Prompt Cast
The Complex History of Puerto Rico's Relationship with the United States
TLDR This episode of "Throughline" explores Puerto Rico's struggle with political and economic instability, from its revolutionary insurgency against Spanish rule to its complicated relationship with the United States. The episode delves into the mistreatment of Puerto Ricans, the fight for independence, and the eventual shift towards Commonwealth status.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Puerto Rico's relationship with the mainland U.S. and its struggles with political and economic instability are explored in this episode of "Throughline" from NPR.
06:24
Puerto Rico's revolutionary insurgency against Spanish rule led to the United States intervening in the Spanish-American War and ultimately taking control of the island, which was initially seen by many Puerto Ricans as a liberation move from Spanish rule and an opportunity for a better life.
11:59
Albizu Campos becomes disillusioned with the United States after experiencing racial segregation in the armed forces and the lack of progress towards Puerto Rican independence, leading him to embrace anti-imperialist ideas and join the Nationalist Party.
18:22
In the 1920s and 1930s, Puerto Rico faced dire conditions, including poverty, a devastated coffee industry, and an epidemic of anemia, which the Rockefeller Foundation believed could be solved through medical intervention.
24:55
Cornelius Rhodes writes a letter expressing his extreme racist views about Puerto Ricans, which is found by the Puerto Rican staff of the hospital and later shared by Pedro Albizu Campos to expose the mistreatment of Puerto Ricans by the US.
30:21
The Rhodes letter becomes a founding event for the Nationalist Party in Puerto Rico, leading Pedro Albizu Campos to make a convincing case for the role of disease and medicine in the US colonial enterprise and to advocate for independence through violence if necessary.
35:44
The Nationalists' fight against the US colonial empire intensifies, with bombings, shootings, and a skirmish resulting in deaths, leading to increased police crackdown and arrests, while Cornelius Rhodes, who confessed to murdering Puerto Ricans, faces no consequences and continues to rise in the medical establishment.
41:02
During World War II, Cornelius Rhodes oversees human subject tests involving chemical agents, including race-based tests on black, white, and Puerto Rican skin, and later becomes a pioneer of chemotherapy, receiving prestigious awards before Puerto Ricans are able to challenge his legacy as an agent of US colonialism and a possible murderer.
46:46
Luis Muñoz Marin, a charismatic speaker and nationalist, becomes the first elected governor of Puerto Rico and shifts his focus towards improving the economy through a U.S.-funded industrial revolution.
53:02
The Muñoz Marin government passes a gag law making it illegal to display a Puerto Rican flag, sing patriotic songs, or talk of Puerto Rican independence, leading to a revolt by pro-independence nationalists who declare the independence of Puerto Rico and attempt to assassinate Munoz Marin and Truman.
58:23
The assassination attempt on President Truman and the subsequent crackdown on the Nationalists by Muñoz Marin leads to the overwhelming vote for Commonwealth status for Puerto Rico, effectively ending the conversation on independence, although some Nationalists continue to resist.
01:04:28
The discourse surrounding Puerto Rico's dependency on the United States and the historical relationship between the two is often forgotten and periodically remembered, reflecting a politically interested forgetting.
Categories:
History
Society & Culture
