A history of Puerto Rico’s relationship with the US
PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images
A history of Puerto Rico’s relationship with the US
Puerto Rico and American flags
Muller, Luchsinger & Co. // Library of Congress
1898: Puerto Rico comes under US military control
Lithograph depicting Bonbardment of San Juan
Detroit Publishing Co. // Library of Congress
1900: Foraker Act creates a civilian government
Governor’s Palace with American Flag and sea wall in San Juan
Waldrop Photographic Co // Library of Congress
1906: Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first sitting US president to visit Puerto Rico
President Theodore Roosevelt visits Puerto Rico
Interim Archives // Getty Images
March 1917: Jones Act passes, Puerto Ricans gain US citizenship
Map showing United States Territories
Bettmann // Getty Images
May 1917: The Selective Service Act allows Puerto Ricans to be drafted into WWI
Military participate in parade in San Juan
Bettmann // Getty Images
1930s: Doctors in Puerto Rico push women into sterilizations as the only means of contraception
La Perla in San Juan
Hulton Archive // Getty Images
1932: The name of the island returns to Puerto Rico (from the Americanized Porto Rico)
Porto Rico archival illustration
Bettmann // Getty Images
1935: Puerto Rican Reconstruction Administration created
First Government Housing Project in Puerto Rico
Bettmann // Getty Images
1940s: Operation Bootstrap aims to diversify Puerto Rico’s economy
Man Working in Automobile Factory
HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
1941: Puerto Rico’s island of Vieques is assigned as a US Naval Training Range
US naval ship
Bettmann // Getty Images
1947: Elective Governors Act allows Puerto Ricans to elect their own governor
President Truman signs Governor bill
Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images
1948: Law 53, aka the Gag Law, is enacted
Communists interrogated in San Juan
Haywood Magee // Getty Images
1948: Puerto Rico gets its own Olympic team
Opening Ceremony for the 1948 Olympics in London
Bettmann // Getty Images
1950: Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act passes
Puerto Rican Legistlative Assembly in Session
International/United States Information Agency/PhotoQuest // Getty Images
1952: Puerto Rico becomes a US commonwealth
Group of women register to vote
Brian K. Grigsby/Pictures From History // Universal Images Group via Getty Images
1956: Puerto Rico is home to storage and testing of Agent Orange
A helicopter sprays defoliation agent in Vietnam
Bettmann // Getty Images
1967: Puerto Rico holds first status referendum
Puerto Rico and American flags fly over San Juan
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images
1978: UN Special Committee on Decolonization designates Puerto Rico a colony of the US
Raised fist in front of black and white Puerto Rican flag at protest
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images
1990s to 2020: Puerto Rico holds 5 non-binding referendums for statehood
Puerto Ricos Governor Ricardo Rossello with statehood referendum ballot
Joe Raedle // Getty Images
2017: Puerto Rico files for the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history
Puerto Rico Capitol Building
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images
2017-2022: Puerto Rico hit by a series of devastating earthquakes and hurricanes
Earthquake debris with Puerto Rican flag
