U.S. Military Invasion of Puerto Rico

On July 25, 1898, U.S. troops under General Nelson A. Miles landed at Guánica on Puerto Rico's southern coast during the Spanish-American War. The invasion came just 10 months after Spain had granted Puerto Rico an Autonomous Charter (Carta Autonómica) that gave the island its own parliament, cabinet, and the right to negotiate trade agreements — rights that the United States would not restore for over a century.

General Miles proclaimed: "We have not come to make war upon the people of a country that for centuries has been oppressed, but to bring you protection — to promote your prosperity, and to bestow upon you the immunities and blessings of the liberal institutions of our government."

The reality was starkly different. The U.S. military government (1898-1900):
- Dissolved Puerto Rico's autonomous government
- Replaced Puerto Rican officials with U.S. military officers
- Imposed English as the official language of courts and government
- Devalued Puerto Rican currency, devastating the local economy
- Facilitated the takeover of sugar plantations by U.S. corporations

The invasion transformed Puerto Rico from a nascent autonomous territory under Spain into an unincorporated territory of the United States — a colonial status that persists today.