Place in news: Puerto Rico

Place in news: Puerto Rico

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-I – Geography & GS-II – International Relations

In news

• For the third time in ten years, the United States territory of Puerto Rico has voted in favour of statehood, and thus be treated at par with the current 50 states of the country.

Important value additions 

Puerto Rico

• It is an unincorporated territory of the United States.
• Puerto Ricans have been citizens of the United States since 1917, and can move freely between the island and the mainland.
• As it is not a state, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the U.S. Congress, which governs the unincorporated territory with jurisdiction under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950.

• It is located in the northeast Caribbean Sea. 
• It includes the eponymous main island and several smaller islands, such as Mona, Culebra, and Vieques.
• The capital and most populous city is San Juan.

Do you know? 

• Originally populated by the indigenous Taíno people, Puerto Rico was colonized by Spain following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1493.
• In 1898, following the Spanish–American War, the United States acquired Puerto Rico, which remains an unincorporated territorial possession, making it the world’s oldest colony.