Tourism Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico, officially the Free Associated State of Puerto Rico (or, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) is an unincorporated territory of the United States with a status of autonomy.  It is a major Caribbean tourist destination located northeast of the Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands.

Its west coast is also about 2,000 kilometers (1,280 miles) off the coast of Florida, the nearest continent.  The archipelago of Puerto Rico includes the main island of Puerto Rico, which is the smallest of the Greater Antilles, and a number of smaller islands and cays, of which the largest are: Mona, Vieques and Culebra.

Puerto Ricans became citizens of the United States in 1917, when the United States Congress passed the Jones Act.  Although its relationship with the United States is similar to that of a State of the Union, Puerto Rico is subject to the full powers of Congress by the Territorial Clause.  Though it was allowed to draft a constitution for the management of internal affairs, the powers in the islands are revocable by the United States Congress.

The native Taino tribe called the island Boriken, which means “Crab Island” or “Bruquena.”  This evolved to the name of Borinquen, which is still used in reference to Puerto Rico. Christopher Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista.  The current name of “Puerto Rico” refers to the wealth of the port.  The Spaniards named the capital city Puerto Rico. As the years passed, the names were exchanged so that Puerto Rico became San Juan and San Juan Bautista became Puerto Rico. Today the capital is San Juan