Fantasy Island: Colonialism, Exploitation, and the Betrayal of Puerto Rico

An ＂urgent, fascinating, and impassioned＂ (Daniel Immerwahr) history of Puerto Rico’s 122 years as a colony of the United States

Since its acquisition by the United States in 1898, Puerto Rico has served as a testing ground for the most aggressive and exploitative US economic, political, and social policies.

In Fantasy Island, Ed Morales traces how, over the years, Puerto Rico has served as a colonial satellite, a dumping ground for US manufactured goods, and a corporate tax shelter, becoming a blank canvas for mercenary experiments in disaster capitalism on the front lines of climate change. Morales explores the machinations of financial and political interests in both the United States and Puerto Rico that have led to these abuses, and the resistance efforts of Puerto Rican artists and activists.

Featuring a new epilogue bringing the book up-to-date on recent political and cultural developments, Fantasy Island puts forward a powerful argument that the only way to stop Puerto Rico from being bled dry is to let Puerto Ricans take control of their own destiny, going beyond the statehood-commonwealth-independence debate to complete decolonization.

Ed Morales is the author of Latinx, The Latin Beat, and Living in Spanglish. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Village Voice, and The Nation, among others. He is currently an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race. He lives in New York City.