Important Dates in the History of Puerto Rico Quiz

Answer: 3000-2000 BC

The Ortoiroids are believed to have originated from South America's Orinoco Valley before migrating to the Caribbean, where they occupied such islands as the Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, and Puerto Rico. They were hunter-gatherers who survived mostly on fish, shellfish, and turtles.

Answer: Taino

The Tainos lived in small villages, each one led by a chief, referred to as a "cacique", who was in turn advised by a priest or healer, referred to as a "bohique". They were primarily hunter-gatherers although they grew some foods, such as pineapple, cassava, and sweet potatoes.

There were three main groups of Tainos, and the Classic Taino group was the one that occupied Hispaniola (currently Dominican Republic and Haiti) and Puerto Rico. The Tainos migrated to the area from either the Amazon Basin or from the Colombian Andes, according to two conflicting theories.

While the Tainos were considered the major enemy of the Caribs, they did not fare well against the Europeans, who had superior weapons and quickly made slaves of them. Many of the Tainos died during failed rebellions and because of European diseases.

Answer: 1493

The Tainos called the island Boriken; however, Columbus decided to rename it in dedication to St. John the Baptist. San Juan Bautista or San Juan remained the island's name into the 1500s, when merchants and traders gradually began referring to the island as Puerto Rico, or "rich or wealthy port or harbor". Today, of course, San Juan lives on as the name of the capital city of Puerto Rico.

Answer: Juan Ponce de Leon

Juan Ponce de Leon is well-known to many as the Spanish conquistador who trekked through Florida searching for the legendary Fountain of Youth. However, before all of this he played an important role in the history of Puerto Rico. Not only did he establish the first European settlement on the island--Caparra--but he also was Puerto Rico's first governor as appointed by the Spanish royal government. Caparra would become the site of the island's first agricultural and mining activities.

While he had glimpsed the island back in 1493 during Columbus's second voyage to the Americas, his official exploration of the island is usually dated 1508.

However, some speculate that he may have actually explored the island as early as 1506. Ponce de Leon's government of Puerto Rico was a harsh one, at least as the Tainos were concerned.

He made slaves of them and divided them up among himself and other European settlers so that they might supply free labor for agriculture and mining. In 1511, the Tainos revolted, and, while they outnumbered the Spanish settlers and soldiers, the Spanish weapons were far too superior for the Tainos, who were easily massacred.

In fact, Ponce de Leon had around 6,000 of them shot to death. In 1513, the Spanish brought African slaves to the island to replace the depleted labor source.

Answer: Sir Francis Drake

While often victorious against the Spanish elsewhere, Sir Francis Drake lost the Battle of San Juan, as it was to be called. In fact, he himself nearly died when a cannonball blasted through his cabin on board the flag ship. He did indeed die a few weeks later in January of 1596 due to dysentery, and he was buried at sea. Divers still search for his coffin to this day.

In 1598, George Clifford, the Third Earl of Cumberland, and his men did manage to capture San Juan for the English Crown. However, he was not able to hold it because of the loss of soldiers to disease.

Answer: 1815

The Napoleonic Wars devastated Spain economically, militarily, and politically, and the country was fortunate to hold on to a few American colonies. (In fact, by the end of 1826, Cuba and Puerto Rico were the only two American colonies still in Spain's possession.) Hoping to continue the feeling of good will between Spain and Puerto Rico, the monarchy of Spain, newly restored in 1814, decided in 1815 to open the ports of Puerto Rico to foreign trade, allow freer immigration, and give away free land to many of the settlers there. Such generosity was mostly unheard of from a mother country to one of its colonies.

Answer: 1898

Puerto Rico has remained a United States possession since 1898. However, this cession of the island to the USA was not initially welcomed by the people of Puerto Rico. In 1897, Spain had granted autonomy to Puerto Rico and given all literate males the freedom to vote.

When Puerto Rico was given to the United States, all of Spain's previous legal actions were nullified, and the Puerto Ricans were prevented from implementing their new government.

Answer: The Jones-Shafroth Act or Jones Act

The Jones-Shafroth Act (also known as The Jones Act or the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act of 1917) was an act of the United States Congress to confer full citizenship to the inhabitants of Puerto Rico. The act also created a bill of rights for Puerto Rico's citizens, established the Senate of Puerto Rico, and allowed for the election of a Resident Commissioner, who is a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives allowed to function as a U.S. Representative in all other respects, including serving on committees.

However, all other key government officials, including Pureto Rico's governor, continued to be appointed by the United States President.

Answer: Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA)

The PRRA began on May 28, 1935, and was eliminated by act of Congress on August 15, 1953. Franklin Roosevelt believed that, as Puerto Rico's economy had for a very long time been an agricultural one, the solution to its economic woes would also have to be an agricultural one.

He strongly pushed for programs that would improve the lives of the island's small farmers and provide for them better methods of production and access to markets.

Answer: 1952

In 1947, the United States Congress allowed the citizens of Puerto Rico to elect their own governor, and in 1948, the first individual to be elected and serve in this capacity was Munoz Marin. In 1950, United States President Harry S Truman signed the Puerto Rico Commonwealth Bill into law.

However, members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Movement, wanting complete soverignty so that Puerto Rico might exist as its own nation, opposed this law. They innitiated several uprisings within Puerto Rico's cities and towns, attempted to assassinate Governor Munoz Marin at La Fortaleza (the governor's mansion), and attempted to assassinate President Truman, who was staying at the Blair House in Washington, D. C., while the White House was being renovated.

Not until 1952, however, did Puerto Rico officially become a Commonweatlh when the Constitution of Puerto Rico was approved by President Truman on July 3 and Proclaimed by Governor Marin on July 25, which interestingly enough was the exact date of the fifty-year anniversary of the landing of the United States military in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War.

The United States Congress continues to regulate many of Puerto Rico's affairs, such as its currency, regulations for citizenship, military defense, and commerce. Much controversy has existed about whether Puerto Rico should continue as a Commonwealth/Territory, should enter into the union of the United States as a state, or should be given its independence to exist as a sovereign nation.