Puerto Rico (“Rich Port” in Spanish) is not a US state but it is a US territory and the people there are US citizens. It has a population of about 3.4 million people. The US invaded the island during the Spanish-American War in 1898 and as an outcome of that war Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the USA along with the Philippines and the island of Guam. This was part of the Treaty of Paris and a part of that treaty also forced Spain to give up Cuba but it didn’t give Cuba to the US. The island was originally inhabited by the Taino people who are an indigenous people of the Caribbean. When the island was claimed for the Kingdom of Castile (Spain) in 1493 by Christopher Columbus the Spanish colonial government began to transform the island population and culture. Waves of African slaves were brought onto the island along with Canarians (people from the Canary Islands) and Spanish settlers. What the eventual result was, was the development of a distinctive Creole Hispanic culture and language that combined elements of Native American, African, and Spanish (Iberian) culture and language.
Recently, the US territory of Puerto Rico was devastated by a hurricane and this has only added to the ongoing problems the island has been facing. Prior to the destruction by the hurricane Puerto Rico was bankrupt and many people on the island were living in poverty. The US territory has ZERO electoral votes and in order for a Puerto Rican to vote in a US presidential election primaries they must have a residence on the US mainland. This despite the fact that Puerto Ricans are considered “natural born US citizens.” Continue Reading