricans often call the island Borinqu\u00e9n \u2013 a derivation of Borik\u00e9n, its indigenous Ta\u00edno name, which means “Land of the Valiant Lord”. \u00a0The terms boricua and borincano derive from Borik\u00e9n and Borinquen respectively, and are commonly used to identify someone of Puerto Rican heritage. \u00a0The island is also popularly known in Spanish as la isla del encanto, meaning “the island of enchantment”.<\/p>\n Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista<\/a>, in honor of Saint John the Baptist, while the capital city was named Ciudad de Puerto Rico (“Rich Port City”). \u00a0Eventually traders and other maritime visitors came to refer to the entire island as Puerto Rico, while San Juan became the name used for the main trading\/shipping port and the capital city.<\/p>\n The island’s name was changed to “Porto Rico” by the United States after the Treaty of Paris of 1898. \u00a0The anglicized name was used by the U.S. government and private enterprises. \u00a0The name was changed back to Puerto Rico by a joint resolution in Congress introduced by F\u00e9lix C\u00f3rdova D\u00e1vila<\/a> in 1931.<\/p>\n The ancient history of the archipelago which is now Puerto Rico is not well known. \u00a0Unlike other indigenous cultures in the New World<\/a> (Aztec<\/a>, Maya<\/a> and Inca<\/a>) which left behind abundant archeological and physical evidence of their societies, scant artifacts and evidence remain of the Puerto Rico’s indigenous population. \u00a0Scarce archaeological findings and early Spanish accounts from the colonial era constitute all that is known about them. \u00a0The first comprehensive book on the history of Puerto Rico was written by Fray \u00cd\u00f1igo Abbad y Lasierra<\/a> in 1786, nearly three centuries after the first Spaniards landed on the island.<\/p>\n The first known settlers were the Ortoiroid<\/a> people, an Archaic Period<\/a> culture of Amerindian hunters and fishermen who migrated from the South American<\/a> mainland. \u00a0Some scholars suggest their settlement dates back about 4,000 years. \u00a0An archeological dig in 1990 on the island of Vieques found the remains of a man, designated as the “Puerto Ferro Man<\/a>“, which was dated to around 2000 BC. \u00a0The Ortoiroid were displaced by the Saladoid<\/a>, a culture from the same region that arrived on the island between 430 and 250 BC.<\/p>\n The Igneri<\/a> tribe migrated to Puerto Rico between 120 and 400 AD from the region of the Orinoco river<\/a> in northern South America. \u00a0The Arcaico and Igneri co-existed on the island between the 4th and 10th centuries.<\/p>\n Between the 7th and 11th centuries, the Ta\u00edno culture developed on the island. \u00a0By approximately 1000 AD, it had become dominant. \u00a0At the time of Columbus’ arrival, an estimated 30,000 to 60,000 Ta\u00edno Amerindians, led by the cacique (chief) Ag\u00fceyban\u00e1<\/a>, inhabited the island. \u00a0The natives lived in small villages, each led by a cacique. \u00a0They subsisted by hunting and fishing, done generally by men, as well as by the women’s gathering and processing of indigenous cassava root and fruit. \u00a0This lasted until Columbus arrived in 1493.<\/p>\n When Columbus arrived in Puerto Rico during his second voyage on November 19, 1493, the island was inhabited by the Ta\u00edno. \u00a0Having reported the findings of his first travel, Columbus brought with him this time a letter from King Ferdinand<\/a> empowered by a papal bull<\/a> that authorized any course of action necessary for the expansion of the Spanish Empire and the Christian faith. \u00a0Juan Ponce de Le\u00f3n<\/a>, a lieutenant under Columbus, founded the first Spanish settlement, Caparra<\/a>, on August 8, 1508. \u00a0He later served as the first governor of the island. \u00a0Eventually, traders and other maritime visitors came to refer to the entire island as Puerto Rico, and San Juan became the name of the main trading\/shipping port.<\/p>\n At the beginning of the 16th century, the Spanish people began to colonize the island. \u00a0Despite the Laws of Burgos of 1512<\/a> and other decrees for the protection of the indigenous population, some Ta\u00edno Indians were forced into an encomienda<\/a> system of forced labor in the early years of colonization. \u00a0The population suffered extremely high fatalities from epidemics of European infectious diseases.<\/p>\n In 1520, King Charles I of Spain<\/a> issued a royal decree collectively emancipating the remaining Ta\u00edno population. \u00a0By that time, the Ta\u00edno people were few in number. \u00a0Enslaved Africans had already begun to be imported to compensate for the native labor loss, but their numbers were proportionate to the diminished commercial interest Spain soon began to demonstrate for the island colony. \u00a0Other nearby islands, like Cuba<\/a>, Saint-Domingue<\/a>, and Guadeloupe<\/a>, attracted more of the slave trade than Puerto Rico, probably because of greater agricultural interests in those islands, on which colonists had developed large sugar plantations and had the capital to invest in the Atlantic slave trade.