• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Geography / When Did Puerto Rico Become a United States Territory and When Was the Treaty of Paris Signed?

When Did Puerto Rico Become a United States Territory and When Was the Treaty of Paris Signed?

July 1, 2020 by Karen Hill

Puerto Rico, an island in the Caribbean Sea southeast of Florida, is a United States territory, with about 3.8 million people.

Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory, along with the Pacific island of Guam, when the Treaty of Paris was signed after the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Puerto Rico became a commonwealth in 1952, meaning that it governs itself under its own constitution.

Several efforts to gain U.S. statehood for Puerto Rico were defeated when they were put to popular vote in the 1990s. Many of its citizens would like the island to be an independent nation.

Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, but they do not have to pay federal income taxes.

They send a resident commissioner to speak for them in the U.S. House of Representatives, but this person may vote only in congressional committees.

Related Facts

  • Where Is Puerto Rico Located, How Many People Live There, and Is Puerto Rico Part of the United States?
  • How many Islands does Puerto Rico have and What is the Capital of Puerto Rico?
  • Why isn't Puerto Rico a state and What would statehood mean for Puerto Rico?
  • Did Puerto Rico become richer or poorer under the United States?
  • How did the United States buy Alaska and When was the Treaty of Cession signed?
  • Who was the first Puerto Rican elected to govern Puerto Rico in 1946?
  • Why did the United States invade Puerto Rico in 1898?
  • How far is Puerto Rico from the United States mainland?
  • When did Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica become Spanish Colonies and What happened to the Natives?
  • When did the people of Puerto Rico become U.S. citizens?
  • What was the result of the Mexican American War and When was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo signed?
  • How did Plaster of Paris get its name and Where does the term "Plaster of Paris" come from?

Filed Under: Geography

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Which States Are Growing the Fastest In Population and Which Are the Slowest Growing States?
Next Post: What Are the 10 Largest U.S. States In Population? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy