Puerto Rico in the American Century: A History Since 1898

Sometimes the best thing to do when dedicated to the study of a specific nation is to take some time to read works on the nearby countries or places. Taking a little distance (but not too much) can assist with contextualizing your area of interest in a broader way, or perhaps make one think on a larger scale. It may also aid in your research by forcing you to not arbitrarily accept disciplinary or national divisions as written in stone. Recently, Puerto Rico and its diaspora has fulfilled that function for this blogger. Although remaining firmly attached to Haiti and its history, literature, and challenges, Puerto Rico's similar but different place in the world has been useful and interesting to explore. 

While still nothing more than a beginner in the history, literature, and economics of this nearby island, Puerto Rico in the American Century: A History Since 1898 answers many questions in a detailed, systematic manner. Focusing on political, social, cultural, and economic aspects of Puerto Rican history since 1898, Ayala and Bernabe successfully demonstrate the continuity of US imperialism across different phases. Moreover, they integrate the history of the diaspora in New York and the continental US, which is something that should be pursued in future general histories or 20th century histories of Haiti, too. 

While both Bernabe and Ayala are leftists and favor independence, they endeavor to explore the contradictions and nuances of autonomists, independentists, the rise of PPD, and the conflicts around class, proletarianization, US capitalist enterprises, Operation Bootstraps, labor, race, and gender. They do not hide their biases, but are objective enough to consider the works of various intellectuals, political figures, and literary figures on the nature of Puerto Rican identity, development, culture, and nationalism. Strangely, they do not engage with the legacy of Sidney Mintz, whose work undoubtedly shaped the scholarship of the rural proletariat and sugar in Puerto Rico. Nor do they consider religion, but the towering legacy of Mintz or a Gordon K. Lewis demands their critical insight. 

However, the most useful aspect of the book lies in its bibliographic essay and footnotes. A treasure trove of sources can be found, which facilitates future reading on specific themes, historical figures, or topics. Since this blogger is mainly interested in Puerto Rican history after 1898, and this incredibly detailed overview covers most aspects of the period, I now know where to look for other sources. Moreover, it has shaped my larger understanding of the question of sovereignty, nationalism, interwar intellectual discourse in Haiti, and the meaning of a Puerto Rican model as Operation Bootstrap supposedly exemplified. All in all, a very accessible history of an island that is distinct yet reminiscent of "home."