Notes

Slide Show

Outline

1	A Quick Look at Puerto Rico’s History with Spain and the U.S.
2	How it all began . . . On November 19, 1493, Christopher Columbus “discovered” Puerto Rico in his second voyage to the New World. He found the island populated by as many as 50,000 Taíno or Arawak Indians. The Taíno Indians who greeted Columbus made a big mistake when they showed him gold nuggets in the river and told him to take all he wanted.
3	A Spanish Colony Puerto Rico remained a Spanish colony for 400 years. The Spanish introduced slavery and brought Africans in as slaves. The Spanish did not abolish slavery until 1873.
4	The Spanish American War The U.S. took control of Puerto Rico by defeating Spain in the Spanish American War in 1898.
5	In 1898, Amos Fiske, an influential business writer, candidly spelled out the thinking of the U.S. rulers in the editorial pages of the New York Times: "There can be no question about the wisdom of taking possession of the Island of Puerto Rico and keeping it for all time... "Our need of a foothold in the West Indies for naval purposes has long been recognized... "The island could be rendered of no small commercial value to us... "There is no reason why it should not become .. an especially charming winter resort for denizens of the North."
6	How Did Imperialism Affect Puerto Rico in the 1950s?
7	Pollito, chicken Gallina, hen Lápiz, pencil y Pluma, pen. Ventana, window Puerto, door Maestra, teacher y Piso, floor
8	What was the “American Invasion”? What are the children learning with the “Pollito, chicken” song? What is the Estado Libre Asociado? Why are the mothers supposed to come to the centro comunal, or community center, on Saturday? Why is the nutritional advice hard for the mothers to follow?
9	“Papi, what’s an imperialist?” Fiske noted that "we are not pledged to give Puerto Rico independence... Besides, it would be much better for her to come at once under the beneficent sway of the United States than to engage in doubtful experiments at self-government."
10	“They want to change our country and our culture to be like theirs.” What is the tone of Amos Fiske’s article? benevolent malevolent paternalistic
11	How did Macún get free? Why did the free breakfast program end? What did Mami do with the American food? What happened to life in the village?
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