Puerto Rico Quotes

“While there was much debate about possible next steps, Washington reached a consensus that Puerto Ricans were not fit to rule themselves. They needed to be civilized, enlightened, and educated.”
― Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, Puerto Rico: A National History

“As Lanny Thompson noted, “Hawai’i was the only territory to be incorporated into the United States and eventually (1959) to be admitted as a state.” Meanwhile, Puerto Rico and the Philippines “were not incorporated; rather they belonged to, but were not part of, the body politic of the [U.S.] republic,” while “a military government was established and maintained” in Guam.”
― Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, Puerto Rico: A National History

“One such criollo was Ramón Emeterio Betances. His mother had died when he was ten years old and his father, a wealthy plantation owner from the western town of Cabo Rojo, sent his son to study in France in the custody of family friends, a connection that was made possible through his Freemason contacts. Betances received his primary education in Toulouse, later making his way to Paris to study medicine as the city was shaken by the 1848 revolutions.”
― Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, Puerto Rico: A National History