when did the us take over puerto rico

The United States took control of Puerto Rico in 1898 , during the Spanish–American War.

More precisely, there are two key dates people usually mean when they ask “when did the US take over Puerto Rico?”:

• July 25, 1898 – U.S. troops landed at Guánica and militarily occupied the island, effectively ending Spanish control on the ground.

• October 18, 1898 – A formal ceremony in San Juan transferred sovereignty from Spain to the United States, marking the official U.S. takeover under the terms that would be finalized in the Treaty of Paris.

So in everyday terms, the US “took over” Puerto Rico in 1898, with the invasion starting on July 25 and the formal handover on October 18 of that year.