paragraph_text: Located in the northeastern Caribbean, Puerto Rico formed a key part of the Spanish Empire from the early years of the exploration, conquest and colonization of the New World. The island was a major military post during many wars between Spain and other European powers for control of the region in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The smallest of the Greater Antilles, Puerto Rico was a stepping - stone in the passage from Europe to Cuba, Mexico, Central America, and the northern territories of South America. Throughout most of the 19th century until the conclusion of the Spanish -- American War, Puerto Rico and Cuba were the last two Spanish colonies in the New World; they served as Spain's final outposts in a strategy to regain control of the American continents. Realizing that it was in danger of losing its two remaining Caribbean territories, the Spanish Crown revived the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815. The decree was printed in Spanish, English and French in order to attract Europeans, with the hope that the independence movements would lose their popularity and strength with the arrival of new settlers. Free land was offered to those who wanted to populate the islands on the condition that they swear their loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church.

paragraph_text: This is a list of countries and territories with a flag that incorporates the Union Jack. Six Commonwealth nations have the Union Jack on their national flag. The first Commonwealth country to drop the Union Jack was Canada in 1965, after adopting a new national flag. The most recent country to drop the Union Jack from its flag was South Africa in 1994, after adopting a new national flag. The only overseas territory without the Union Jack on its current flag is Gibraltar.

paragraph_text: Arecibo () is a municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico (U.S.), on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, the capital city. Arecibo is the largest municipality in Puerto Rico by area, and is part of the San Juan, Caguas and Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is spread over 18 wards and Arecibo Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). Its population in 2010 was 96,440.

paragraph_text: Minsk Voivodeship (, , ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1566 and later in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, until the partitions of the Commonwealth in 1793. Centred on the city of Minsk and subordinate to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the region continued the traditions – and shared the borders – of several previously existing units of administrative division, notably a separate Duchy of Minsk, annexed by Lithuania in the 13th century. It was replaced with Minsk Governorate in 1793.

paragraph_text: Bogotá (/ ˈboʊɡətɑː /, / ˌbɒɡəˈtɑː /, / ˌboʊ - /; Spanish pronunciation: (boɣoˈta) (listen)), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santafé de Bogotá between 1991 and 2000, is the capital and largest city of Colombia, administered as the Capital District, although often thought of as part of Cundinamarca. Bogotá is a territorial entity of the first order, with the same administrative status as the departments of Colombia. It is the political, economic, administrative, industrial, artistic, cultural, and sports center of the country.

paragraph_text: Paea is a commune in the suburbs of Papeete in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. Paea is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, themselves part of the Society Islands. At the 2017 census it had a population of 13,021.

paragraph_text: Puerto Rico (Spanish for ``Rich Port ''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit.`` Free Associated State of Puerto Rico'') and briefly called Porto Rico, is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea.

paragraph_text: The ZEC Bras-Coupé-Desert is a "zone d'exploitation contrôlée" (controlled harvesting zone) (ZEC), located in the unorganized territory of Lac-Pythonga in La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Outaouais, in Quebec, in Canada.

paragraph_text: Vilnius County () is the largest of the 10 counties of Lithuania, located in the east of the country around the city Vilnius. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Vilnius County remains as the territorial and statistical unit.

paragraph_text: The Alice Springs Correctional Centre, an Australian medium to maximum security prison for males and females, is located outside Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. The centre is managed by Northern Territory Correctional Services, an agency of the Department of Justice of the Government of the Northern Territory. The centre detains sentenced and charged felons under Northern Territory and/or Commonwealth law.

paragraph_text: The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was formed from New South Wales in 1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of Canberra (Melbourne was the seat of government from 1901 to 1927). The FCT was renamed the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in 1938. The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the Commonwealth in 1911.

paragraph_text: New East Prussia (; ; ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1795 to 1807. It was created out of territory annexed in the Third Partition of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and included parts of Masovia, Podlaskie, Trakai voivodeship and Žemaitija. In 1806 it had 914,610 inhabitants with a territory of less than 55,000 km².

paragraph_text: Khabarovsky District () is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the seventeen in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It consists of two unconnected segments separated by the territory of Amursky District, which are located in the southwest of the krai. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the city of Khabarovsk (which is not administratively a part of the district). Population:

paragraph_text: Biysky District () is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the fifty-nine in Altai Krai, Russia. It is located in the east of the krai and borders with Zonalny, Tselinny, Soltonsky, Krasnogorsky, Sovetsky, and Smolensky Districts, as well as with the territory of the City of Biysk. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the city of Biysk (which is not administratively a part of the district). District's population:

paragraph_text: Puerto Rico Highway 149 (PR-149) is a secondary highway in Puerto Rico that connects the towns of Manatí in the north coast of Puerto Rico, from PR-22 to Juana Díaz in the south coast, ending at PR-1. It goes through Ciales, and is a divided highway and a wide rural highway between that municipality and Manatí, as it is also from Juana Díaz to Villalba. From Ciales to Villalba, it is an extremely dangerous mountain road, with very high areas and poor safety barriers. From Ciales to Villalba it passes through the Salto de Doña Juana, a spot with a small waterfall and a small creek where people can jump and swim. It is one of the longest highways going south to north, perhaps the longest excluding PR-1 and PR-52.

paragraph_text: The Commonwealth of Nations (formerly the British Commonwealth), also known as simply the Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire. The Commonwealth operates by intergovernmental consensus of the member states, organised through the Commonwealth Secretariat and non-governmental organisations, organised through the Commonwealth Foundation.

paragraph_text: The Commonwealth of Nations, normally known as the Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations between member states.

paragraph_text: Puerto Rico (Spanish for ``Rich Port ''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit.`` Free Associated State of Puerto Rico'') and briefly called Porto Rico, is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida.

paragraph_text: Britain retains sovereignty over 14 territories outside the British Isles.   In 1983, the British Nationality Act 1981 renamed the existing Crown Colonies as "British Dependent Territories", and in 2002 they were renamed the British Overseas Territories. Three are uninhabited except for transient military or scientific personnel; the remaining eleven are self-governing to varying degrees and are reliant on the UK for foreign relations and defence. The British government has stated its willingness to assist any Overseas Territory that wishes to proceed to independence, where that is an option, and three territories have specifically voted to remain under British sovereignty (Bermuda in 1995, Gibraltar in 2002 and the Falkland Islands in 2013).British sovereignty of several of the overseas territories is disputed by their geographical neighbours: Gibraltar is claimed by Spain, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are claimed by Argentina, and the British Indian Ocean Territory is claimed by Mauritius and Seychelles. The British Antarctic Territory is subject to overlapping claims by Argentina and Chile, while many countries do not recognise any territorial claims in Antarctica.Most former British colonies and protectorates are among the 52 member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, a non-political, voluntary association of equal members, comprising a population of around 2.2 billion people. Sixteen Commonwealth realms voluntarily continue to share the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, as their head of state. These sixteen nations are distinct and equal legal entities – the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.

paragraph_text: A union territory is a type of administrative division in the Republic of India. Unlike states, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the Union Government (central government), hence the name ``union territory ''. Union territories in India qualify as federal territories, by definition.

Question: What was the country where Ciales is located before it was a commonwealth?
Answer: a key part of the Spanish Empire