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PORTO RICO, or PUERTO

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Originally appearing in Volume V22, Page 127 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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PORTO RICO, or PUERTO Rico (" See also:Rich See also:Harbour "), an See also:island of the See also:United States of See also:America, the most easterly and the See also:fourth in See also:size of the Greater See also:Antilles, situated between 17° 5o' and 18° 30' N., and between 65° 30' and 67° 15' W., about 70 M. E. of See also:Haiti, and 500 M. E. by S. of See also:Cuba. It is about too m. See also:long from See also:east to See also:west, 40 M. wide near the west end, and somewhat narrower towards the east end, and has an See also:area of 3435 sq. m. See also:Physical Features.—A range of mountains, varying in height from 2000 ft. to about 3750 ft. on El Yunque See also:Peak in the See also:north-east corner, traverses the island from west to east and descends abruptly to the See also:sea at each end. The See also:south slope rises precipitously from the foothills; the north slope is more See also:gradual, but it is much broken by rugged spurs and deep See also:gorges. On the north there is little coastal See also:plain except at the mouths of See also:rivers, but on the south See also:coast there is a plain of considerable extent broken only by the remains of eroded foothills. The See also:water parting is about twice as far from the north coast as it is from the south coast, the See also:rain-fall is greater on the north slope, and the See also:principal rivers—Rio Loiza, Rio de la See also:Plata, Rio See also:Manati and Rio See also:Arecibo are on the north See also:side. There are eight other rivers on the same side, seventeen on the south side, six at the east end and four at the west end, besides more than I200 smaller streams, and the deep valleys cut by the streams add to the broken See also:surface of the See also:country. None of the rivers is navigable for more than a mile or two from the coast. The coast-See also:line has few indentations sufficient to afford safe harbour-See also:age. Under the same See also:jurisdiction as Porto Rico are the fertile island of Vieques (21 M. long and 6 m. wide) and the smaller and nearly barren island of See also:Culebra off the east coast, the island of See also:Mona, covered with deposits of See also:guano, off the west coast, and numerous islets.

See also:

Fauna.—The native fauna is scanty. The See also:agouti and the See also:armadillo are practically See also:extinct and the only other mammals are ground squirrels, rats, a few other small rodents, and some bats. A huge See also:land-turtle is See also:peculiar to the island. See also:Reptiles are scarce,and venomous reptiles unknown. Noxious See also:insects are less numerous than is usual in tropical cogntries. There are no large See also:game birds, but See also:song birds and doves are numerous on the mountains, and flamingoes and other water-birds frequent the coast. There are a few See also:species of fresh-water See also:fish, but See also:food-fishes are scarce both in the rivers and along the coast. See also:Flora.—The flora is beautiful and varied. The more rugged districts and higher elevations are clad with such tropical See also:forest trees as See also:ebony, See also:Spanish See also:cedar, See also:sandalwood, See also:rosewood and See also:mahogany. There are several species of palms, flowering trees, trees with beautifully coloured foliage, See also:tree ferns, resinous trees and trees bearing tropical fruits. There are about See also:thirty species of medicinal See also:plants, twelve used for condiments, and twelve for dyes and tanning. In the semi-arid districts on the south slope of the mountains the flora consists chiefly of dry See also:grasses, acacias, yuccas and cactuses.

See also:

Climate.—The climate is somewhat more healthy than that of the other West Indies. The temperature is moderated by the north-east See also:trade winds, which, somewhat modified by See also:local conditions, See also:blow throughout the See also:year, briskly during the See also:day and more mildly during the See also:night. It rarely reaches See also:loo° F. or falls below 50°, and the mean See also:annual temperature is about 8o° (75.2° in See also:January, 80.4° in See also:August). The mean daily variation at See also:San Juan is 11.5°; on the mountains the mean daily variation is 23°. The See also:average annual rainfall on the north-east coast, at the See also:foot of See also:emery See also:Walker re El Yunque See also:Mountain, is 120 in. or more, while other districts are semi-arid or subject to severe droughts. At San Juan the average annual rainfall is about 55 in.; nearly two-thirds of this falls from See also:June to See also:November inclusive. Most of the rain is in showers, frequently heavy; and on the windward slope showers are an almost daily occurrence. The island is visited occasionally by hurricanes. See also:Soil.—See also:Close to the coast the soil is for the most See also:part a See also:coral See also:sand. Farther inland in the level districts and See also:river bottoms it varies from a sandy to a See also:clay See also:loam containing much See also:alluvium. On the foothills and in the less rugged mountain districts there is a thin but rich clay soil derived from coral See also:limestone. See also:Industries.—A little more than one-fourth of the land is under cultivation and in 1899 more than three-fifths of the working See also:population were engaged in See also:agriculture.

