How did the US annex Puerto Rico?
After the signing of an armistice with Spain, the island was turned over to the U.S forces on October 18. U.S. General John R. Brooke became military governor. In December, the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Spanish-American War and officially approving the cession of Puerto Rico to the United States.
When did the US acquire the island of Puerto Rico?
July 25, 1898
On July 25, 1898, U.S. forces invaded Puerto Rico and occupied it during the ensuing months of the Spanish-American War. As part of the peace treaty in December 1898, the colony was transferred to the U.S. and a military government took over.
What did the US do with Puerto Rico after the war?
The Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American War of 1898. The United States was ceded Puerto Rico and Guam, liquidated its possessions in the West Indies, agreed to pay 20 million dollars for the Phillippines, while Cuba became independent.
Why does US own Puerto Rico?
In 1898, following the Spanish–American War, the United States acquired Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is represented federally solely by one non-voting member of the House called a “Resident Commissioner.” Congress approved a local constitution in 1952, allowing U.S. citizens residing on the Island to elect a governor.
When was Puerto Rico annexed by the US?
The Annexation of Puerto Rico in 1898. As a strategic move during the Spanish-American War, American forces invaded the island of Puerto Rico. When the war ended, The Treaty of Paris recognized Puerto Rico as an American territory.
How did the US take Puerto Rico from the Spanish?
A short account of the taking of Puerto Rico from the Spanish by the United States, by Stephen Kinzer. The Puerto Rican poet Lola Rodríguez Delaware Tió, who spent years in Cuba, once described these islands as “two wings of the same bird.” Expansionists in the United States agreed.
When did the u.s.invade Puerto Rico?
1898 July 25 U.S. forces invade Puerto Rico During the Spanish-American War, U.S. forces launch their invasion of Puerto Rico, the 108-mile-long, 40-mile-wide island that was one of Spain’s two principal possessions in the Caribbean.
When did Puerto Rico become a nonvoting territory?
But within only a few years, the U.S. would throw all that asunder, paving the way for Puerto Rico’s nonvoting territory status today. It all started with the Spanish-American War, which began in the spring of 1898, when Puerto Rico was a Spanish territory.