Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1900
US Congress passes the Foraker Act, granting a US-run government in Puerto Rico;
American Charles Allen is installed as governor, aided by an 11-man executive coun-
cil that includes five Puerto Ricans.
1917
The Jones Act makes Puerto Rico a territory of the US and unilaterally grants is-
landers US citizenship and a bill of rights; English becomes the official language.
1933
Cockfighting becomes legal in Puerto Rico. Though states in the US and neighboring
islands subsequently ban the pastime, its popularity in Puerto Rico booms.
1937
Student
independentista
s (independence advocates) clash with police on Palm
Sunday; 20 people die and over 100 are injured in what becomes known as the 'Mas-
acre de Ponce'.
1942
A German submarine fires on Isla de la Mona, a largely uninhabited island off Puerto
Rico's west coast. It was one of the few incidents of WWII in the Caribbean.
1948
With US Congressional approval, Puerto Ricans craft their own constitution and elect
their first governor, Luis Muñoz Marín, former president of the Senate, who holds
the post for 16 years.
1950
A nationalist revolt in the mountain town of Jayuya is suppressed by the US Air
Force; in response two nationalists in Washington DC try unsuccessfully to assassin-
ate President Harry Truman.
1952
Constitution of Puerto Rico is approved by referendum, making the island an Estado
Libre Associado (a US commonwealth); Puerto Rican flag is flown - legally - for
the first time.
1953