There were over 39,000 farms, nearly all of them small, and the average number of acres cultivated on each was not more than fifteen. See also:

Sugar on the lowlands, See also:coffee on the upper, and See also:tobacco on the See also:lower mountain slopes are the principal crops. In 1909 there were 185,927 acres of sugar, yielding 244,257 tons for exportation, and valued at $18,432,446. The coffee plantations were greatly injured by a severe See also:hurricane which visited the island on the 8th of August 1899, but the yield for export increased from 12,157,240 lb in 1901 to 38,756,750 lb, valued at $4,693,004, in 1907. The acreage, however, decreased from 178,155 acres in 1906 to 155,778 acres in 1909, and in the latter year the See also:crop See also:fell to 28,489,263 lb. See also:Java coffee has been grown with success in Porto Rico. Tobacco of a See also:superior quality is grown extensively on the lower See also:northern slopes and much tobacco is now grown under See also:cloth. The See also:total acreage of tobacco increased from 12,871 acres in 1906 to 27,596 acres in 1909; the total value of the exported tobacco products increased from $681,642 in 1901 to $5,634,130 in 1909. See also:Cotton, See also:Indian See also:corn, sweet potatoes, yams and See also:rice are small crops. The culture of citrus fruits, principally oranges and See also:grape-See also:fruit, and of pineapples and coco-nuts has been rapidly extended. About 13,000 See also:head of See also:cattle were exported annually from 1901 to 1905, but much of the best grazing land has since been devoted to the cultivation of sugar-See also:cane. A project for irrigating the See also:district south of the mountains between See also:Ponce and Patillas was adopted by the Porto Rican See also:government in 1909.

The Federal government has an agricultural experiment station at See also:

Mayaguez. The See also:mineral resources are very limited. See also:Brick clay and See also:lime-See also:stone are abundant, and there are on the south coast a sand See also:marl rich in See also:phosphates and productive See also:salt deposits. See also:Iron ore, See also:lignite, See also:copper, See also:mercury, See also:molybdenite, See also:nickel, See also:platinum and other minerals have been found, but the quantity of each is too small, or the quality too poor, for them to be of commercial value. There are important mineral and thermal springs in various parts of the island. The only manufacturing industries of much importance are the preparation of sugar, coffee and tobacco for See also:market, and the manufacture of cigars, cigarettes, See also:straw hats, See also:soap, matches, See also:vermicelli, See also:sash, doors, See also:ice, distilled liquors and some machinery. Transport facilities are inadequate. The See also:American Railroad of Porto Rico, about 190 M. long, connects the principal cities along the north and west coasts and those as far east as Ponce on the south coast; a railway between Ponce and See also:Guayama, farther east, was virtually completed in 1910, and the See also:Vega Alta railroad connects Vega Alta with Dorado on the north coast; but there are no inland See also:railways and most of the products of the interior are carried to the coast in carts See also:drawn by bullocks or on the backs of mules. The mileage of See also:wagon roads was increased from about 170 M. in 1898 to 612 m. in 1909. The principal harbours are San Juan on the north and Ponce on the south coast; the former is accessible to vessels of about 30 ft. See also:draught, and the latter has a natural channel which admits vessels of 25 ft. draught. Two lines of steamboats afford See also:regular communication between San Juan and New See also:York; one of them runs to Venezuelan ports and one to New See also:Orleans; and there are lines to Cuba and See also:direct to See also:Spain. The See also:commerce of Porto Rico is principally with the United States.

