When was independence achieved in Puerto Rico?

Answer 1

Puerto Rico hasn't achieved independence yet, nor does it appear be something that will happen in the near future. It has not been an independent nation since Columbus discovered the island in 1493. At this point it became a Spanish possession. In the late 1890s Puerto Rico had just achieved autonomy from Spain, but then it was ceded to the US at the end of the Spanish American War in 1898. Puerto Rico remains a territory of the United States to this day.

The first part of a two-stage plebiscite (vote for political status) is set to occur on the first Tuesday in November 2012. The question on the ballot is to either to leave the status of the island as it is (Commonwealth Territory of the US under the Territorial clause of the US Constitution) or to seek another political status. Should the people of Puerto Rico vote to seek another status, then a second stage election would be held February 2013 where the question would be: Independence, Compact of Free Association (like The Marshall Islands), or Statehood.

Any choice selected by the Puerto Rican people will have to be accepted by the Puerto Rican legislature and tuned into a petition to the US Congress where they must vote to accept the petition (whatever it is) and then the President of the US must sign the Congressional acceptance into law before Puerto Rico's Political Status can change.

In any case, Puerto Ricans have chosen to remain a territory of the US (Status Quo) during the last three plebiscites. Current polls show that this streak is likely to continue.

Answer 2

Puerto Rico is a US Territory and for 400 years it was Spanish Colony. Spain ceded it to the US in 1898.