 The average genomewide individual ancestry proportions have been estimated as 56% European, 28% West African and 16% Native American.However, there are significant numbers of (pure or nearly pure) blacks and whites within the Puerto Rican population as well.Historically, under Spanish and American rule, Puerto Rico underwent a whitening process, in particular, the island had laws like the "Regla del Sacar", in which people of mixed-race origin were identified as "white", the opposite of the one-drop rule in the United States.