Compare And Contrast Puerto Rico American Imperialism

In the late 1800’s and 1900’s America began taking control of smaller nations and territories. This action is called imperialism. America practiced imperialism because of its needs for raw materials and markets, nationalism, and to gain access to different ports for their navy. Among the places taken under American control was the Latin American territory and former Spanish colony of Puerto Rico. America’s imperialism politically striped Puerto Rico of its right to self-govern and control its own affairs, which greatly upset the Puerto Rican people. Now, Puerto Rico is a U.S. commonwealth yet it is still limited in its Political abilities. America claimed total control of Puerto Rico on October 18 of 1898 during the Spanish- American War.