The People

The people of Puerto Rico represent a cultural and racial mix. During the early 18th century, the Spaniards took Taino Indian women as brides in order to populate the island. Later on as labor was needed to maintain crops and build roads, African slaves were brought in. Futher endogamy was followed by the flux of Chinese immigrants, and continued with the arrival of Italians, French, German, and even Lebanese people. American expatriates came to the island after 1898 and added to the cultural mix.

Long after Spain had lost control of Puerto Rico, Spanish immigrants continued to arrive on the island. This historic intermingling has resulted in a contemporary Puerto Rico practically without racial problems.