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Location of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico (Spanish for 'rich port'; abbreviated PR; Taino: Borikén or Borinquen), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit.'Free Associated State of Puerto Rico'), is a Caribbean island, Commonwealth, and unincorporated territory of the United States. It is located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida, between the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and includes the eponymous main island and several smaller islands, such as Mona, Culebra, and Vieques. With roughly 3.2 million residents, it is divided into 78 municipalities, of which the most populous is the capital municipality of San Juan. Spanish and English are the official languages of the executive branch of government, though Spanish predominates.

Puerto Rico was settled by a succession of peoples beginning 2,000 to 4,000 years ago; these included the Ortoiroid, Saladoid, and Taíno. It was then colonized by Spain following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1493. Puerto Rico was contested by other European powers, but remained a Spanish possession for the next four centuries. An influx of African slaves and settlers primarily from the Canary Islands and Andalusia vastly changed the cultural and demographic landscape of the island. Within the Spanish Empire, Puerto Rico played a secondary but strategic role compared to wealthier colonies like Peru and New Spain. By the late 19th century, a distinct Puerto Rican identity began to emerge, centered around a fusion of indigenous, African, and European elements. In 1898, following the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States.

Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917, and can move freely between the island and the mainland. However, when resident in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans are disenfranchised at the national level, do not vote for the president or vice president, and generally do not pay federal income tax. In common with four other territories, Puerto Rico sends a nonvoting representative to the U.S. Congress, called a Resident Commissioner, and participates in presidential primaries; as it is not a state, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in Congress, which governs it under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950. Congress approved a local constitution in 1952, allowing U.S. citizens residing on the island to elect a governor. Puerto Rico's current and future political status has consistently been a matter of significant debate.

Beginning in the mid-20th century, the U.S. government, together with the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, launched a series of economic projects to develop Puerto Rico into an industrial high-income economy. It is classified by the International Monetary Fund as a developed jurisdiction with an advanced, high-income economy; it ranks 40th on the Human Development Index. The major sectors of Puerto Rico's economy are manufacturing (primarily pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, and electronics) followed by services (namely tourism and hospitality). (Full article...)

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The San Juan Cathedral in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico is one of the most important churches in the Caribbean, and one of the few in the Americas to feature New World medieval architecture. It is also the home of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan and the final resting place of Spanish Conquistador Juan Ponce de León.

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The Rafael Cordero Santiago Port of the AmericasSpanish: Puerto de las Américas Rafael Cordero Santiago (PLA)— is a megaport currently under construction in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The project aims to convert the current Port of Ponce into a value-added tax-free customs-free international shipping hub similar to, though not as large as, the megaports located in Singapore and Rotterdam. The Port of the Americas is Puerto Rico's main Caribbean port, and, at a depth of 50 feet, it is also the deepest port in the Caribbean.

The port was originally overseen by the Port of the Americas Authority (Spanish: Autoridad del Puerto de las Américas) a defunct government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico. As of December 2012, it was overseen by the newly created Autoridad del Puerto de Ponce. The Authority reported that when completed, the new port will have a storage capacity of 2.2 Million TEUs. The Authority also reported that the port handled an estimated 504,044 short tons of cargo in 2007, and projected it to handle over 1.5 million in 2012. (Full article...)
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Alejandro Tapia y Rivera
Alejandro Tapia y Rivera (November 12, 1826 – July 19, 1882) was a Puerto Rican poet, playwright, essayist and writer. Tapia is considered to be the father of Puerto Rican literature and as the person who has contributed the most to the cultural advancement of Puerto Rico's literature. In addition to his writing, he was also an abolitionist and a women's rights advocate. (Full article...)

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65th Infantry Regiment Coat of arms
  • ... that during the Korean War, the Battle of Outpost Kelly accounted for seventy-three of the men missing in action from the total of 121 men reported MIAs of Puerto Rico's 65th Infantry Regiment[1] and that out of the seventy-three MIAs suffered by the regiment in the month of September, fifty of them occurred on the same day September 18? See: Puerto Ricans Missing in Action in the Korean War[2]
  • ... that ninety-five members of Puerto Rico's 65th Infantry Regiment were court-martialed in what is considered the largest mass court-martial of the Korean War?
  • ... that the 65th Infantry Regiment was the only unit ever transferred from active component Army to the National Guard?
  • ... that Admiral Horacio Rivero, Jr., was the first Puerto Rican and second Hispanic to become a four-star Admiral in the U.S. Navy? The first Hispanic full Admiral was David Farragut during the American Civil War.
  • ... that In 1984, Colonel Michelle Fraley, Class of 1984, West Point Academy, became the first Puerto Rican woman to graduate from West Point? Fraley (née Hernández) eventually served as chief of staff of the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command.[3][4]
  • ... that over 53,000 Puerto Ricans served in World War II?
  • ... that Lieutenant Carmelo Delgado Delgado a member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, was amongst the first U.S. citizens to die in the Spanish Civil War?[5]
  • ... that the U.S. Naval Station Roosevelt Roads was meant to be the Pearl Harbor of the Atlantic and that it was the largest naval installation in the world? Yes, in 1940, when Germany attacked Great Britain, the United States feared that if Germany controlled Great Britain, Mexico and the U.S. would be next. In 1940, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered the construction of a naval base in the Atlantic similar to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The site was meant to provide anchorage, docking, repair facilities, fuel, and supplies for 60% of the Atlantic Fleet. The naval base, which was named U.S. Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, became the largest naval installation in the world in land mass. The fate of the base was changed after the Germans were defeated and the Navy's attention shifted from the Atlantic to the Pacific.[6]
  • ... that Brigadier General José M. Portela was and still is the youngest C-141 Starlifter aircraft commander and captain in the United States Air Force at age 26?[7]
  • ... that during the Intentona de Yauco of March 26, 1897, the current version of the Flag of Puerto Rico was flown on the island for the first time by Fidel Vélez?[8]

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Sources

  1. ^ "Outpost Kelly: A Tanker's Story", by Jack R. Siewert, Publisher: Fire Ant Books, ISBN-13: 9780817353414
  2. ^ "The 65th Infantry Regiment on Kelly in September 1952". Mervino.com. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  3. ^ "Tuller designa a coronela retirada como ayudante especial - El Nuevo Día". Elnuevodia.com. 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
  4. ^ "Yo vengo de una cultura machista". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 2014-02-25. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
  5. ^ US citizens that fought against fascism, Retrieved November 12, 2007
  6. ^ Puerto Rico Herald May 1, 2003
  7. ^ National Guard Bureau
  8. ^ "Historia militar de Puerto Rico"; by Héctor Andrés Negroni (Author); Publisher: Sociedad Estatal Quinto Centenario (1992); Language: Spanish; ISBN-10: 8478441387; ISBN-13: 978-8478441389
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