When he landed on a small Caribbean island in 1493, Christopher Columbus referred to it as puerto rico (Spanish for "rich port"). Today, the name Puerto Rico refers to an archipelago that includes the main island (Puerto Rico) as well as several smaller islands (including Vieques and Culebra). Puerto Rico is the fourth-largest island in the Caribbean, lying approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Florida. Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony for more than 400 years, before coming under U.S. control in the treaty that ended the 1898 Spanish-American War. Since 1952, Puerto Rico has been a self-governing commonwealth of the United States, and at some point it may become a U.S. state. While tourism is important to the island's economy, unlike many other Caribbean islands Puerto Rico has a solid manufacturing sector, producing pharmaceuticals and electronics among other goods. This has enabled Puerto Ricans to achieve a standard of living that is among the highest in Latin America. There's a lot to discover about Puerto Rico!