<\/p>\n By the end of the 16th century, the Spanish Empire was diminishing and, in the face of increasing raids from European competitors, the colonial administration throughout the Americas fell into a “bunker mentality”. \u00a0Imperial strategists and urban planners redesigned port settlements into military posts with the objective of protecting Spanish territorial claims and ensuring the safe passing of the king’s silver-laden Atlantic Fleet to the Iberian Peninsula.<\/p>\n San Juan served as an important port-of-call for ships driven across the Atlantic by its powerful trade winds. \u00a0West Indies convoys linked Spain to the island, sailing between C\u00e1diz<\/a> and the Spanish West Indies<\/a>. \u00a0The colony’s seat of government was on the forested Islet of San Juan and for a time became one of the most heavily fortified settlements in the Spanish Caribbean earning the name of the “Walled City”.<\/p>\n During the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Spain concentrated its colonial efforts on the more prosperous mainland North, Central, and South American colonies. \u00a0With the advent of the lively Bourbon Dynasty<\/a> in Spain in the 1700s, the island of Puerto Rico began a gradual shift to more imperial attention. \u00a0More roads began connecting previously isolated inland settlements to coastal cities, and coastal settlements like Arecibo<\/a>, Mayaguez<\/a>, and Ponce<\/a> began acquiring importance of their own, separate from San Juan. \u00a0The increasing number of Atlantic wars in which the Caribbean islands played major roles, like the War of Jenkins’ Ear<\/a>, the Seven Years’ War<\/a> and the Atlantic Revolutions<\/a>, ensured Puerto Rico’s growing esteem in Madrid’s<\/a> eyes.<\/p>\n In 1809, to secure its political bond with the island and in the midst of the European Peninsular War<\/a>, the Supreme Central Junta based in C\u00e1diz recognized Puerto Rico as an overseas province of Spain. \u00a0This gave the island residents the right to elect representatives to the recently convened Spanish parliament, with equal representation to mainland Iberian, Mediterranean, and Atlantic maritime Spanish provinces.<\/p>\n In the early 19th century, Puerto Rico spawned an independence movement that, due to harsh persecution by the Spanish authorities, convened in the island of St. Thomas<\/a>. \u00a0The movement was largely inspired by the ideals of Sim\u00f3n Bol\u00edvar<\/a> in establishing a United Provinces of New Granada and Venezuela<\/a>, that included Puerto Rico and Cuba. \u00a0The movement was discovered, and Governor Miguel de la Torre<\/a> had its members imprisoned or exiled.<\/p>\n With the increasingly rapid growth of independent former Spanish colonies in the South and Central American states in the first part of the 19th century, the Spanish Crown considered Puerto Rico and Cuba of strategic importance. \u00a0To increase its hold on its last two New World colonies, the Spanish Crown revived the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815<\/a> as a result of which 450,000 immigrants, mainly Spaniards, settled on the island in the period up until the American conquest. \u00a0Printed in three languages\u2014Spanish, English, and French\u2014it was intended to also attract non-Spanish Europeans, with the hope that the independence movements would lose their popularity if new settlers had stronger ties to the Crown. \u00a0Hundreds of non-Spanish families, mainly from Corsica<\/a>, France, Germany<\/a>, Ireland<\/a>, Italy<\/a> and Scotland<\/a>, also immigrated to the island.<\/p>\n Free land was offered as an incentive to those who wanted to populate the two islands, on the condition that they swear their loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church<\/a>. \u00a0The offer was very successful, and European immigration continued even after 1898. \u00a0Puerto Rico still receives Spanish and European immigration.<\/p>\n In 1890, Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan<\/a>, a member of the Navy War Board and leading U.S. strategic thinker, published a book titled The Influence of Sea Power upon History<\/a> in which he argued for the establishment of a large and powerful navy modeled after the British Royal Navy<\/a>. \u00a0Part of his strategy called for the acquisition of colonies in the Caribbean, which would serve as coaling and naval stations. \u00a0They would serve as strategic points of defense with the construction of a canal through the Isthmus of Panama<\/a>, to allow easier passage of ships between the Atlantic<\/a> and Pacific<\/a> oceans.<\/p>\n William H. Seward<\/a>, the former Secretary of State under Presidents Abraham Lincoln<\/a> and Andrew Johnson<\/a>, had also stressed the importance of building a canal in Honduras<\/a>, Nicaragua<\/a> or Panama<\/a>. \u00a0He suggested that the United States annex the Dominican Republic<\/a> and purchase Puerto Rico and Cuba. \u00a0The U.S. Senate did not approve his annexation proposal, and Spain rejected the U.S. offer of 160 million dollars for Puerto Rico and Cuba.