The value of its exports to the United States increased from $5,581,288 in the fiscal year ending on the 30th of June 1901 to $26,998,542 in 1909, and the value of its imports from the United States increased during this See also:

period from $7,413,502 to $25,163,678. In the meantime the value of its exports to See also:foreign countries increased only from $3,002,679 to $4,565,598, and the value of its imports from foreign countries only from $1,952,728 to $3,054,318. Population.—The population increased from 583,308 in 186o to 798,565 in 1887, and to 953,243, or 277.5 per sq. m., in 1899. Of the total population in 1899, 589,426, or 61.8% were whites, 304,352 were of mixed See also:blood, 59,390 were negroes and 75 were See also:Chinese. In 1910 the See also:census returned the population as 1,128,012. The proportion of whites is greater at the west end than at the east end, greater on the north side than on the south side, and greater in the interior than along the coast. Only 13,872, or about 1.5% of the total population of 1899, were foreign-See also:born, and of these more than one-See also:half were born in Spain. The married portion of the population was only 16.6% in 1899. The principal towns, with the population of each in 1910, are: San Juan, 48,716; Ponce, 35,027; Mayaguez, 16,591; Arecibo, 9612. The See also:Roman See also:Catholic is the predominant See also:church and the bishopric of Porto Rico (1512) is one of the See also:oldest in the New See also:World. Government.—The constitution of Porto Rico is contained in an See also:act of the See also:Congress of the United States (the See also:Foraker Act) which came into operation in May 1900. The See also:governor is appointed by the See also:president of the United States with the See also:advice and consent of the See also:Senate for a See also:term of four years, and associated with the governor is an executive See also:council consisting of the secretary, treasurer, auditor, See also:attorney-See also:general, See also:commissioner of the interior, commissioner of See also:education, and five other members, all appointed in the same manner and for the same term as the governor.

The constitution requires that at least five of the eleven members of the Executive Council shall be native inhabitants of Porto Rico; in practice the six members who are also heads of the administrative departments have been Americans while the other five have been Porto Ricans. The insular government, however, has created a seventh administrative See also:

department—that of See also:health, charities and corrections—and requires that the head of this shall be chosen by the governor from among the five members of the Executive Council who are not heads of the other departments. The Executive Council constitutes one See also:branch of the legislative See also:assembly; the See also:House of Delegates the other. The House of Delegates consists of 35 members elected biennially, five from each of seven districts. The right to determine the electoral See also:franchise is vested in the legislature itself and that See also:body has conferred it upon practically all adult See also:males. The governor has the right to See also:veto any See also:bill, and for passing a bill over his veto an affirmative voteof two-thirds of the members of each house is required. All See also:laws enacted by the insular legislature must also be submitted to the Congress of the United States, which reserves the right to annul them. Railway, See also:street railway, See also:telegraph and See also:telephone franchises can be granted only by the Executive Council with the approval of the governor, and none can be operative until it has been approved by the President of the United States. The governor and Executive Council have the exclusive right to See also:grant all other franchises of a public or quasi-public nature and Congress reserves the right to annul or modify any such grant. The See also:administration of See also:justice is vested in a United States district See also:court and a supreme court, district courts, municipal courts and justice of the See also:peace courts of Porto Rico. The See also:judge of the United States district court and the See also:chief justice and See also:associate justices of the supreme court are appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate, and the See also:judges of the district courts by the governor with the consent of the Executive Council. The principal local government is that of the municipalities or municipal districts, but for the Spanish municipal government the insular legislature has substituted one resembling that of small towns in the United States, and it has reduced the number of districts from 66 to 47.

Each municipal district elects biennially a See also:

mayor and a municipal council, the membership of which varies from five to nine according to the population of the district. The mayor appoints practically all municipal employes and may veto any See also:ordinance of the council; his veto, however, may be overridden by two-thirds of the council. The See also:police force of each See also:municipality, or rather of each of 66 police districts, is maintained and controlled by the insular government; justice in each municipality is also administered by the insular government; the See also:building, See also:maintenance and repair of public roads are under the management of a See also:board of three road supervisors in each of the seven insular See also:election districts; and matters pertaining to education are for the most part under the insular commissioner of education and a school board of three members elected biennially in each municipality; nearly all other local affairs are within the jurisdiction of the mayor and municipal council. Education.—In 1899 more than three-fourths of the inhabitants ten years of age or over were unable to read or write, and when in the following year the See also:present See also:system of government was established large See also:powers were given to the commissioner of education. He controls the See also:expenditure of public See also:money for school purposes, the examination and the See also:appointment of teachers, whose nominations by the municipal school boards are referred to the commissioner. The school system comprises preparatory See also:schools, rural schools, graded schools, three high schools and the university of Porto Rico. The university at Rio Piedras was established by act of the insular legislature in 1903, but in 1910 only two departments had been organized—the insular normal school and the department of agriculture. Numerous scholarships have been established at government expense in Porto Rican schools and in colleges or See also:universities of the United States. The average daily attendance in the public schools increased from 47,277 in 1906–1907 to 74,522 in 1908–1909. Each municipality is required to pay to its school board 25% of its receipts from the general See also:property tax. See also:Finance.—Trade between Porto Rico and the United States is See also:free, but upon imports to Porto Rico from foreign countries the Federal government collects See also:custom duties and pays the See also:net proceeds to the insular government. Other principal See also:sources of income are See also:excise taxes, a general property tax, an See also:inheritance tax. and a tax on See also:insurance premiums.

