POPULATION:
2,750,000

LITERACY RATE:
91%
SELF DEFENSE FORCES:
 United States Military
LANGUAGES:
 Spanish(official), English,
ETHNIC GROUPS:
white (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 10.9%
BORDERING COUNTRIES:
Island nation
Puerto Rico - Puerto Rico's history is long and confusing.  When the Spaniards arrived on the island, they waited nearly 300 years before they bothered to try and record the islands history.  By that time the native population, the Tainos, had been pretty much completely lost through interbreeding, forced labor, and disease brought by the European invaders, leaving the island dominantly populated by the mixed blood Mestizos.  The only thing that remains of the Taino today are archaeological relics and recreated villages for tourists, though a great many Puerto Ricans claim Taino heritage through ancestry.

While the Spanish ruled the Island, it was the target of numerous invasion attempts by the French, English, and Dutch.  As a result Spain built numerous large forts on the island, many of which still stand today, some have been been restored as a tourist draw.  Under Spanish rule the island also saw many uprisings, but all were as unsuccessful as the invasion attempts.  It wasn't until 1898 that America invaded during the Spanish-American War.  Following the war, Spain was forced to relinquish the territories of Guam, Cuba, and Puerto Rico to the United States rule.  Puerto Rico has been a commonwealth of the united states ever since, and anyone born on Puerto Rican soil is legally a United States citizen.

Why Puerto Rico has never been made a state has been the ongoing subject of debate for a long time.  Their has also been minor conflict over why the US does not simply release the country into independence and self rule.  This scenario is not likely, since Puerto Rico provides the most important military stronghold in the Atlantic for the Americans.  Of course this was nearly lost during the collapse.  When it became evident that the US was severely over stretching itself during the Second South Am Conflict, subversives in Puerto Rico began an armed campaign to liberate the island from US rule.  They were opposed by American loyalists, and soon the country found itself embroiled in a civil war.  The skeleton crews manning the US military bases on the island found themselves able to do nothing but sit back and watch as Puerto Rico ate itself, the US military had neither the money or personnel to spare quelling the uprising .  The civil war, consisting of sporadic attacks and terrorist activities from both sides.  The military bases on the island were left unmolested save for a few minor incidents, but the civil war smoldered on for ten years before the US had the ability to step in finally in 2015 and put an end to the conflict in a short, but devastatingly effective campaign.  In the end, Puerto Rico was given the same rights as held by the Free States (Alaska, Texas, etc.....) though officially remains a commonwealth on the books.

While the war had been long and bloody, the collateral damage was actually minimal, and most of the reconstruction on the island took less than two years.  Today, the island is much like it was, a popular tourist destination, and strategic military position.  Biotechnica and other pharmaceutical companies have invested heavily in the reconstruction efforts, and the island has become a leading pharmaceutical and manufacturing center.

Puerto Rico's strategic importance will be key to the 3rd South American conflict, and even now, military forces are being sent there for the almost inevitable invasion to come.  The U.S.S  Hyperion and its escorts has been anxiously re-deployed there from Africa and are awaiting orders.


(Written by Deric "D" Bernier.)