Puerto Rico is a Caribbean Island which was formerly settled by two Native American tribes, Caribe and Arawak. In 1493, this Island was captured by Spain and up until about 400 years it was ruled by the Spanish. The native settlers during this time period had become slaves to the Spanish and with time as their population began to lessen, outsiders including black slaves were imported and the Indian race became less prominent. (Whalen)
The association between the United States and Puerto Rico goes back to the times of the Spanish-American war which took place in 1898. As a result of this war and due to the terms which were presented under the Treaty of Paris in 1898, Spain had to let go of Puerto Rico. Since then it has been an unincorporated territory of the United States of America. (Duany)
For Puerto Rico, the 20th century started under the rule of the United States. The president had elected a Governor, but soon afterwards Puerto Rico was given a civilian popular government. In 1906, the U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt suggested that Puerto Ricans become U.S. citizens and soon afterwards, in 1917 all Puerto Ricans were granted with citizenship. (Whalen)
The decision to grant Puerto Ricans with citizenship, initially did not lead to a massive outflow of residents from the island itself to mainland America. In the period after granting citizenship a total of approximately 11,000 people left Puerto Rico for the United States.
When Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States in 1898, there were some Puerto Rican freedom advocates in the island itself and some in New York who supported the U.S. because they were under the impression that they would gain independence from Spain. However, later on these advocates of independence were greatly disappointed when they came to realize that they were to receive even lesser autonomy under American control. (Whalen)
As an American commonwealth, Puerto Rico had far little political and economic control than it once had when it was under the rule of the Spanish. At that time they had the right to vote and elect members and representatives for the congress but much of this was taken away from them when they came under U.S. power. Puerto Rico became dependent both politically and economically and the economy of the island faced drastic changes when U.S. takeover was enforced. The diverse subsistence economy transformed into a sugarcane economy which later tumbled towards a decline and led to high rates of unemployment, poverty and other dire conditions. It was this economic situation that led to the very first migration of people from Puerto Rico to mainland America in the twentieth century. This first wave of migration was seen in the 1920's. (Aranda)
In the United States Puerto Ricans have been present since the 19th century; however it was only after the 20th century that a bulk migration of Puerto Ricans took place and a relatively larger number of the islanders began to settle here. When we talk of the movement of people from the Puerto Rican Island to the U.S. mainland, we can't exactly classify it as an immigration of these people. The classical definition of an immigrant is someone who moves from one country to another country to seek residency. In the situation the person is not a part or does not have any prior association with the country he or she is moving to. What is different about Puerto Rican migration and why we cannot or rather should not call it immigration is that since 1917 all Puerto Ricans were granted with citizenship and so technically they are a part of the U.S. already.
There are three major periods in which the migration of Puerto Ricans to main land America can be classified into. The first period was from 1900 to 1945 in which it is said that the pioneers arrived to America. A majority of these early emigrates settled in New York City. During this period almost 75000 people migrated to America. (Aranda)
In the second period which began from 1946 and went on till 1964 excessive migration took place. This period or phase is also known as the period of Great Migration. This was the time after the Second World War. Great employment opportunities opened up in areas of New York and other industrial centers around the United States. During the period of the great migration the number of Puerto Ricans residing in the U.S. went soaring up to a staggering 301,000 from just nearly 70,000. The already...
The people of Puerto Rico have a unique history in the US immigration. Indeed, Puerto Rico has a special, if not distinct place in the civil society of the American nation. Puerto Rico has been owned by the US for over a century. However, it has not ever acquired a state status. Puerto Ricans have been part of the US population for over a century. Puerto Ricans do not have
In the city of New York there was a strong Italian, Jewish, and Black presence but nothing along the same lines ever developed for the Puerto Rican community. The concerns of the Puerto Rican community failed to ever gain a political foothold in the city where nearly 90% of all migrated Puerto Ricans lived (Rodriquez-Morazzani, 1999). As the vast wave of migrating Puerto Ricans began to reach middle age in
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