For the fiscal year ending June 1909 the net income of the insular government was $3,180,111.75 and the net bonded indebtedness was $3,759,231.22. See also:

History.—On his second voyage See also:Columbus sighted the island, to which he gave the name San Juan Bautista, and remained in its vicinity from the 17th to the 22nd of November 1493. In 15o8 See also:Nicolas de Ovando, governor of Hispaniola (Haiti) rewarded the services of Juan Ponce de See also:Leon, one of Columbus's companions in 1493, by permitting him to explore the island, then called by the natives " Borinquen," and See also:search for its reputed deposits of See also:gold. Ponce's hospitable reception by the native chief, Aquebana or Guaybana, and his fairly profitable search for the See also:precious See also:metal led See also:King See also:Ferdinand in 1509 to give him an appointment as temporary governor of the island, where his companions had already established the See also:settlement of Caparra (See also:Pueblo Viejo, near the present San Juan). In 1510 the king through Ovando's See also:influence made this See also:commission permanent. Meanwhile Ferdinand had also restored to Diego Columbus, son of the discoverer, the privileges of his See also:father, including the See also:control of the islands of Haiti and Porto Rico. The new See also:admiral removed Ponce and appointed Juan Cer6n to administer the affairs of Porto Rico. The quarrels between these two leaders disturbed the affairs of the island for the next two years, but in the end Ponce was forced to yield the See also:political control to the representatives of Columbus. While Ponce was exploring See also:Florida in 1513 the conquerors of Porto Rico had established their domination in the upper western portion of the island by a See also:series of settlements. The ruthless methods by which the Spaniards forced the natives to labour for them caused a See also:change in the attitude of the erstwhile friendly Borinquenos. Both Ponce and his rivals had introduced the system of repartimientos established by Columbus in Haiti. A preliminary See also:distribution of 1o6o natives in 1509—1510 was the direct pre-See also:cursor of the See also:rebellion of the natives in 1511.

For a See also:

time the Borinquenos, aided by Caribs from the neighbouring islands, threatened to destroy all vestiges of See also:white occupation in Porto Rico, but in the end the Spaniards prevailed. Immediately after this rebellion a second distribution of more than 4000 natives foreshadowed the rapid disappearance of those unfortunates, despite the well-meaning regulations of the Council of the Indies. For some decades the inevitable extermination was postponed by the fact that the Spaniards were not numerous enough to occupy the See also:southern and eastern portions of the island. Here a remnant of the Borinquenos, assisted by the Caribs, maintained a severe struggle with the conquerors, but in the end their Indian See also:allies were subdued by See also:English and See also:French corsairs, and the unfortunate natives of Porto Rico were See also:left alone to experience the full effect of forced labour, disastrous hurricanes, natural plagues and new diseases introduced by the conquerors. By 1520 philanthropic churchmen directed their See also:attention to the miserable conditions of the natives; but remedial legislation was largely nullified by the rapacity of subordinate officials, and before the end of the 16th See also:century the natives disappeared as a distinct See also:race. To replace the natives as a labour See also:element and also to preserve them from extermination See also:African See also:slavery was See also:early permitted, and by 1J30 there were over 1500 See also:negro slaves in Porto Rico. Although the extravagant prices paid at first almost ruined the planters, the See also:traffic continued to flourish in hands of foreign concessionaires until 1820, when through English influence it was abandoned. At this period negroes were an important element of the population, but by no means the most numerous one. At no period of its history has Porto Rico enjoyed See also:great prosperity. Besides the causes already indicated the evil See also:character of many of the white settlers conspired to retard its development. In 1515 its See also:European population may have been 400. Until 1782 the island was divided into the eastern district of Puerto Rico and the western one of San See also:German.

