After a close examination of Iran and Puerto Rico, one would think "What could these two countries possibly have in common?" Everything about the countries is completely different; save hot weather and sand. Puerto Rico is an island in the Caribbean, while Iran is a country in the Middle East. Yet, there is something that the two countries share, a unique nationalistic spirit, that even today refuses to die. If truly one wants to understand Iran and Puerto Rico, instead of looking for commonalties in each other, look for the uniqueness they possess as individual countries.

Persia, or Iran as it's called, lies next to Iraq and is very close to Saudi Arabia with Russia towards the north. It's climate-for the most part- is hot and sandy, and it is very rich in oil wells. Ten percent of Iran is usable for agriculture, yet Iran is still able to support a third of its population. Wheat is one of its most important crops follow

The Treaty of Paris was imposed on the Puerto Rican people. It stated that Spain would secede Puerto Rico and Cuba to the USA. Also, the USA would get all the political, military, and civic power. As soon as the US got a hold of Puerto Rico, the Americanization of it began. Colonialism came in many forms. There was depreciation of currency and a domination of foreign capital. There was a monocrop ,or only one crop grown, at the expense of the Puerto Ricans. Then a systematic cultural assimilation began . It became illegal to fly the Puerto Rican flag.

"Oh American flag, it is true that you represent liberty and democracy in our world. Here in Puerto Rico you represent colonialism and plunder." A quote said by an anonymous man during the celebration of patriot Jose de Diego. At the celebration, there was six American flags on the banisters. The man went up, pulled the flags off and after saying this line broke them. Incidents like this began to occur more frequently. Albizu Campos decided to tour Latin America in hopes of gaining support for his cause. After gaining much support, he was elected leader of the Nationalist party. One of the biggest problems plaguing Puerto Rico today, is an extreme dependency on the US. Many feel, that they could not survive without the US. Albizu, seeing this dependency, came up with two programs, one economical, one political.

"They taught us how to make Molotoff bombs" A molotoff bomb is made of a Cocoa-Cola bottle, which is filled with gasoline. Then they would get a strip of something, like fabric, or string and put it into the bottle. Then the string would be lit and the bottle thrown "....They intended on bombing a government office. When I disagreed, they asked me if I was truly for pro-dependence...I left after that, and never came back. The underground freedom fighter of today, Los Manchetros -are for the most part- in federal prisons where they remain in solitary confinement.

Before and during everything that occurred in Iran, a small island in the Caribbean was having problems of it's own. That island was Puerto Rico.

The Jones act was the second attempt at further Americanization of Puerto Rico. Without the permission of Puerto Ricans, America gave the Puerto Rico US citizenship. Three hundred people rejected the citizenship while hundreds more refused to join the army.

Recently in Iran, violent warring has take place. Iraq invaded Iran on Sept. 22, 1980, because they wanted the Shatt al Arab waterway, although the was soon escalated into larger territorial rights. In June 1981, Khomeini dismissed Bani Sadr. During the was, Iran rejected all peace initiatives and demanded that the first condition of the truce was the removal of Saddam Hussein from power. In 1985, the Iran Contra affair took place, in which US official tried to get back hostage by giving Iran secret arms deal. It is a pity that Khomeini did not get his way, because Saddam Hussein has caused trouble ever since

In 1922, the man who would be Puerto Rico's first governor emerged. At the time, there were two parties vying for power in the legislative. These parties were the Union party and the Republican party. From the Union party emerged the Nationalist party, headed by Luiz Munoz Marin.. It's goal was to make Puerto Rico independent.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Puerto Rico, Arabia Russia, Reza Khan, Ponce Tomas, Hejazi Hedayet, Thelma Pena, Farsi It's, Khan Khan, puerto rico, Revolution Throughout, , reza khan, shah pahlavi, white revolution, albizu campos, rico independent, puerto rico independent, reza shah, iran puerto rico, munoz marin, rico cuba, oil industry, white revolution program, puerto rico cuba, two-thousand five hundred,
Approximate Word count = 3011
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)