Race and Population Make up
Puerto Rico is probably one of the most diverse ethnic make up in the Caribbean. This is because of the number of racial communities that migrated to the island in the early 18th century.
A number of Chinese, Corsican, Lebanese, French and Portuguese got to Puerto Rico during the 1800s together with immigrants from Spain especially those people from Asturias, Galicia, Catalonia, Andalusia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands. People from other nations settled as well including Germans, Scots, Italians and the Irish. Thousands of other settlers went to live in the island after they have been granted land by Spain during the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 that allowed European Catholics a certain amount of land.
The population grew from a hundred thousand to almost a million due to the mass immigration in the 19th century. Recently, over 100,000 immigrants made Puerto Rico as their permanent home arriving from Latin America and Spain.
Language
The official primary language of Puerto Ricans is Spanish, with English being secondary. The language of Puerto Rico particularly is a variation from the Spanish spoken in other Spanish-speaking countries, perhaps mainly because of the influences that the ancestral languages have infused into it such as the languages of the Africans and the Taínos.
Religion
The dominant religion in Puerto Rico is Roman Catholic and this has been true throughout history. As a matter of fact, the first dioceses in the Americas were established in 1511 in Puerto Rico.
Every municipality in Puerto Rico has at least 1 church located in the town plaza. Protestantism, which was discouraged by the Spaniards was eventually embraced by Puerto Ricans under the American rule.
Religious practices of the Taino were reinvented and different African traditional religious practices also became present. Moreover, Puerto Rico also became a home for the largest Jewish community in the Caribbean islands with about 3,000 Jewish inhabiting the region.
Traveling to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is truly a paradise. With its crystal-blue waters, coffee plantations and breathtaking rainforests, Puerto Rico is no wonder a dream vacation spot for most people all over the world.
But Puerto Rico has become a common vacation spot not only because of its beautiful scenery but also because of the rich culture the island holds.
If you are planning to travel to Puerto Rico, make sure that you have everything planned out so that your trip will go on smoothly. Know what you want to get out of your Puerto Rican trip. Do your homework first and make a research about Puerto Rico so that you can properly plan your itinerary.
