hidden pixel

Puerto Rican People Information

A Puerto Rican (Spanish: puertorriqueño) (Taíno term: boricua) is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico. Since 2007, the government of Puerto Rico has been granting Certificates of Puerto Rican citizenship to any persons born on the island as well as to those born outside of the island that have at least one parent who was born on the island.[14]

Puerto Ricans, who also commonly refer to themselves as "boricuas", are largely the descendants of Europeans, Taíno, Africans or a blend of these groups which has produced a very diversified population. The population of Puerto Ricans and descendants is estimated to be between 8 to 10 million worldwide, with most living within the islands of Puerto Rico, Central Florida, Chicago Metropolitan Area and in New York City, where there is a large Nuyorican community.

For 2009,[15] the American Community Survey estimates give a total of 3,859,026 Puerto Ricans classified as "Native" Puerto Ricans. It also gives a total of 3,644,515 (91.9%) of the population being born in Puerto Rico and 201,310 (5.1%) born in the United States. The total population born outside Puerto Rico is 322,773 (8.1%).

Of the 108,262 who were foreign born outside the United States (2.7% of Puerto Rico), 3.8% were born in Europe, 92.9% in Latin America, 2.7% in Asia, 0.2% in Northern America, and 0.1% in Africa and Oceania each.[1]

Contents

Ancestry

The original inhabitants of Puerto Rico are the Taíno, who called the island Borikén; however, as in other parts of the Americas, the native people soon diminished in number after the arrival of European settlers. The negative impact on the numbers of indigenous people was almost entirely the result of Old World diseases that the Amerindians had no natural/bodily defenses against, including measles, chicken pox, mumps, influenza, and even the common cold. In fact, it was estimated that the majority of all the indigenous inhabitants of the New World perished due to contact and contamination with those Old World diseases, while those that survived were killed by warfare with each other and with Europeans.

Both run-away and freed African slaves (the Spanish, upon establishing a foothold, quickly began to import Sub-Saharan African slaves to work in expanding their colonies in the Caribbean) were in Puerto Rico. This interbreeding was far more common in Latin America because of those Spanish and Portuguese mercantile colonial policies exemplified by the oft-romanticized male conquistadors (e.g. Hernán Cortés). Aside from the presence of slaves, some indication for why the native population was so diluted was the tendency for conquistadors to bring with them scores of single men hoping to serve God, country, or their own interests. All of these factors would indeed prove detrimental for the Taínos in Puerto Rico and surrounding Caribbean islands.

Royal Decree of Graces, 1815

In the 16th century, a significant depth of Puerto Rican culture began to develop with the import of Sub-Saharan African slaves by the Spanish, as well as by the French, the British, the Dutch and the Portuguese. Thousands of Spanish settlers also immigrated to Puerto Rico from the Canary Islands during the 18th and 19th centuries, so many so that whole Puerto Rican villages and towns were founded by Canarian immigrants, and their descendants would later form a majority of the Spanish population on the island.

In 1791, the slaves in Saint-Domingue (Haiti), revolted against their French masters. Many of the French escaped to Puerto Rico via what is now the Dominican Republic and settled in the west coast of the island, especially in Mayagüez. Puerto Rico has some British ancestry, notably Scots came to reside there in the 17th and 18th centuries.

When Spain revived the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 with the intention of attracting non-Hispanics to settle in the island hundreds of French (especially Corsicans), Germans and Irish immigrants who were affected by Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s immigrated to Puerto Rico. They were followed by smaller waves of Dutch, Chinese, Greek, Italian, Maltese and Portuguese (especially Azoreans).

During the early 20th century Jews began to settle in Puerto Rico. The first large group of Jews to settle in Puerto Rico were European refugees fleeing German–occupied Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. The second influx of Jews to the island came in the 1950s, when thousands of Cuban Jews fled after Fidel Castro came to power. Today Puerto Rico has the largest and most prosperous Jewish community in the Caribbean.[16] Recent trends in immigration indicate Puerto Rico has been attracting immigrants from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and other Caribbean islands.

Race

Racial groups - Puerto Rico [17][18][19][20][21]
Year White % Non-White
1802 42.0 58.0
1812 40.8 59.2
1820 39.4 60.6
1830 45.1 54.9
1877 52.3 47.7
1887 53.5 46.5
1897 59.3 40.7
1899 61.8 38.2
1910 64.5 35.5
1920 72.0 28.0
1930 73.3 26.7
1935 75.2 24.8
1940 76.0 24.0
1950 79.7 20.3
2000 80.5 19.5
2010 75.8 24.2
Racial composition of the Puerto Rican population, by the census, 1802-2010.

