T H E W O R L D ' S O L D E S T C O L O N Y

On November 19, 1493, during his second voyage, Christopher Columbus arrived in Puerto Rico That is, he landed on the island called Borikén ("the land of the valiant lord") by the indigenous Taíno culture that largely dominated the land, which was later renamed Puerto Rico

Soon after, Puerto Rico became a Spanish colony and remained under Spanish rule for over 400 years In 1809 the first declarations of independence from Spanish rule occurred, and by the end of the 1800s, Spain had lost all of its New World colonies except Cuba and Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is the only territory that never gained its independence It was not until November 25, 1897 that Spain granted Puerto Rico self-rule However, this autonomy was short lived, on 25 July 1898, American troops invaded and raised the U S flag over the island, formalizing U S authority over its one million inhabitants

SpanishOriginal I

¡Despierta,borinqueño quehandadolaseñal!

¡Despiertadeesesueño queeshoradeluchar!

Aesellamarpatriótico ¿noardetucorazón?

¡Ven!Nosserásimpático elruidodelcañón.

III Nosotrosqueremos lalibertad, ynuestromachete nosladará.

Vámonos,borinqueños, vámonosya, quenosesperaansiosa, ansiosalalibertad.

�� ¡Lalibertad, lalibertad! lalibertad!