In 1513 the arrival of its first See also:

bishop, who later also exercised the See also:function of general inquisitor, added one more to the discordant elements ruling the island. About 1520 Caparra was abandoned for a more healthy site, and the See also:city of San Juan de Puerto Rico was founded as the See also:capital of the eastern district. In time Puerto Rico became the name of the whole island. In 1536 legislation for changing the method of general government and regulating See also:common pasturages and public property caused extreme dissatisfaction, but for many years thereafter the See also:form of control alternated between alcaldes selected by the inhabitants and annual See also:governors appointed by the Council of the Indies. To the difficulties caused by disaster, depopulation and maladministration there was added the danger of foreign invasion when See also:war See also:broke out in See also:Europe between See also:Francis I. of See also:France and the See also:emperor See also:Charles V. In 1528 San German was plundered by a French See also:corsair and twenty-six years later utterly destroyed. In 1533 the See also:fortaleza, now the governor's See also:palace, was begun at San Juan, and in 1539—1584 Morro See also:Castle was erected at the entrance of the harbour. Possibly these slight fortifications preserved the capital from the destruction which overwhelmed all the other settlements; but these See also:measures for See also:defence were due more to the See also:loyalty of the inhabitants than to the efforts of the See also:home government, which at this time remained indifferent to appeals for help from the island. In 1595 San Juan was unsuccessfully attacked by an English See also:fleet under See also:Sir Francis See also:Drake; two years later another English force, led by Sir See also:George See also:Cumberland, occupied the city for some See also:weeks. The city was attacked in 1625 by a Dutch fleet, which was easily repulsed. The See also:buccaneers or filibusters, who during the 17th century were drawn to the West Indies by the prospect of plundering the possessions of decadent Spain, often invaded Porto Rico, but that island escaped the See also:conquest which Haiti experienced. The English attacked the island in 1678, 1702, 1703 and 1743; and in 1797 an English force attempted to reduce San Juan, but was repulsed by the strong fortifications vigorously manned by See also:resident See also:volunteers.

After this event the city was permitted to add the words " very See also:

noble and very loyal " to its coat of arms. Porto Rico was comparatively unaffected by the great Spanish-American uprising of the early 19th century. During the struggle of Spain against See also:Napoleon, the island, in common with the other American dominions, was represented in the Spanish See also:Cortes and had its first legislative assembly. Trade with the United States was permitted in 1815, although only in Spanish See also:ships. The island suffered from the reactionary policy of Ferdinand VII., but the few sporadic attempts at revolution between 1815 and 1820 were readily suppressed. Columbian insurgents made ineffectual attempts to invade the island during 1819—29. Governor See also:Miguel de la Torre, who ruled the island with See also:vice-See also:regal powers during the second period of Ferdinand's See also:absolutism, sternly repressed all attempts at liberalism, and made the island the resort for loyal refugees from the Spanish mainland. This policy, coupled with certain administrative and See also:revenue reforms, and some private attempts in behalf of public education, made the last seven years of his See also:rule, from 1827 to 1834, the most prosperous in the Spanish regime. The unsettled political See also:condition of Spain during the next See also:forty years was reflected in the disturbed political conditions of Porto Rico and Cuba. The See also:suffrage was restricted, the See also:Press was placed under a strict censorship, and the right of public assemblage was unknown. Economically the island in 1868 was in a much worse condition than thirty years before. The Revolution of 1868 in Spain promised such salutary changes for the Antilles as the introduction of political parties, the restoration of See also:representation in the Spanish Cortes, and the enfranchisement of the slaves; but the imprudent " Insurrection of See also:Lares," and other outbreaks of 1867—68, delayed these anticipated reforms.