Whites

Main article: Spanish immigration to Puerto Rico

In 1899, one year after the U.S invaded and took control of the island, 61.8% of people were identified as White. In the 2010 United States Census the total of Puerto Ricans that identified as White was 75.8%.[22][17] The European heritage of Puerto Ricans comes primarily from one source: Spaniards (including Canarians, Catalans, Castilians, Galicians, Asturians, Andalusians, and Basques).

The Canarian cultural influence in Puerto Rico is one of the most important components in which many villages were founded from these immigrants, which started from 1493 to 1890 and beyond. Many Spanish, especially Canarians, chose Puerto Rico because of its Hispanic ties and relative proximity in comparison with other former Spanish colonies. They searched for security and stability in an environment similar to that of the Canary Islands and Puerto Rico was the most suitable. This began as a temporary exile which became a permanent relocation and the last significant wave of Spanish or European migration to Puerto Rico.[23][24] Other sources of European populations are Corsicans, French, Germans, Irish, Portuguese, Scots, Maltese, Italians and Jews, with many Arab Christians such as the Lebanese and Palestinians.

Sub-Saharan African/Black

Main article: Black history in Puerto Rico

Today 12.4% of people self-identified as Black in the last 2010 United States Census.[25] From the 17th century until about 1850, African slaves constituted the majority of Puerto Rico's population. While immigration of Africans began with free men who arrived with the Spanish Conquistadors, the vast majority of the Africans who immigrated to Puerto Rico did so as a result of the slave trade from many different areas of the African continent, such as West Africans, the Kongo, the Yoruba[26] and the Igbo people.[26]

Amerindian

Main articles: Mestizos, Amerindian, and Taíno people

Amerindians and Mestizos are those who have a pure Amerindian descent or mixed ancestry between Europeans and Amerindians within the Puerto Rican context discarding the other definitions that this term may be used for under other settings. Amerindians make up the third largest racial identity among Puerto Ricans comprising 0.5% of the population.[27]

Asia

Main article: Chinese immigration to Puerto Rico

Chinese, Lebanese and Palestinians. Asians repesent 0.2% of the population.

Part of a series on
Puerto Ricans
By region or country
United States · New York · Hawaii
Subgroups
African · Chinese · Corsican French · German · Irish Jewish · Spanish
Culture
Art · Cinema · Cuisine · Dance Education · Flag · Language · Literature · Music · Politics Sport · Television
Religion
Roman Catholic · Protestant Jewish · Islam
Language
Spanish (Castilian) · Accent Vocabulary
Puerto Rico portal · ·

Other

Peoples other than Amerindians and Blacks and Asians or whites constituted (mixed and other) 11.1% in the United States 2010 Census.

Modern identity

Until 1950 the U.S. Bureau of the Census attempted to quantify the racial composition of the island's population, while experimenting with various racial taxonomies. In 1960 the census dropped the racial identification question for Puerto Rico but included it again in the year 2000. The only category that remained constant over time was white, even as other racial labels shifted greatly—from "colored" to "Black", "mulatto", and "other". Regardless of the precise terminology, the census reported that the bulk of the Puerto Rican population was primarily mixed and black before U.S. occupation.[18]

This article appears to contain unverifiable speculation and unjustified claims. Information must be verifiable and based on reliable published sources. Please remove unverified speculation from the article.

An interesting anecdote, Puerto Rico had laws like the Regla del Sacar or Gracias al Sacar where a person of black ancestry could be considered legally white so long as they could prove that at least one person per generation in the last four generations had also been legally white. Therefore people of black ancestry with known white lineage were classified as white, the opposite of the "one-drop rule" in the United States.[28][29] Furthermore, Puerto Ricans are of Black African, American Indian, and European ancestry and only identify themselves as mixed if having parents "appearing" to be of separate "races" and being that many Puerto Ricans are light-skinned, most choose to identify as "white".[30] The census-takers at the turn of the 20th Century recorded a huge disparity in the number of "black" and "white" Puerto Ricans between the 1910 and 1920 censuses. "Black" suddenly began to disappear from one census to another (within 10 years' time), possibly due to redefinition of the term. It also appears that the "black" element within the culture was simply disappearing possibly due to the popular idea that in the U.S. one could only advance economically and socially if one were to pass for "white".[31]

The Puerto Rico of today has come to form some of its own social customs, cultural matrix, historically-rooted traditions, and its own unique pronunciation, vocabulary, and idiomatic expressions within the Spanish language. Even after the attempted assimilation of Puerto Rico into the United States in the early 20th century, the majority of the people of Puerto Rico feel pride in their nationality as "Puerto Ricans", regardless of the individual's particular racial, ethnic, political, or economic background. Many Puerto Ricans are consciously aware of the rich contribution of all cultures represented on the island. This diversity can be seen in the everyday lifestyle of many Puerto Ricans such as the profound African influences in Puerto Rico regarding food, music, dance, and architecture.

