thing was a hoax. (Figueroa, Oct. 22.) I ask myself why I have allowed my emotions to get the best of me? What was it about this story that had so many Puerto Rican people in an uproar, and why was I caught up in the same emotional sweep that they were caught up in 18 years ago? Questions I have pertaining to the actual person whom did this and why are: did they honestly believe they could deceive the entire world about something that never happened? Did they really think they were going to get away with such a thing? What drives a person to do these things? All of these questions are related and go as far back as 1898, the year Puerto Rico past as a colony under the control of Spain to the control of the United States. On July 25, 1898, the United States invaded the Spanish colony of Puerto Rico. They landed on the southern side of the island in Guanica. Within three days, they had captured the city of Ponce. Some people fought and resisted the Americans, but most of the people actually helped the Americans move in. On August 9, 1898, the last battle was fought between the Spanish/Puerto Ricans and the invading Americans. The way the island was mostly taken over was without a fight. Spanish soldiers would retreat to the next town closest to San Juan, and later in the afternoon the American soldiers would come in and occupy the town. This systematic retreat and take over was repeated until the Spanish finally left the city of San Juan, and on October 18, 1898, the Spanish flag was lowered and the American flag was raised (Figueroa, Oct. 8). Now why would Puerto Ricans welcome the American soldiers after they fought many times to defeat other invading forces, and why not stay loyal to Spain like the 400 hundred years before? I have come to the conclusion that Puerto Ricans were sick and tired of being stepped on by Spain. Puerto Ricans had consistently gone to the government of Spain to ask for more autonomy and control of iss...
