When he landed on a small Caribbean island in 1493, Christopher Columbus referred to it as puerto rico (Spanish for rich port). Today, the name Puerto Rico refers to an archipelago that includes the main island (Puerto Rico) as well as several smaller islands (including Vieques and Culebra). Puerto Rico is the fourth-largest island in the Caribbean, lying approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Florida. Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony for more than 400 years, before coming under U.S. control in the treaty that ended the 1898 Spanish-American War. Since 1952, Puerto Rico has been a self-governing commonwealth of the United States, and at some point it may become a U.S. state. While tourism is important to the island’s economy, unlike many other Caribbean islands Puerto Rico has a solid manufacturing sector, producing pharmaceuticals and electronics among other goods. This has enabled Puerto Ricans to achieve a standard of living that is among the highest in Latin America. There’s a lot to discover about Puerto Rico! Each title in this series contains color photos, maps, a chronology of events related to the country, recipes, list of festivals, ideas for projects and reports, and back matter including: an index, further reading lists for books and internet resources, and a series glossary. Mason Crests editorial team has placed Key Icons to Look for throughout the books in this series in an effort to encourage library readers to build knowledge, gain awareness, explore possibilities and expand their viewpoints through our content rich non-fiction books. Key Icons are as follows: Words to Understand are shown at the front of each chapter with definitions. These words are then used in the prose throughout that chapter, and are emboldened, so that