Puerto Rican Independence

Discovered in 1493, Puerto Rico has been a colony of the United States since 1898 following the Spanish-American War. As a United States territory, Puerto Rico has gained recognition from the U.S. government over time (see dates below).

A growing debate exists amongst Puerto Ricans as to the future status of the island: remain a commonwealth territory, seek statehood, or independent sovereignty.

1917 Puerto Ricans granted U.S. citizenship
1948 elected first governor
1952 establish new Constitution, subject to the U.S. Constitution
1997 U.S. House of Representatives debates bill for Puerto Rican statehood

The links below reflect the range of opinions on the issue of Puerto Rico's future status.

As many of the sites are in Spanish, there is also a link to AltaVista's
BabelFish translator which can translate websites from Spanish to English.

Copy the desired web address and paste or type it into the "web site" window and select translation from Spanish to English.

BabelFish can translate a specific text or the whole site.

NEWS ON PUERTO RICO

Americas.org/The Puerto Rico Lens - PR news from various international sources
Yahoo! News - full coverage of Puerto Rican news
El Nuevo Dia Interactivo - daily online Puerto Rican news (Spanish only)

Estado 51.com - statehood website (Spanish only)
Partido Nuevo Progresista - the new progressive party (Spanish only)
Puerto Rico 51 - statehood site
USCPRS - U.S. Council for Puerto Rican statehood
Navy/Vieques - U.S. Navy's official site for Vieques Island

PIP (Partido Independentista Puertorriqueno) - Puerto Rican independence party
FUPI - student group for PR independence (Spanish only)
FAQ - frequently asked questions on PR independence
Vieques Libre - anti-U.S. site for PR independence