A Problem of Identity: A Brief Look at Some Issues Affecting the Existence of a Minority Subgroup By Bienvenido Gonzalez Brief Introduction The Island of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico is the smallest and easternmost of the Greater Antilles, with a total land area of 3,435 square miles (almost half the size of New Jersey’s land area). The island was discovered by Cristobal Colon on November 19, 1493, and he named it, San Juan Bautista. The Indian name for the island was Boriquen or Borinquen. (The old form, Porto Rico, was officially changed to the present spelling in 1932.) And, on August 12, 1508, Conquistador Ponce de Leon landed on the island; he established relations with Indian tribes and built a settlement, Caparra. From San German, Puerto Rico, on March 3, 1512, he led an expedition in search of the fountain of youth. And, on April 11, 1512, he discovered Florida (thus, it can be said that a Puerto Rican actually discovered it, as Ponce de Leon spent so much of his life and energ...