Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is a self-governing Caribbean island territory of the United States, between the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands. San Juan is the capital and largest municipality. Spanish and English are both official languages of government, but Spanish dominates everyday life.

Ortoiroid, Saladoid and Taíno peoples settled the islands over thousands of years. Columbus claimed them for Spain in 1493, and Juan Ponce de León began colonization in 1508. Settlers from the Canary Islands and Andalusia arrived in the 16th century. Fortresses such as San Felipe del Morro and La Fortaleza defended San Juan against repeated attacks, and Spain held the island for about 400 years. After the Spanish–American War, the United States took it over in 1898.

The Foraker Act of 1900 set up a civil government, and the Jones–Shafroth Act made Puerto Ricans U.S. citizens in 1917. Congress approved a local constitution in 1952, under which residents elect a governor and a two-chamber legislature, while the U.S. Congress keeps final authority. Residents cannot vote in presidential elections and send only a nonvoting resident commissioner to the House. In a 2020 referendum, 52% of voters backed statehood.

The main island and smaller ones such as Vieques, Culebra and Mona cover 9,100 km² (3,515 sq mi), and Cerro de Punta in the Cordillera Central rises to 1,340 m (4,390 ft). Manufacturing, above all pharmaceuticals, drives the economy, followed by finance and tourism. El Yunque is the island's rainforest, three of its bays are bioluminescent, and the tiny coquí frog is a national symbol. Its music ranges from bomba and plena to salsa and reggaeton, and baseball produced Hall of Famers such as Roberto Clemente.