(Trías-Monge 38).
This shows that the United States was trying to communicate that their possession of Puerto Rico would not deny the island of its rights, and it would be beneficial to its inhabitants. However, the U.S. proved through their actions that while they would attempt to improve the standard of living in Puerto Rico, they had no intention of losing control over their colony. The above quotation states that Puerto Rico would not be independent, which expresses the United States? concealed agenda'to render Puerto Rico a colony which it would control for its own benefit. The words of President McKinley summed up the reason for this. "While we are conducting war and until its conclusion, we must keep all we can get. When the war is over we must keep what we want. (Fernandez 1)" The United States wanted Puerto Rico for their own benefit, and this has been impacting the island to this day.
The effects of early United States colonialism on the economy of Puerto Rico shows how its hypocritical and possessive treatment of the island had an impact on the development of Puerto Rico. While the U.S. expanded trade and industry, it continued to exercise control over many aspects of the Puerto Rican economy, taking advantage of the Puerto Rican people and exploiting the island for its own purposes. Puerto Rico became the US's trading partner, buying food and other materials that weren't available on the island. This benefited the US's economy, and made Puerto Rico dependent on it for survival, which brought about a series of changes. According to Fernandez, "So imports had a variety of effects: an increase in the cost of living, a marked tendency to devalue native products, and the creation of business interests whose well-being depended on close ties to the United States. (Fernandez 60)" The United States, by making Puerto Rico dependent on U.S. imports, treated it like a foreign trading partner, and gained wealth by exporting to the island.
