7 ATLASES
History of Puerto Rico in maps
Puerto Rico as it appears in 7 interactive history atlases, from 1750 to 2015: Puerto Rico. Each era below lists who ruled the land and when control changed, linked to the dated map that shows it.
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Free printable Feminism and the Tunisian Revolution study guide, sent by email ↓
What was Puerto Rico before it was Puerto Rico? The sections below follow this land through every era covered by the Maps of History atlases: who ruled it, what it was called, and when control changed. Each line links to the dated map. Modern borders serve as an approximation, as each atlas says on the map itself.
Puerto Rico · Industrial Revolution
| Colony or dependency — the opening position |
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Puerto Rico · Age of Revolutions
| Colonial possessions — the opening position |
AGE OF REVOLUTIONS: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Puerto Rico · Haiti and Kenya independence
Puerto Rico grew sugar under Spanish rule, though on a smaller scale than Cuba. During the wars of Spanish American independence it remained loyal to Spain, and its leaders shared Cuban leaders’ fear that Haiti’s example would spread. Slavery was abolished in 1873. The island passed to the United States in 1898 and remains a commonwealth under its flag.
| Under colonial rule — the opening position |
HAITI AND KENYA INDEPENDENCE: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Spanish Puerto Rico · American Civil War
| Neighbors & the outside world — the opening position |
AMERICAN CIVIL WAR: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Puerto Rico · WWI
| The Entente & Allies — the opening position | |
| The Entente & Allies |
Puerto Rico · Cold War
| NATO & core Western allies — the opening position |
COLD WAR: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Puerto Rico (US territory) · Feminism and the Tunisian Revolution
Puerto Rico, a US territory, was the site of the first large-scale tests of the contraceptive pill in 1956. A 1965 government survey found that about a third of ever-married women aged 20 to 49 had been sterilized; the practice was common enough to be called la operación. In 1974 Puerto Rican activists, including Dr Helen Rodríguez-Trías, founded the Committee to End Sterilization Abuse in New York.
| Right won in law — the opening position | |
| No reform yet / outside this story | |
| Partial or unequal; treaty signed only; transition |
FEMINISM AND THE TUNISIAN REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
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