Timeline: Puerto Rico

Taíno Civilization (22) Spanish Colonial Period (57) U.S. Military Government (17) Early U.S. Colonial Period (67) Commonwealth Era (113) PROMESA and Fiscal Control (120)
All Colonial Extraction Legal Oppression Cultural Suppression Environmental Violence Contemporary Colonialism Resistance

Taíno Civilization (3000 BCE – 1493)

The indigenous Taíno people inhabited Borinquen for thousands of years before European contact, developing a complex society with agriculture, governance, and spiritual practices.

2 events

~50M years ago Notable Environmental Violence Cultural Suppression

Puerto Rico's Karst Country: Geological Heritage Under Threat

Puerto Rico's northern karst region — a landscape of limestone mogotes (haystack hills), sinkholes, caves, and underground rivers covering approximately 28% of the island — is one of the most significant tropical karst formations in the world, providing critical aquifer recharge and harboring unique biodiversity, yet faces threats from quarrying, development, and insufficient legal protection.

Sources: 2

3000 BCE Notable Environmental Violence Cultural Suppression

Mona Island: The Galápagos of the Caribbean

Mona Island — a 22-square-mile uninhabited island between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola — is one of the most ecologically significant and archaeologically rich sites in the Caribbean. Home to endemic species, massive cave systems with Taíno petroglyphs, and a history spanning from pre-Columbian settlement to pirate hideouts to guano mining.

Sources: 2

Spanish Colonial Period →