The Racial Struggles of Puerto Ricans Essay -- Race Racial Culture Ess

The Racial Struggles of Puerto RicansAnother large component of Puerto Ricanness is Race. All of the different cultures that have throughout history combined to bring Puerto Rico effect their nationality, history, lifestyles, traditions, music, and foods. The discovery or infiltration of the island of Borinquen (or Puerto Rico as it was later renamed) in 1493 by Spain resulted in the decimation of the native Taino population. With the loss of an immediate ancestor of cheap labor to work the fields for their colewort cane industry, they introduced African culture into the region by importing slaves to replace the Taino field workers. In appendage to the introduction of African culture into Puerto Rico voluntary immigration brought further divergence from the native population of the island through the influx of foreigners of European descent. The prosperous sugar and coffee industries during the Spanish rule attracted foreigners seeking economic prosperity from area such as France , Italy, Spain (primarily Corsica and Mallorca) and other areas in Europe. The arrival of the foreigners resulted in the whitening (Gonzalez) of the racial mixture of the islands inhabitants. Through the Spanish colonial era briefly describe above, it is evident that Puerto Rican society was a very culturally diverse island. notwithstanding this there has always been heavy emphasis placed on the whiteness of the society by the white elite that dominate the island. Jos Luis Gonzlez wrote a controversial bind titled Puerto Rico The Four-Storeyed Country in which he expressed his view that Puerto Rican society was not predominately white but rather black because of the thousand of slaves that were taken to the island to work on Sugar plantations. Gonz... ...aven, 1997)Guerra, Lilian. Popular Expressions and National Identity in Puerto Rico The Struggle For Self, Community, and Nation. (University Press of Florida Gainesville, 1998) Dietz, James. Economic History of Puerto Rico. (Pr inceton University Press Princeton,1986)Glasser, Ruth. My Music is My swag Puerto Rican Musicians and the New York Communities. (University of California Press, Berkaley 1995)Scarano, Franciso. Sugar and Slavery in Puerto Rico, 1815-1849 An Overview from Scarano, Sugar and Slavery in Puerto Rico The Plantation Economy of Ponce, 1800-1850. (Madison U. of Wisconsin Press, 1984), 3-34.Morris, Nancy. Culture, Politics, and Identity. (Wetsport Praeger, 1995)Ferre, Rosario. The House on the Lagoon. (New York Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1995)Lopez, Tania. Personal weather vane Page http//frontpage/tlopez