Cultural Connections in Puerto Rico

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Cultural Connections in Puerto Rico

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         Puerto Rican culture is typically associated with the Spanish Europeans, which isn't terribly shocking considering the legacy of Spanish colonialism. What is less known however, is that Puerto Rican culture did not start with the Spanish. When the Spaniards colonized Puerto Rico centuries ago, they did so over the backs of the little known Taíno. In fact, according to the Smithsonian, “Across the Caribbean, in Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Haiti, you can find indigenous influences: herbal traditions, local spiritual or religious traditions, memories associated with the landscape, traditional agricultural crops and farming methods, home-building techniques, crafts like basketry and fishing nets, and Taíno words.” Additionally the Smithsonian adds, " Many words today, especially in the Spanish Caribbean, reflect Taíno influence, including the names “Cuba,” “Haiti,” and everyday vocabulary like “barbeque,” “canoe,” and “hurricane.”"  (Sm...
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Reflections.

 I am currently writing this as an assignment reflecting on the status of the blog right now. The goal of this particular assignment is to assess whether or not the blog is keeping up to par with the expectations of the course work. One question posed from this assignment is whether or not this blog meets all the rubric criteria. As it stands, I think this has been mostly  satisfied, though I have been dinged before for not adding pictures to these blogs on a consistent basis, much to my chagrin. The next question asks if any portions of the writing assignments have been confusing or have caused stress of any kind. I would say no to stress  though I have questioned the wisdom of some aspects of the rubric. In a sense, this could be a type of confusion. However, I am not the professor and/or school management and therefore my own opinion on the subject is quite irrelevant.  The question after that interrogates as to whether or not I have been putting my best effort in...
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Introduction to Research Paper

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 For this research paper, my focus is on Puerto Rico. More specifically, how the Jones Act (otherwise known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920) has and still impacts Puerto Rico to this day. What the Jones Act does is enforces all sea shipping within the United States to be done only with United States ships. On the surface, one may not take issue with this. However, Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, and yet cannot vote to change this law. This can make Puerto Ricans seem like second-class citizens. The intended purpose behind the Jones Act was for the United States to always have a homegrown shipping industry. This became an issue in the later stages of World War I, under president Woodrow Wilson. This was considered a national security concern. To this day, the United States shipping industry is weak and isn't taken seriously internationally. In times of actual naval conflict, it is common for the Jones Act to receive waivers because of the lack of Jones Act compla...
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