Essays on human rights in Puerto Rico during the twentieth century.

Puerto Rico, one of the last and most populated colonial territories in the world, occupies a relatively unique position. Its lengthy interaction with the United States has resulted in the long-term acquisition of expanded legal rights and relative political stability. At the same time, that interaction has simultaneously seen political intolerance and the denial of basic rights, particularly toward those who have challenged colonialism. In Puerto Rico under Colonial Rule, academics and intellectuals from the fields of political science, history, sociology, and law examine three themes: evidence of state-sponsored political persecution in the twentieth century, contemporary issues, and the case of Vieques.

“…a true and seldom explored history of how the voices of decolonization in Puerto Rico were silenced by agencies of the United States and Puerto Rico through often illegal means. It is a history the American public is not aware of, but should know.” — from the Foreword by Congressman José E. Serrano

“This book offers a thorough and current discussion—the best available in English—of the twentieth-century history of political persecution and human rights in Puerto Rico.” — Andrés Torres, coeditor of The Puerto Rican Movement: Voices from the Diaspora

“The extent of official United States repression of the independence movement in Puerto Rico is not widely known or acknowledged. The editors and contributors do a good job of bringing the most salient facts of this black page of United States governmental policy and practice to light.” — Gerald Meyer, coeditor of The Lost World of Italian-American Radicalism: Politics, Labor, and Culture

Contributors include Ivonne Acosta-Lespier, César J. Ayala, Jorge Benítez-Nazario, Ramón Bosque-Pérez, Viviana Carro-Figueroa, María E. Estades-Font, Alberto L. Márquez, José Javier Colón Morera, José (Ché) Paralitici, José E. Rivera Santana, José E. Serrano, Jalil Sued-Badillo, and Jan Susler.