Puerto Rico is an island.
An archipelago ( [ ɑːrkᵻˈpɛləɡoʊ ] ) , sometimes called an island group or island chain , is a chain , cluster or collection of islands . Puerto Rico . It is an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller ones such as Mona , Culebra , and Vieques . Originally populated by the indigenous Taíno people , the island was claimed in 1493 by Christopher Columbus for the Crown of Castile , and it later endured invasion attempts from the French , Dutch , and British . This was the second major financial crisis to affect the island after the Great Depression when the U.S. government , in 1935 , provided relief efforts through the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration .