Jewel of the Caribbean

The island of Puerto Rico is a self-governing commonwealth of the United States. This means it has the right to make its own laws,rift gold but it has some ties with the United States. Puerto Ricans are American citizens, but they do not elect representatives to the U.S. Congress or pay U.S. taxes.

Located in the West Indies, Puerto Rico lies in the northern Caribbean Sea. The island is mostly hilly, though it is flatter along the coast. Most of the people live in the coastal area. Rainforests cover parts of the north. Many of the island’s trees were cut down for lumber or farming. Special plans now encourage conservation. New forests have been planted with such fast-growing trees as eucalyptus, teak, and Honduran pine.

Puerto Rico was known as Borinquén to the native Arawak Indians who settled on the island hundreds of years ago. Their descendants were living there when in 1493 Christopher Columbus became the first European to reach the island. Columbus claimed the island for Spain,rift gold and soon Spaniards had established a settlement there.

Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony for almost four centuries. At the end of the 1800s, the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War. Afterward the island was turned over to the United States. In 1951 the island became a commonwealth. Some people on the island want it to become a U.S. state,
but in elections most of the people have voted against this.