The reactionaries feared separation from the See also:

mother country. Under the See also:short-lived republican government in Spain Porto Rico was in 1870—1874 a See also:province with a provincial deputation, and in 1873 slavery was abolished. After the restoration of the See also:monarchy under See also:Alphonso XII. there was some improvement in the commerce of the island, but politically it displayed all the evils of an obsolete system of administration disturbed by a premature liberalism. In 1877 the provincial deputation was re-established, but it was not until 1895 that the home government attempted, far too See also:late, to enact a series of adequate reform measures, and in November 1897 followed this by a grant of See also:autonomy. When in See also:April 1898 war broke out between Spain and the United States the former strongly garrisoned the island, but the fortifications of the capital were largely of the massive stone construction that had repelled See also:Abercrombie a century before, most of the See also:artillery was of an obsolete See also:pattern and the few cruisers in the harbour were antiquated in type. The American invasion of the island occurred in See also:July. On the 25th of that See also:month, while a few vessels made a demonstration before San Juan, the See also:main American fleet was landing some 3400 troops under General See also:Nelson A. See also:Miles at Guanica, a small See also:town on the squthern See also:shore, some 15 M. west of Ponce. Three days later the latter town surrendered, amid demonstrations of joy on the part of the inhabitants. The See also:people seemed to regard the American See also:flag as the See also:harbinger of a new era. General Miles's policy in affording employment for the natives likewise served to make the new American regime acceptable. Meanwhile the Spanish governor-general, See also:Manuel Macias y Casado, had ordered the forces under his command in the south-ern part of the island to fall back towards the See also:ridge of mountains intersecting it from east to west, just north of the town of Coamo.

Reinforcements were also brought up from San Juan and preparations made to resist an attack by the Americans, despite the current rumours of approaching peace. On their part the American forces, now numbering about io,000 men, prepared to advance by See also:

separate routes across the island in four columns. Guayama, Mayaguez and Coamo were occupied; one portion of the See also:army was within 20 M. of the northern coast and another had advanced along the main military road nearly to See also:Aibonito, when the See also:signing of the peace See also:protocol on the 12th of August caused an immediate suspension of hostilities. The advance of the Americans had been rapid and decisive, with a small loss of See also:life—three killed and forty wounded—due to the skill with which the military manceuvres were planned and executed and the cordial welcome given the invaders by the inhabitants. By November the Spaniards had evacuated the greater part of the island; after See also:Captain General Macias em-barked for Spain, General See also:Ricardo Ortega was governor from the 16th to the 18th of See also:October, when the island was turned over to the American forces. In the See also:work of policing the island, in the accompanying tasks of sanitation, construction of high-ways and other public See also:works, accounting for the expenditure of public funds, and in establishing a system of public education, the military control, which under the successive direction of Generals See also:John R. See also:Brooke, See also:Guy V. See also:Henry and George W. See also:Davis, lasted until the 1st of May 1900, proved most effective in bridging over the period of See also:transfer from the repressive control of Spain to the semi-paternal system under the American See also:civil government. But it was hardly adapted to See also:teach a people utterly without political experience the essential elements of self-government. To meet this problem the Congress of the United States passed the " Foraker Act, " under which civil government was instituted, and which, with certain modifications is still in force (see ADMINISTRATION). Under this act the American element has exercised the controlling See also:power, and this has proved distasteful to certain Porto Rican politicians.

On the 8th of August 1899 the island was visited by the most destructive See also:

cyclone in its history, causing a loss of about 3500 lives and a property damage amounting to 36,000,000 pesos, the coffee See also:industry suffering most. This calamity afforded the American people an opportunity to display their generosity toward their new See also:colony. Charles H. See also:Allen became the first civil governor in May 1900; he was succeeded in August 1901 by See also:William H. See also:Hunt, who served until July 1904; Beekman See also:Winthrop was governor in 1904–1907 and Regis H. See also:Post from April 1907 until November 1909, when he was succeeded by George R. Colton. The island now has free trade with the United States, and receives into its general revenue fund all customs duties and See also:internal taxes collected in the island. Its political leaders in the House of Delegates are restive under the control exercised by the Executive Council, but an See also:attempt to hold up necessary appropriations resulted in the passage in July 1909 of an act continuing the appropriations of the previous year, whenever for any cause the lower house fails to pass the necessary See also:financial legislation. In 1910 the coffee industry. had not yet recovered from the effect of the cyclone of 1899 and the unfortunate See also:mortgage system that prevailed under the Spanish regime. The fact that its product is shut out of its natural markets, without gaining that of the United States, is also a great See also:handicap. The civic status of the people is still unsettled, but there has been under American rule a notable advance in the well-being of the island.

End of Article: PORTO RICO, or PUERTO

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