<\/p>\n Since 1894, the United States Naval War College<\/a> had been developing contingency plans for a war with Spain. \u00a0By 1896, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence<\/a> had prepared a plan that included military operations in Puerto Rican waters. \u00a0Recent research suggests that the U.S. did consider Puerto Rico valuable as a naval station, and recognized that it and Cuba generated lucrative crops of sugar<\/a>, a valuable commercial commodity which the United States lacked, before the development of the sugar beet<\/a> industry in the United States.<\/p>\n On July 25, 1898, during the Spanish\u2013American War, the U.S. invaded Puerto Rico with a landing at Gu\u00e1nica<\/a>. \u00a0As an outcome of the war, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, along with the Philippines<\/a> and Guam<\/a>, then under Spanish sovereignty, to the U.S. under the Treaty of Paris, which went into effect on April 11, 1899. \u00a0Spain relinquished sovereignty over Cuba, but did not cede it to the U.S.<\/p>\n The United States and Puerto Rico began a long-standing metropolis-colony relationship. \u00a0In the early 20th century, Puerto Rico was ruled by the military, with officials including the governor appointed by the President of the United States. \u00a0The Foraker Act of 1900<\/a> gave Puerto Rico a certain amount of civilian popular government, including a popularly elected House of Representatives. \u00a0The upper house and governor were appointed by the United States.<\/p>\n Its judicial system was constructed to follow the American legal system; a Puerto Rico Supreme Court<\/a> and a United State District Court<\/a> for the territory were established.<\/p>\n In 1917, the U.S. Congress passed the Jones\u2013Shafroth Act<\/a> (popularly known as the Jones Act), which granted Puerto Ricans born on or after April 25, 1898, U.S. citizenship. \u00a0Opponents, including all of the Puerto Rican House of Delegates<\/a>, claimed that the U.S. imposed citizenship in order to draft Puerto Rican men into the army as American entry into World War I<\/a> grew likely.<\/p>\n The same Act provided for a popularly elected Senate<\/a> to complete a bicameral Legislative Assembly, as well as a bill of rights. \u00a0It authorized the popular election of the Resident Commissioner<\/a> to a four-year term.<\/p>\n During the latter years of the Roosevelt<\/a>\u2013Truman<\/a> administrations, the internal governance of the island was changed in a compromise reached with Luis Mu\u00f1oz Mar\u00edn<\/a> and other Puerto Rican leaders. \u00a0In 1946, President Truman appointed the first Puerto Rican-born governor, Jes\u00fas T. Pi\u00f1ero<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 1950, the U.S. Congress granted Puerto Ricans the right to organize a constitutional convention via a referendum that gave them the option of voting their preference, “yes” or “no”, on a proposed U.S. law that would organize Puerto Rico as a “commonwealth” that would continue United States sovereignty over Puerto Rico and its people. \u00a0Puerto Rico’s electorate expressed its support for this measure in 1951 with a second referendum to ratify the constitution. \u00a0The Constitution of Puerto Rico<\/a> was formally adopted on July 3, 1952.<\/p>\n On February 4, 1952, the convention approved Resolution 22 which chose in English the word Commonwealth, meaning a “politically organized community” or “state”, which is simultaneously connected by a compact or treaty to another political system. \u00a0Puerto Rico officially designates itself with the term “Commonwealth of Puerto Rico” in its constitution, as a translation into English of the term to “Estado Libre Asociado” (ELA).<\/p>\n During the 1950s and 1960s, Puerto Rico experienced rapid industrialization, due in large part to Operaci\u00f3n Manos a la Obra<\/a> (“Operation Bootstrap”), an offshoot of FDR’s New Deal<\/a>. \u00a0It was intended to transform Puerto Rico’s economy from agriculture-based to manufacturing-based to provide more jobs. \u00a0Puerto Rico has become a major tourist destination, as well as a global center for pharmaceutical manufacturing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Four referendums have been held since the late 20th century to resolve the political status<\/a>. \u00a0The 2012 referendum showed a majority (54% of the voters) in favor of a change in status, with full statehood the preferred option of those who wanted a change.<\/p>\n In late September 2017, Hurricane Maria<\/a> hit the island as a Category 4 storm causing severe damage to homes, other buildings and infrastructure. \u00a0The recovery as of late November was slow but progress had been made. \u00a0Electricity was restored to two-thirds of the island, although there was some doubt as to the number of residents getting reliable power. \u00a0In January 2018, it was reported that close to 40 percent of the island’s customers still did not have electricity. \u00a0The vast majority had access to water but was still required to boil it.