Puerto Rico is among the few remaining colonies in the world. It can also be considered among the oldest, having at one time or another been under military occupation dating back to 1508. (Schimmer) Puerto Rico spent a lot of its past being under the rule of Spain but was aided by the United States in 1898. Although intimidated by the Americans, the Puerto Rican natives remained hopeful that the United States would help bring about great change in the colony. Hoping that the Americans could help mold the colony in the ways of democracy and freedom, the natives welcomed the United States, apprehensive at first but welcomed them nonetheless. It seems that from the very beginning the Americans had no faith in the fact that Puerto Rico could
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The United States did not feel that Puerto Rico was worthy since they were descendents of the inferior Spanish they had just defeated. Although the United States said that its mission was to help bring civilization and democracy to Puerto Rico, it had a very hypocritical way in doing so. The economic effects on Puerto Rico as a result of the American colonization were adverse. In order to comprehend the effects of the American colonization on the Puerto Rican economy, it is prudent to focus on its agricultural sector and particularly on coffee and sugarcane as its primary agricultural produce, before colonization in the year 1898, coffee was the main cash crop in this region. Their coffee was top graded in the European countries due to its unique flavor and quality. Coffee was one of the major revenue earners for Puerto Rico but started experiencing a decline due to three main factors. The first factor is the general scarcity of workers to work in coffee farms. After the modernization of farming in Puerto Rico under the Operation Bootstrap initiated by Governor Munoz Marin much development, was experienced (Negrón-Muntaner and Grosfoguel 63). This led to the stigmatization of the coffee cultivation by regular Puerto Ricans after becoming more affluent and educated in turn affecting the number of workers ready to work in coffee plantations. The depression experienced in the 1930’s also led to the decline of coffee in the island. The depression affected the marketability of the product in various markets. The consumer purchasing power was also affected which translated to reduced prices for the product (Collins, Bosworth, and Soto-Class 87). The third reason for the decline was the poor access to export markets by the Puerto Rico farmers. Due to the nature of the territorial agreement with the United States, many
The United States did not feel that Puerto Rico was worthy since they were descendents of the inferior Spanish they had just defeated. Although the United States said that its mission was to help bring civilization and democracy to Puerto Rico, it had a very hypocritical way in doing so. The economic effects on Puerto Rico as a result of the American colonization were adverse. In order to comprehend the effects of the American colonization on the Puerto Rican economy, it is prudent to focus on its agricultural sector and particularly on coffee and sugarcane as its primary agricultural produce, before colonization in the year 1898, coffee was the main cash crop in this region. Their coffee was top graded in the European countries due to its unique flavor and quality. Coffee was one of the major revenue earners for Puerto Rico but started experiencing a decline due to three main factors. The first factor is the general scarcity of workers to work in coffee farms. After the modernization of farming in Puerto Rico under the Operation Bootstrap initiated by Governor Munoz Marin much development, was experienced (Negrón-Muntaner and Grosfoguel 63). This led to the stigmatization of the coffee cultivation by regular Puerto Ricans after becoming more affluent and educated in turn affecting the number of workers ready to work in coffee plantations. The depression experienced in the 1930’s also led to the decline of coffee in the island. The depression affected the marketability of the product in various markets. The consumer purchasing power was also affected which translated to reduced prices for the product (Collins, Bosworth, and Soto-Class 87). The third reason for the decline was the poor access to export markets by the Puerto Rico farmers. Due to the nature of the territorial agreement with the United States, many