Christopher Columbus arrived in Puerto Rico during his second voyage, on November 19, 1493 Puerto Rico was originally a Spanish colony and became a United States Colony On July 25, 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States with a landing at Guánica. As an outcome of the war, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, along with Cuba, the Philippines, and Guam to the U.S. under the Treaty of Paris. In 1948 Puerto Rico obtained the right to democratically elect their own Governor.