Spanish Colonialism and Puerto Rican Identity :: Latin America American History

Spanish Colonialism and Puerto Rican Identity In order to understand the menstruation situation of Puerto Ricans one must look at their autobiography and construct the sequence of events that led to the current formation of the Puerto Rican people. An important component of this history is the time Puerto anti-racketeering law spent under Spanish rule. Studying this designate of Puerto Rican history forces us to acknowledge the contribution the Spaniards, European immigrants, and African slaves had on Puerto Rican identity as we consider it today. This also addresses contemporary debates on Puerto Rican identity. An slip of this is evident in an essay written by Jose Luis Gonzales entitled Puerto anti-racketeering law Th Four Storied Country. In the article Gonzales points give away what he feels is a disregard toward the African contribution to the Puerto Rican identity. He argues that the send-off Puerto Ricans were black , based on his interpretation that Af ricans were the first group to play along to Puerto Rico and reproduce who did not have ties to a motherland because they were slaves. This is conflicting the Spaniard elites and Criolles that demonstrated their commitment and loyalty to Spain. Since they had no other place to go, Puerto Rico was their motherland. Gonzalez also points out that the burnish of a region is always the culture of the elite, not the popular culture. Culture of the elite refers to the national culture while popular culture refers to that of non-elites. Therefore the African contribution is often treat or forgotten about because they were of a lower class. Critics against Gonzales argument usurp that he exaggerates the contribution of Afro-Puerto Ricans,and the importance of race, class and ethnicity. Gonzales uses the metaphor of a iv storied structure to express the idea of Puerto Rican identity. At the foundation of this building are the natives of the island Boriquen which ar e the Taino Indians. Every floor that is added to this building represents a vibrate of foreigners that came to the island. The first floor is representative of the Spaniards that came to colonize the island, along with the slaves they brought with them, and the interaction these groups had the Taino Indians.