\u00a0 The number still living in shelters had dropped to 982 with thousands of others living with relatives. \u00a0The official death toll at the time was 58 but some sources indicated that the actual number is much higher. \u00a0A dam on the island was close to failure and officials were concerned about additional flooding from this source.<\/p>\n Thousands had left Puerto Rico, with close to 200,000 having arrived in Florida <\/a>alone. \u00a0Those who were then living on the mainland experienced difficulty in getting health care benefits. \u00a0A The New York Times<\/a> report on November 27 said it was understandable that Puerto Ricans wanted to leave the island. \u00a0“Basic essentials are hard to find and electricity and other utilities are unreliable or entirely inaccessible. \u00a0Much of the population has been unable to return to jobs or to school and access to health care has been severely limited.” \u00a0The Center for Puerto Rican Studies<\/a> at New York’s Hunter College<\/a> estimated that some half million people, about 14% of the population, may permanently leave by 2019.<\/p>\n The total damage on the island was estimated at up to $95 billion. \u00a0By the end of November, FEMA<\/a> had received over a million applications for aid and had approved about a quarter of those. \u00a0The US government had agreed in October to provide funding to rebuild and up to $4.9 billion in loans to help the island’s government. \u00a0FEMA had $464 million earmarked to help local governments rebuild public buildings and infrastructure. \u00a0Bills for other funding were being considered in Washington but little progress had been made on those.<\/p>\n Puerto Rico consists of the main island of Puerto Rico and various smaller islands, including Vieques, Culebra, Mona, Desecheo<\/a>, and Caja de Muertos<\/a>. \u00a0Of these five, only Culebra and Vieques are inhabited year-round. \u00a0Mona, which has played a key role in maritime history, is uninhabited most of the year except for employees of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources<\/a>. \u00a0There are many other even smaller islets, like Monito<\/a>, which is near to Mona, Isla de Cabras<\/a> and La Isleta de San Juan<\/a>, both located on the San Juan Bay<\/a>. \u00a0The latter is the only inhabited islet with communities like Old San Juan<\/a> and Puerta de Tierra<\/a>, and connected to the main island by bridges.<\/p>\n The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has an area of 5,320 square miles. \u00a0Puerto Rico is larger than two U.S. states, Delaware<\/a> and Rhode Island<\/a>. \u00a0Puerto Rico is the smallest of the Greater Antilles.<\/p>\n The island is mostly mountainous with large coastal areas in the north and south. \u00a0The main mountain range is called “La Cordillera Central<\/a>” (The Central Range). \u00a0The highest elevation in Puerto Rico, Cerro de Punta<\/a>, 4,390 feet, is located in this range.<\/p>\n Another important peak is El Yunque, one of the highest in the Sierra de Luquillo<\/a> at the El Yunque National Forest<\/a>, with an elevation of 3,494 feet.<\/p>\n Puerto Rico has 17 lakes, all man-made and more than 50 rivers, most originating in the Cordillera Central.<\/p>\n The economy of Puerto Rico is classified as a high income economy by the World Bank<\/a> and as the most competitive economy in Latin America<\/a> by the World Economic Forum<\/a> but Puerto Rico currently has a public debt of $72.204 billion, and a government deficit of $2.5 billion. \u00a0Its economy is mainly driven by manufacturing (primarily pharmaceuticals, textiles, petrochemicals and electronics) followed by the service industry (primarily finance, insurance, real estate and tourism).<\/p>\n In recent years, the territory has also become a popular destination for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions)<\/a>, with a modern convention center district overlooking the Port of San Juan.<\/a><\/p>\n Cities and towns in Puerto Rico are interconnected by a system of roads, freeways, expressways, and highways maintained by the Highways and Transportation Authority<\/a> under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Transportation<\/a>, and patrolled by the Puerto Rico Police Department<\/a>. \u00a0There are three freeways funded under the Interstate Highway System, number PR1 \u2013 PR3<\/a>.<\/p>\n The island’s metropolitan area is served by a public bus transit system and a metro system called Tren Urbano<\/a>.<\/p>\n Other forms of public transportation include seaborne ferries (that serve Puerto Rico’s archipelago)<\/a> as well as Carros P\u00fablicos<\/a> (private mini buses).<\/p>\n Puerto Rico has three international airports, the Luis Mu\u00f1oz Mar\u00edn International Airport<\/a> in Carolina<\/a>, Mercedita Airport<\/a> in Ponce, and the Rafael Hern\u00e1ndez Airport<\/a> in Aguadilla<\/a>, and 27 local airports<\/a>. \u00a0The Luis Mu\u00f1oz Mar\u00edn International Airport is the largest aerial transportation hub in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n The origins of the current flag of Puerto Rico, adopted by the commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952, can be traced to 1868, when the first Puerto Rican flag, “The Revolutionary Flag of Lares<\/a>“, was conceived by Dr. Ram\u00f3n Emeterio Betances<\/a> and embroidered by Mariana “Brazos de Oro” Bracetti<\/a>. \u00a0This flag was used in the short-lived Puerto Rican revolt against Spanish rule in the island, known as “El Grito de Lares”.