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Top-level
 5/ Next we have the ๐ป๐ฎ US Virgin Islands, which was previously the ๐ฉ๐ฐDanish Virgin Islands. The USVI is an unincorporated territory of the United States ๐บ๐ธ, purchased from Denmark in 1917 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_the_Danish_West_Indies And west of that we have the Spanish Virgin Islands, which is part of Puerto Rico ๐ต๐ท, and thus also an unincorporated territory of the United States. 5 comments
7/ Eastward to Hispaniola, the most populous island in the Greater Antilles. It is composed of two nations: Haiti ๐ญ๐น and the Dominican Republic ๐ฉ๐ด The island was under ๐ช๐ธ Spanish control from its โdiscoveryโ in the 1490s. In the 17th century, French pirates took over the western part, becoming the ๐ซ๐ท French colony of Saint-Domingue. Harsh slavery conditions led to the Haitian Revolution in the 1790s. In 1804, Haiti ๐ญ๐น gained independence, the first to be liberated by former slaves. 8/ Haiti ๐ญ๐น has a place in OpenStreetMap history: the 2010 earthquake was a major impetus for the creation of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team 9/ Sadly conditions in Haiti ๐ญ๐น are still very difficul, and it is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Here's an aerial image of the border with the much wealthier Dominican Republic ๐ฉ๐ด, you can see the significant deforestation on the Hatian side. In February 2023, construction was started on a border wall on the Dominican side to stop migrants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Republic%E2%80%93Haiti_border 10/ Haiti ๐ญ๐น has an open territorial dispute - with the United States ๐บ๐ธ over tiny, uninhabited Navassa Island https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navassa_Island The island is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife service as a National Wildlife Refuge. It is the only one of the "United States Minor Outlying Islands" not in the Pacific |
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6/ Puerto Rico ๐ต๐ท was an important ๐ช๐ธ Spanish military outpost and sugar producer for centuries. In 1898, after the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States ๐บ๐ธ
Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917, and it remains an unincorporated territory of the USA to this day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico
The political status of the territory - whether it should become a state, remain as is, or gain independence is a long-running debate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_status_of_Puerto_Rico
#geoweirdness
6/ Puerto Rico ๐ต๐ท was an important ๐ช๐ธ Spanish military outpost and sugar producer for centuries. In 1898, after the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States ๐บ๐ธ
Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917, and it remains an unincorporated territory of the USA to this day.