Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Territory Acquisition Map

These Caribbean islands became US territories after a war with Spain and a purchase from Denmark. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are tropical island chains way down in the Atlantic. Although they’re nowhere near the mainland, it gave America control over important shipping lanes in the Caribbean.

Map Information

Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Territory Acquisition Map
Original map provided by National Map. Map updated by our team.
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On the Map

Here is a chronological breakdown of how the United States grew from the original colonies to its current span.

Year	Acquisition Name	Source / Former Entity
1783	Territory of the Original Thirteen States	Ceded by Great Britain
1803	Louisiana Purchase	Purchased from France
1818	British Cession	Great Britain
1819	Spanish Cession (Florida, parts of LA/CO)	Spain
1845	Texas Annexation	Former Republic of Texas
1846	Oregon Territory	Treaty with Great Britain
1848	Mexican Cession	Mexico
1853	Gadsden Purchase	Purchased from Mexico
1867	Alaska Purchase	Purchased from Russia
1898	Hawaii Annexation	Former Republic of Hawaii
1898	Puerto Rico	Ceded by Spain
1917	Virgin Islands	Purchased from Denmark