Frustrated by what he perceived as the unwillingness of Puerto Ricans to demand their independence from the United States while the island territory was annexed (the event occurred just days before his death), he uttered his final political stance: ""No quiero colonia, ni con España, ni con los Estados Unidos"" ("I don't want a colony status, neither with Spain nor with the United States"). When reminded by de Hostos through a letter of what was happening in the island, he responded, highly frustrated, with a phrase that has become famous since: ""¿Y qué les pasa a los puertorriqueños que no se rebelan?"" ("And what's wrong with Puerto Ricans that they haven't yet rebelled?")