Puerto Rico

Study Abroad

• Study Abroad in Puerto Rico

Officially a commonwealth of the United States, the archipelago of Puerto Rico (Spanish for "rich port") is a self-governing unincorporated territory located approximately 1,280 miles off the coast of Florida (the nearest of the mainland United States). People born in Puerto Rico are statutory U.S. citizens.

Before Columbus arrived in 1493, bringing Spanish colonization, Puerto Rico was inhabited by approximately a quarter of a million Arawak Indians known as Tainos. After enslaving the local population and decimating its numbers with hard labor and disease, the Spaniards turned their attention to the mainland, leaving Puerto Rico impoverished. Following the Spanish-American war, Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States. It has become a major tourist destination but struggles to define its national affiliation and political status.