9781422286203

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U.S. Territories and Possessions

The Spanish built this fort, known as Morro Castle, to defend Puerto Rico in the 16th century.

for Puerto Rico itself, Borinquen (Land of the Noble Lord), also sur- vives and many Puerto Rican people take pride in referring to themselves as boricua (a word derived from Borinquen). In fact, the Puerto Rican official anthem is entitled “La Borinqueña” (Land of Borinquen). Columbus named the island San

worked to develop weapons and it is believed that they did so in order to fight off the Carib Indians who had begun to attack the island. The Taino did not survive European conquest but some of their language lives on in words like canoa (canoe), barbacoa (barbecue), hamaca (hammock), and huracan (hurricane). The Taino name