Puerto Rico at the Dawn of the Modern Age: Nineteenth - and Early-Twentieth-Century Perspectives
Critical Thinking
[Detail] General view of harbor at San Juan, Porto Rico looking South.
Chronological Thinking: Creating and Interpreting Timelines
Use "The History of Puerto Rico, from the Spanish Discovery to the American Occupation" as the source to construct a timeline showing the history of Puerto Rico in the first 300 years following the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Draw the timeline down the center of a piece of paper. On the left side, show events in Puerto Rico; on the right, show events in Europe that influenced Puerto Rico's history. Based on your timeline, write a brief paragraph describing the links between European and Puerto Rican history.
Use the "In Search of a National Identity" essay to create a second timeline, this one showing the history of Puerto Rico in the nineteenth- and early-twentieth centuries and making links to events in the United States during the same time period. Based on your timeline, write a brief paragraph describing the links between U.S. and Puerto Rican history.
Do you find timelines useful in understanding links between events in different parts of the world? Explain your answer.