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The Puerto Rico Portal
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico) is a archipelago located east of the Dominican Republic in the northeastern Caribbean. Puerto Rico, the smallest of the Greater Antilles, includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller islands and keys, including the populated island-municipalities of Vieques and Culebra, as well as unpopulated Mona island, located halfway between the islands of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola.
The nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the United States is the subject of ongoing debate on and off the island. Those who support maintaining the current formula insist that upon attaining this status, Puerto Rico entered into a voluntary association with the U.S. "in the nature of a compact", but opponents of the Commonwealth status, disagree: according to them, Puerto Rico is no more than an unincorporated organized territory of the U.S., subject to the plenary powers of the United States Congress.
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Black history in Puerto Rico initially began with the African freeman who arrived with the Spanish Conquistadors. The Spaniards enslaved the Taino
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s, who were the native inhabitants of the island, and many of them died as a result of the cruel treatment that they had received. This presented a problem for the Spanish Crown since they depended on slavery as a means of manpower to work the mines and build forts. Their solution was to import slaves from Africa and as a consequence the vast majority of the Africans who immigrated to Puerto Rico did so as a result of the slave trade. The Africans in Puerto Rico came from various points of Africa, and suffered many hardships and were subject to cruel treatment.
When the gold mines were declared depleted and no longer produced the precious metal, the Spanish Crown ignored Puerto Rico and the island became mainly a garrison for the ships. Africans from British and French possessions in the Caribbean were encouraged to immigrate to Puerto Rico and as freemen provided a population base to support the Puerto Rican garrison and its forts. (more...)
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Photo credit: Mtmelendez 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 conqueror Juan Ponce de León.
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Featured content represents the best of what Wikipedia has to offer. The following Puerto Rico-related articles and lists have been designated as Featured (
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Selected anniversaries for November
- November 1, 1912 - Birth of Alicia Moreda, television soap opera actress (d. 1983)
- November 1, 1950 - Two Puerto Rican nationalists try to storm the Blair House in a failed attempt to assassinate U.S. President Harry S. Truman.
- November 1, 1963 - The Arecibo Observatory, the largest single-aperture telescope, officially opened for operations.
- November 1, 1927 - Birth of Victor Pellot, former Mayor League Baseball player
- November 2, 2004 - General elections were held in Puerto Rico, with no clear victor for the Governor seat. On December 28, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá was declared the winner following several recounts and court rulings.
- November 3, 1867 - Death of Segundo Ruiz Belvis, abolitionist and political activist (b. 1829)
- November 5, 1934 - Birth of Victor Argo, actor (d. 2004)
- November 6, 1958 - The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra performs in its first live concert in Mayagüez.
- November 7, 1944 -General elections were held in Puerto Rico. The Popular Democratic Party won by landslides.
- November 7, 1944 - 16 passengers lost their lives and 50 were injured when a train derailed in Aguadilla, making it the worst disaster in Puerto Rico rail transport history.
- November 9, 1945 - The 65th Infantry arrive in Puerto Rico after their participation in World War II.
- November 16, 1952 - Death of Jesus T. Piñero, first native Governor of Puerto Rico (b. 1897)
- November 19, 1493 - Cristopher Columbus discovers Puerto Rico, naming the island San Juan Bautista in honor of Saint John the Baptist. The day has since become a national holiday on the island.
- November 19, 1982 - Birth of Jonathan Sánchez, Mayor League Baseball pitcher
- November 20, 1878 - Birth of Félix Córdova Dávila, politician and Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico (d. 1938)
- November 22, 1595 - Sir Francis Drake, with 27 vessels and 2,500 troops, sails into San Juan Bay in an attempt to loot the city. His attack would ultimately fail.
- November 25, 1897 - The Carta Autonómica (Autonomic Charter) was approved in Spain, which conceded political and administrative autonomy to the island.
- November 29, 2005 - Death of Victor Pellot, as a result of cancer
- November 30, 1971 - Birth of Iván Rodríguez, Mayor League Baseball catcher
More anniversaries...Did you know...
- ...that Puerto Rico is not an independent country, but is rather a Commonwealth of the United States?
- ...that in 1596, Sir Francis Drake, the famed British Admiral who defeated the Spanish Armada, was defeated twice in his attempts to take San Juan and that he died of dysentry while attacking the island?
- ...that taff Sgt. Modesto Cartagena, U.S. Army, is the most decorated Hispanic in history?
- ...that the Camuy River is the third longest underwater river in the world?
- ...That Dr. Juan R. Cruz, Ph.D., is a Puerto Rican scientist who played an instrumental role in the design and development of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) parachute.
- ...that Antonia Novello, a native of Fajardo, Puerto Rico, was both the first female and the first Hispanic Surgeon General of the United States (1990-1993)?
- ...that the myth of the Chupacabra has its origins in Puerto Rico?
- ...that the winning pitcher in the first ever Major League Baseball game played west of Kansas City was Rubén Gómez?
WikiProjects
WikiProject Puerto Rico
Sister Projects: Geography Caribbean Cuba • Dominican Republic Latin America Mexico • Mesoamerica United States Ethnic Groups Latinos In the news...
- September 8, 2011: The US Justice Department issues a report decrying systematic civil rights abuse by the Puerto Rico Police Department, including illegal searches, use of excessive force, and corruption, sparking a wide call for action from the public and an announcement of reform by Gov. Luis Fortuño.
- August 21, 2011: Tropical storm Irene passes through Puerto Rico and its surrounding islands while becoming a hurricane just north of San Juan, the first of the 2011 Atlantic season.
- June 29, 2011: Jose "Piculin" Ortiz, a former professional basketball player in the NBA (Utah Jazz) and the Puerto Rican Olympic team and the Superior Basketball League, is arrested for drug-related charges.
- June 12, 2011: In professional basketball, José Juan "J.J." Barea, helps the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Miami Heat (4-2) and win the 2011 NBA Championship. A national welcoming party is held in his honor in Puerto Rico.
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Carlos Edwin Colón, Jr. (born on February 21, 1979) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known internationally by his ring name Carlito; while in his native Puerto Rico he is known as both Carly and Carlito. Although currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) RAW brand, Colón occasionally still performs in the World Wrestling Council (WWC) where he is a former eleven-time Universal Heavyweight Championship.
After having success in the World Wrestling Council, Carlito signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2003. During his time in WWE as Carlito, Colón has won the WWE United States Championship and the WWE Intercontinental Championship and has been part of the RAW and SmackDown brands. He is the only wrestler to win titles on two separate debuts in WWE, and the second Puerto Rican to become WWE Intercontinental Champion. (more...)
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“ I dedicate this hit to the Pittsburgh fans and to the people in Puerto Rico and to one man [Roberto Marin] in particular. The one man who carried me around for weeks looking for a scout to sign me. ” —Roberto Clemente, dedicating his 3,000th (and last) major league hit, September 30, 1972.
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On Wikipedia, anyone can edit. So if you're interested in Puerto Rico and its related subjects and articles, feel free to add and edit current content or start a new article. After all, the Wikipedia community encourages all readers and users to be bold in updating pages. If you're unsure on where to start, you can choose any of the open tasks listed below. The Puerto Rico WikiProject thanks you!
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- Expand: Art of Puerto Rico, Laws of Puerto Rico, Public welfare in Puerto Rico, Culture of Puerto Rico, Demographics of Puerto Rico, Geology of Puerto Rico, Government of Puerto Rico, Education in Puerto Rico, Communications in Puerto Rico, Public housing in Puerto Rico, University of Puerto Rico, Navy-Vieques protests, Coco Rico stubs
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