puerto rican immigrants came to america in 1520s.
puerto rican immigrants came to america in 1520s.
when did puerto rican immigrants come to america?
1520s
puerto ricans have been immigrating to new york since 1838, though they did not arrive in large numbers until the 20th century. in 1910 only 500 puerto ricans lived in new york, but by 1970 that number had skyrocketed to over 800,000, and 40% of those lived in the bronx. unlike the other four boroughs, puerto rican populations are significant throughout the bronx, though there is slightly higher concentrations in the south bronx. the first group of puerto ricans immigrated to new york city in the mid-19th century when puerto rico was a spanish colony and its people spanish subjects and as such they were immigrants. the following wave of puerto ricans to move to new york city did so after the spanish–american war in 1898. puerto ricans were no longer spanish subjects and citizens of spain, they were now puerto rican citizens of an american possession and needed passports to travel to the mainland of the united states. that was until 1917, when the united states congress approved jones-shafroth act which gave puerto ricans in the island a u.s. citizenship with certain limitations. puerto ricans living in the mainland u.s. however, were given full american citizenship and were allowed to seek political office in the states which they resided. two months later, when congress passed the selective service act, conscription was extended to the puerto ricans both in the island and in the u.s. it was expected that puerto rican men 18 years and older serve in the military during world war i. the jones-shafroth act also allowed puerto ricans to travel between puerto rico and the united states mainland without the need of a passport, thereby becoming migrants. the advent of air travel was one of the principal factors that led to the largest wave of migration of puerto ricans to new york city in the 1950s, known as "the great migration". although florida has received some dispersal of the population, there has been a resurgence in puerto rican migration to new york and new jersey - consequently, the new york city metropolitan area has witnessed an increase in its puerto rican population from 1,177,430 in 2010 to a census-estimated 1,201,850 in 2012, maintaining its status by a significant margin as the most important cultural and demographic center for puerto rican americans outside san juan.
new york city ethnic enclaves
the south is home to 1.3 million puerto ricans, comprising 29% of the puerto rican population nationwide. florida is home to two-thirds of the puerto rican population in the south. florida is currently home to the fastest-growing puerto rican population of any state. cubans and puerto ricans are florida's largest hispanic groups, though unlike the cuban community which is nearly entirely located in the south florida and tampa bay areas, the puerto rican population is far more spread-out and is present in large numbers in central florida, south florida, and north florida, having large populations in the metro areas of orlando, tampa, miami, and jacksonville, among other cities. south florida has a large puerto rican population centered around the miami metro area, yet are largely overlooked by cuban dominance and the overall diversity of the miami area, with large numbers in miami, hollywood, west palm beach, homestead, north miami, boynton beach, coconut creek, and port st. lucie. the westcoast of florida has significant puerto rican populations present in scattered areas, in cities such as, tampa, st. petersburg, pinellas park, lakeland, cape coral, lehigh acres, and fort myers. central florida has the largest puerto rican population of any region in the state and the fastest-growing puerto rican population in the country. the orlando metropolitan area is the center of the puerto rican population in central florida and there is large populations of puerto ricans throughout the region, with the largest populations in orlando, kissimmee, poinciana, buenaventura lakes, azalea park, meadow woods, pine hills, deltona, st. cloud, sanford, apopka, alafaya, oak ridge, oviedo, daytona beach, and palm bay. osceola county is the only county in the country where puerto ricans are the largest ancestral group. puerto ricans are also the vast majority of hispanics in volusia county. the i-4 corridor, extending from daytona beach to tampa, is home to 500,000 puerto ricans. the i-4 corridor is politically considered the swing section of the state, yet puerto rican growth has created a democratic registration advantage. puerto rican growth in central florida has also had a direct impact on the uninterrupted influence cubans once had. in north florida, there are significant puerto rican populations in jacksonville, orange park, ocala, tallahassee, and gainesville. though, the most notable growth in north florida has been in clay county and the jacksonville area. though, the puerto rican population may not be as large as other parts of florida, especially central florida, puerto ricans often make up the majority of hispanics in many north florida cities, due to lower percentages of hispanics in north florida.
list of puerto rican-american communities