Puerto Rico's municipalities
As an unincorporated territory of
the United States, Puerto Rico does not have any first order administrative
divisions as defined by the U.S. Government,
but there are 78 municipalities at the secondary level which function as counties.
Municipalities are further subdivided into barrios,
and those into sectors. Each municipality has a mayor and a municipal legislature elected
for four-year terms.
The first municipality (previously
called "town") of Puerto Rico, San Juan, was founded in 1521. In the 16th century two more
municipalities were established, San Germán
(1570) and Coamo
(1579). Three more municipalities were established in the 17th century. These
were Arecibo
(1614), Aguada (1692) and Ponce (1692). The 18th and 19th century saw an increase in
settlement in Puerto Rico with 30 municipalities being established in the 18th
century and 34 more in the 19th century. Only six municipalities were founded
in the 20th century with the last, Florida, being founded in 1971.[73]
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