It all started in about 1000 BCE when hunter gatherers, better known as the Arawaks, settled in Puerto Rico. The Arawaks called Puerto Rico Borinquen and they developed Taíno culture. By the 15th century, 20,000-50,000 Arawaks lived in Puerto Rico. On November 19, 1493, Columbus came to Borinquen and renamed it San Juan Bautista, or Saint John the Baptist which was neglected except for a few visits by supply ships until 1508 when Juan Ponce de León was granted permission to visit the land. Ponce de León found the island’s first town called Caparra.‌ In 1521, Caparra was moved to the northern end of the island and named San Juan, or Rich Port, and the whole island was now called Puerto Rico. This was when Spain realized that Puerto Rico was “strategically important,” so they converted San Juan into a military outpost by granting the town financial assistance from Mexican mines. Around the 18th century, Spain’s Bourbon rulers wanted the ability to trade, so it could stimulate agricultural production, and to integrate military units with Puerto Rico, this helped Puerto Rico get out of a financial drain and helped increase population from roughly 45,000 in 1765 to 155,000 in 1800. Puerto Rico had 2 short periods of political freedom; in 1809-1814, Ramón Power y Giralt represented the island and in 1820-1823, Demetrio O’Daly represented the island. But when the periods ended a small group called the Gritos de Lares wanted independence. As a result in 1870-1874, the Spanish government allowed Puerto Rico another period of political freedom. In 1897, the Autonomy Party was formed, so self-government was overseen by a governor general as a representative of the Spanish King. But in 1898, the Spanish-American war began. The Spanish-American war permitted the US to take Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, this would prevent Puerto Rico from putting effort into self-government. The US wanted Puerto Rico mostly because it was viewed as a profitable site for tropical agriculture but mainly to secure coaling stations for the warships. On October 18, 1898, Gen. John R. Brooke became Military Gov. of Puerto Rico. It wasn’t until 1952 when Puerto Rico was granted commonwealth status and recognized as a self-governing US territory. Today, the people of Puerto Rico are ethnically mixed because of centuries of immigration and cultural integration.