who is the present governor of puerto rico
Alejandro García Padilla Alejandro Javier García Padilla (Spanish: [aleˈxandɾo ɣarˈsi.a]; born August 3, 1971) is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as the 11th Governor of Puerto Rico from 2013 to 2017. Prior to this position, García Padilla held various roles in the political landscape of Puerto Rico; first as Secretary of Consumer Affairs, and then as a member of the 24th Senate of Puerto Rico and as president of the Popular Democratic Party.[1] Locally, he is a staunch advocate for maintaining the current political status of Puerto Rico as that of an unincorporated territory of the United States with self-government, while at the national level he is allied with the Democratic Party.[2]
Puerto Rico Originally populated by the indigenous Taíno people, the island was claimed in 1493 by Christopher Columbus for Spain during his second voyage. Later it endured invasion attempts from the French, Dutch, and British. Four centuries of Spanish colonial government influenced the island's cultural landscapes with waves of African slaves, Canarian, and Andalusian settlers. In the Spanish Empire, Puerto Rico played a secondary, but strategic role when compared to wealthier colonies like Peru and the mainland parts of New Spain.[22][23] Spain's distant administrative control continued up to the end of the 19th century, helping to produce a distinctive creole Hispanic culture and language that combined elements from the Native Americans, Africans, and Iberians.[24] In 1898, following the Spanish–American War, the United States acquired Puerto Rico under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. The treaty took effect on April 11, 1899.[4]