In the 2010 U.S. Census Puerto Ricans were asked to identify which racial category with which they personally identify. The breakdown is as follows: white (mostly Spanish origin) 75.8%, black 12.4%, Amerindian 0.5%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 11.1%.

Stateside Puerto Ricans

Main articles: Puerto Ricans in the United States and Puerto Rican migration to New York

U.S. residents have also migrated from the U.S. mainland to different parts of Puerto Rico, especially to the San Juan metro area and the southern portion of the island, mainly for tourism purposes and for business ventures, including in the financial, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical industries.

Language

Spanish is the predominant language among Puerto Ricans residing in the island; however, its vocabulary has expanded with many words and phrases coming from the Taíno and African influences of the island. Since 1901, the English language is taught and spoken throughout the island.

As of 2007, the American Community Survey states that 95.1% of island residents speak Spanish and 81.5% of Puerto Ricans speak English less than "very well". 4.7% of people on the island speak English only.[32]

Religion

The great majority of Puerto Ricans are Christians, though there are certain Islamic and Jewish sectors in the island. Roman Catholicism has been the main religion among Puerto Ricans since the arrival of the Spanish in the 15th century, but the increasing presence of Protestant, Latter-day Saint (Mormon), Pentecostal and Jehovah's Witnesses denominations has increased under U.S. sovereignty, making modern Puerto Rico an inter-denominational, multireligious community. The island is also home to small Pagan (mainly adherents of santeria), Jewish, and Muslim communities.

Boricua

Puerto Ricans often proudly identify themselves as Boricua (formerly also spelled Boriquén, Borinquén, or Borinqueño), derived from the Taíno word Boriken, to illustrate their recognition of the island's original Taíno heritage. The word Boriken, translates to "the great land of the valiant and noble Lord." Borikén was used by the original Taíno population to refer to the island of Puerto Rico before the arrival of the Spanish.[33] The use of the word Boricua has been popularized in the island and abroad by descendants of Puerto Rico heritage, commonly using the phrase, "Yo soy Boricua" ("I am Boricua", or "I am Puerto Rican") to identify themselves as Puerto Ricans. Other variations which are also widely used are Borinqueño and Borincano which translated means "from Borinquen." The first recorded use of the word Boricua comes from Christopher Columbus in his Letter to the Sovereigns from 4 March 1493.[34]

Political and international status

The federal Naturalization Act, signed into law on March 26, 1790 by George Washington, explicitly barred anyone not of the White "race" from applying for U.S. citizenship. This law remained in effect until the 1950s, although its enforcement was tightened in the late nineteenth century regarding Asian immigrants, and by the Johnson-Reed act of 1924 imposing immigration quotas. In short, until late in the twentieth century, only immigrants of the White "race" could hope to become naturalized citizens. The people of Puerto Rico were declared U.S citizens in 1917.[35][36]

Puerto Ricans became citizens of the United States as a result of the passage of the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917. Since the act was approved by Congress and not the result of an amendment of the United States Constitution, citizenship can be revoked by Congress. The Jones Act established that Puerto Ricans born prior to 1899 were considered naturalized citizens of Puerto Rico, and anyone born after 1898 were U.S. citizens, unless the Puerto Rican expressed his/her intentions to remain a Spanish Subject. Since 1948, it was decided by Congress that all Puerto Ricans, whether born within the United States or in Puerto Rico, were naturally born United States citizens.

Puerto Ricans and other U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico cannot vote in presidential elections as that is a right reserved by the U.S. Constitution to admitted states and the District of Columbia through the Electoral College system. Nevertheless, both the Democratic Party and Republican Party, while not fielding candidates for public office in Puerto Rico, provide the islands with state-sized voting delegations at their presidential nominating conventions. Delegate selection processes frequently have resulted in presidential primaries being held in Puerto Rico. U.S. Citizens residing in Puerto Rico do not elect U.S. Representatives or Senators, however, Puerto Rico is represented in the House of Representatives by an elected representative commonly known as the Resident Commissioner, who has the same duties and obligations as a representative, with the exception of being able to cast votes on the final disposition of legislation on the House floor. The Resident Commissioner is elected by Puerto Ricans to a four-year term and does serve on congressional committee. Puerto Ricans residing in the U.S. states have all rights and privileges of other U.S. citizens living in the states.

As statutory U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans born in Puerto Rico may enlist in the U.S. military and have been included in the compulsory draft when it has been in effect. Puerto Ricans have fully participated in all U.S. wars and military conflicts since 1898, such as World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

See also

United States portal
Puerto Rico portal
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Puerto Rican people

References

  1. ^ a b U.S ACS Puerto Rico 2008
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ Multiculturalism Mexico: United States Virgin Islands statistics
  5. ^ Multiculturalism Mexico: Dominican Republic statistics
  6. ^ Census Canada 2006
  7. ^ Los Extranjeros en Mexico
  8. ^ a b OECD Data Sheet
  9. ^ Estadisticas Venezuela
  10. ^ Estadisticas Costa Rica
  11. ^ Censo Argentina 2001
  12. ^ Métodos estadísticos aplicados a la migración internacional desde y dentre de Cuba
  13. ^ Australia Census 2006
  14. ^ (Spanish) Terra.com Departamento de Estado expedirá certificados de ciudadanía puertorriqueña
  15. ^ Census.gov
  16. ^ The Virtual Jewish History Tour Puerto Rico
  17. ^ a b Puerto Rico's History on race
  18. ^ a b Representation of racial identity among Puerto Ricans and in the u.s. mainland
  19. ^ CIA World Factbook Retrieved June 8, 2009.
  20. ^ 2010.census.gov
  21. ^ Puerto Rico's Historical Demographics Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  22. ^ 2010.census.gov
  23. ^ Canarian immigration: canarios en Puerto Rico (Islas Canarias)
  24. ^ Canarian Settlement in the Americas
  25. ^ 2010.census.gov
  26. ^ a b Lipski, John M. (2005). A History of Afro-Hispanic Language: Five Centuries, Five Continents. middle of second paragraph under 'Africans in Puerto Rico': by Cambridge University Press. p. 115. ISBN 0-521-82265-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=U0xyRU7QoK4C&pg=PA115.
  27. ^ 2010.census.gov
  28. ^ Jay Kinsbruner, Not of Pure Blood, Duke University Press 1996
  29. ^ Jay Kinsbruner, Not of Pure Blood, Duke University Press Preview
  30. ^ Jay Kinsbruner, Puerto Rican Mulattos, University Press Preview
  31. ^ How Puerto rico Became White
  32. ^ U.S. Census Annual Population Estimates 2007
  33. ^ H. B. Grose, Advance in the Antilles: the new era in Cuba and Porto Rico, Presbyterian Home Missions, 1910
  34. ^ "Between the islands of Cardo and Española there is another island they call Borinque, all of it is short distance form the other region of the island of Juana that they call Cuba" (Letter to the Sovereigns, trans. Margarita Zamora, New World Encounters, University of California Press, 1993). Another early reference can be found in Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés' 1535 Historia general y natural de las Indias. The full text of Gonzalo's book, including references to Boriquen, may be read in Spanish online at a page maintained by University College London. Ems.kcl.ac.uk
  35. ^ Vision of America
  36. ^ History: The Racialisation of Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans

Further reading

· · Ethnic groups in Puerto Rico
African African
Asian Chinese
European Corsican · French · German · Irish · Spanish
United States and other

Dominican · Jewish · Puerto Rican immigration to Hawaii · Puerto Rican migration to New York
· · Hispanic and Latino American groups
Central American / Caribbean Costa Rican · Cuban · Dominican · Guatemalan · Honduran · Nicaraguan · Panamanian · Puerto Rican · Salvadoran
North American Californio · Mexican (Chicano · Punjabi) · Tejano
South American Argentine · Bolivian · Colombian · Chilean · Ecuadorian · Paraguayan · Peruvian · Uruguayan · Venezuelan
Western European Spanish (Basque • Catalan • Hispano • Isleño)
Racial groups All groups · Asian · Black · White

Categories:

 

The above information uses material from Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Some facts may not have been fully verified for accuracy. [Disclaimers]
This page was last archived by our server on Sun Nov 20 16:49:32 2011.
Displaying this page or its contents does not use any Wikimedia Foundation's resources.
The owners of this site proudly support the Wikimedia Foundation.

More Information Results for "Puerto Rican People"
[Hide]▼
[Hide]▲