For 50 years thousands of students, and readers interested in the history of Puerto Rico based on facts and documents have turned to this book. During these years the text was updated and expanded in eight editions. 50th anniversary edition 1973-2023. This expanded edition covers 500 years of Puerto Rico’s history, providing a kaleidoscopic view of the island’s past. It begins with a preface by the editors celebrating the 50th anniversary of the book’s first printing and includes new sections on the debt crisis and the end of the bankruptcy procedure in 2022, the COVID pandemic and its consequences, the hurricanes from Maria to Fiona and their aftermath, The 2022 elections and the upcoming plebiscite.