Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the United States, has the nation’s second-highest density, with 3.7 million people occupying 3,515 square miles. That’s pretty impressive for an island that had only 155,000 people in 1800 and almost a million residents in 1900. Little is known about the natives of Puerto Rico prior to its discovery by Columbus. The initial settlers were the People of the Ortoiroid, American Indians who were hunters and fishermen. Some archaeological findings date back 4000 years. Between 120 and 400 AD, the Igneri tribe arrived from the area surrounding the Orinoco River, which spans territory in Venezuela and Columbia. Later on, the Taino culture developed, reaching a population of between 30,000 and 60,000 at the time of Columbus’ arrival in 1493.
Ponce de Leon founded the first Spanish Puerto Rican settlement, Caparra, in 1508. Soon thereafter, Spain began colonization and turned the native population into slaves. It took only 50 years to nearly exterminate the natives. What was left of their number was emancipated in 1520, the slave population having been replenished with Africans. The slaves were confined mostly to ports and cities on the coast, leaving the interior wild and unexplored. Various forts were built by the Spanish to protect cities such as San Juan from attack. This helped preserve San Juan’s status as an important trans-shipment port.
English settlers of Jamestown, Virginia, stopped first in Puerto Rico for provisioning. Before long, England and the Netherlands were trying to wrest Puerto Rico away from the Spanish, to no avail. Later, residents of the Spanish colony fought with the Americans against the British in the Revolutionary War. They defeated the British at Pensacola, Florida.
The interior of Puerto Rico remained unsettled until the 19th century. In 1809, Spain made Puerto Rico an overseas province that sent representatives to the Spanish parliament. An independence movement inspired by Simon Bolivar took hold in Puerto Rico despite suppression from the Spanish government. Spain attempted to populate Puerto Rico with non-Spanish European immigrants to act as a buffer against the independence movement by offering free land to loyal settlers.
The United States won Puerto Rico in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. Congress gave Puerto Rico some autonomy in 1900, and in 1917 granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans, allowing them to serve in World War I. Then, in 1947, Puerto Rico was given the right to elect its own governor, and became a commonwealth in 1952. Today, Puerto Rico has one of the highest per capita income levels of all countries south of the American border. It is no wonder that such a highly populated and relatively affluent island needs a central directory like the Yellow Pages to meet consumer demand for goods and services. Whether you’re looking for a local barber, liability auto insurance, or a web hosting company in Banco Puerto Rico, axesapaginasamarillas.com is your go-to guide.