Puerto Rico Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Puerto Rico - Essay Example San Juan (Wikipedia, 2006) is the capital city, and it is located on the north coast. Along the years, manufacturing has replaced agriculture as the main industry. A significant component of the economy is tourism. Spanish and English are the official languages. A small minority use English as a primary language, but the large majority living in metropolitan areas are bilingual. Most of Puerto Ricans are Roman Catholics. As of 2002, the literacy rate of the population was 94.1%. According to the Wikipedia (2006), "Puerto Rican athletes have won 6 medals (1 silver, 5 bronze) in Olympic competition, the first one in 1948 by boxer Juan Evangelista Venegas. Although boxing, basketball, and baseball are popular, traditionally baseball has been the most popular sport." During the Pre-Colombian Era (Wikipedia, 2006), Puerto Rico was first inhabited by the Arcaico, the Igneri, the Carib and the Tano Indians. As time passed, the Tanos became the dominant inhabitants of the island around 1000 AD. They maintained this dominant presence until the arrival of the Spaniards in 1493. The Tanos were Arawak Indians, and they called the island "Borikn". Some people say that it was discovered by Martn Alonzo Pinzn in 1492 when he separated from Christopher Columbus in order to explore on his own. Columbus came to the island on November 19, 1943, during his second voyage to the Antilles.