<\/p>\n Juan de Mata Terreforte, an exiled veteran of “El Grito de Lares” and Vice-President of the Cuban Revolutionary\u00a0Committee<\/a>, in New York City, adopted the flag of Lares as the flag of Puerto Rico until 1895, when the current design, modeled after the Cuban flag, was unveiled and adopted by the 59 Puerto Rican exiles of the Cuban Revolutionary committee. \u00a0The new flag, which consisted of five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears a large, white, five-pointed star in the center, was first flown in Puerto Rico on March 24, 1897, during the “Intentona de Yauco<\/a>” revolt. \u00a0The use and display of the Puerto Rican flag was outlawed<\/a> and the only flags permitted to be flown in Puerto Rico were the Spanish flag (1492 to 1898) and the flag of the United States (1898 to 1952).<\/p>\n In 1952, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico adopted the 1895 flag design as its official standard. \u00a0The color of the triangle that was used by the administration of Luis Mu\u00f1oz Mar\u00edn was the dark blue. \u00a0In 1995, the government of Puerto Rico issued a regulation regarding the use of the Puerto Rican flag titled: “Reglamento sobre el Uso en Puerto Rico de la Bandera del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico”, in which the government specifies the colors to be used but does not specify any official color tones or shades.<\/p>\n![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/San-Juan-300x200.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Origin of the Name:<\/h2>\n
![\"Saint](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Saint-John-the-Baptist-199x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
History:<\/h2>\n
Pre-Columbian Era:<\/h3>\n
![\"Reconstructed](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Reconstructed-Taino-Village-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Spanish Colony (1493\u20131898):<\/h3>\n
Conquest and Early Settlement:<\/h4>\n
![\"King](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/King-Ferdinand-223x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Colonization:<\/h4>\n
![\"Castillo](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Castillo-San-Felipe-del-Morro-300x200.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Late Colonial Period:<\/h4>\n
Politics of Liberalism:<\/h4>\n
![\"Simon](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Simon-Bolivar.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
American Era (1898\u2013Present):<\/h3>\n
Spanish-American War:<\/h4>\n
![\"Sugarcane](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Sugarcane-in-Puerto-Rico-1940s-300x199.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
United States Unincorporated Organized Territory (1900\u20131952):<\/h4>\n
![\"First](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/First-Puerto-Rico-Supreme-Court-300x202.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
U.S. Citizenship and Puerto Rican Citizenship:<\/h4>\n
![\"Jesus](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Jesus-T.-Pi\u00f1ero.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Estado Libre Asociado:<\/h4>\n
Referendums on Statehood or Independence:<\/h4>\n
Hurricane Maria:<\/h4>\n
![\"Hurrican](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Hurrican-Maria-Damage-300x200.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"Map](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Map-of-Puerto-Rico-300x153.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Atlas](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Transportation-Map-of-Puerto-Rico-300x89.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"Patillas](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Patillas-Beach-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"Puerto](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Puerto-Rico-Interstate-Highways-300x126.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Tren](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Tren-Urbano-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Flag of Puerto Rico:<\/h2>\n
![\"Lares](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Lares-Revolutionary-Flag-300x200.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Puerto](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Puerto-Rico-Flag-of-1896-300x200.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Current](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Current-Flag-of-Puerto-Rico-300x200.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Variant](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/03\/Variant-with-Dark-Blue-300x200.png\" "\\"\\"")