The Puerto Rican Identity Iris Freeman ANT 101 Dr. June Maul September, 14, 2008 The Puerto Rican Identity Who are they? Then came the Spaniards and Africans Wars and more mixing The French and English came to the Island Although the population begins to grow and small towns are recognized, The Tainos had almost vanished. The Melting Pot Independence On April 19, 1898, the United States declares war on Spain. On October Puerto Rico’s autonomy was short lived, and by September 1898, “The Autonomic Charter Puerto Rico's elites had negotiated from Spain was virtually dismantled.” (Caban, 1999) American Rule Mixed Loyalties Population Split Where and Who are They Now? I, the author, live in the Bronx, New York and was able to speak to a few people from Puerto Rico and of Puerto Rican descent. I questioned six people of Puerto Rican descent and four people who were born in Puerto Rico and came to New York as an adult: Ten people in all. The questions I asked were: Q. What race do you consider yourself? Q. What is your primary language? A. Two born in New York said “I only speak English”, three others also born in New York said “I speak Spanish at home and English when I am out”, one born in New York said “Spainglish”, and all four people born in Puerto Rico said “Spanish”. Q. What is you nationality? A. To my surprise two born in Puerto Rico said “American”, five, Born in New York said “Puerto Rican-American” and the remaining three said “Puerto Rican” A growing literature suggests that stronger ethnic identity is associated with higher levels of self-esteem among Hispanic Americans. However, most studies employ a panethnic "Hispanic" category or focus on one ethnic group, leaving open the question of how different Hispanic groups compare in this association”(Cislo 2008). This is especially true for Puerto Ricans because, they have no Country, just an island. Puerto Rico New York Conclusion