|  THE
HISTORY OF PUERTO RICO
Christopher Columbus bumped into Puerto
Rico on his second voyage to the new world. He sailed along the
Caribbean Sea on the islands southern coast and went ashore on November
19, 1493 somewhere on the western shore. He and his men rested for
a few days to supply themselves with fresh drinking water, fruit
and fish. The island was named San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist).
After this brief stay, Columbus sailed the Mona Passage west in
search of other lands. The island was left unvisited by the Europeans
for 15 years.
On August 12, 1508 Juan Ponce de Leon,
a soldier who had traveled with Columbus in 1493, invaded Puerto
Rico with a small army of soldiers and became Puerto Rico's first
governor. The first town established was Caparra, located near the
south shore of what is today the San Juan Bay.
The Taino aborigines (about 30,000) who lived on the island, lived
in small tribes. They were not physically prepared to resist the
Spaniards goal to conquer the island. Their primitive weapons were
no match for the Spanish swords and powerful fire arms. The Tainos
were turned into slaves and used to do mining work.
Soon, organized by the great and most important Taino leader, Agueybana,
the Tainos rebelled and began to launch bloody raids against the
isolated Spanish settlements. Unfortunately when the aborigines
had their direct confrontation with Ponce de Leon's forces, Agueybana
was shot dead. Some Tainos fled deep into the island's mountains
and forest, others canoed to nearby islands. After this the Taino
resistance was limited to very few attacks. Many of the enslaved
Tainos killed their young ones and committed suicide. The lack of
slave labor prompted Ponce de Leon to go after the Tainos on land
and sea.
By 1514 there were less than 4,000 Tainos left. Agriculture was
beginning to take a bigger role in the islands economy and African
slaves were introduced. In 1519 the smallpox epidemic (said to be
brought to the island from Africa) killed many Spaniards and Tainos.
Ponce de Leon set eyes on Florida (North America) on one of his
exploratory voyages from Caparra. In 1521, while in Florida, Ponce
de Leon was wounded by an Aborigine's arrow and died of gangrene
at the age of 47. Ponce de Leon's remains rest beneath a marble
slab in the San Juan Cathedral, in Old San Juan.
The Caparra settlement was then moved across the bay to a more breezy
site overlooking the  Atlantic
Ocean, what is today known as Old San Juan. The coming years were
also filled with attacks by the feared Caribe aborigines who were
known to be cannibals. They not only attacked the far shore of San
Juan but also the village of San German, in the southwest part of
the island.
In time, as mining resources became more scarce, cultivating sugar
cane became the most important economical activity. The climate
was ideal and African slaves labor was cheap. By now the Spanish
had built a rich empire in the new world. Convoys of ships loaded
with silver, pearls, and all kinds of treasures from the new world
sailed the Caribbean Sea and were often attacked by French, English
and Dutch pirates. To avoid that enemies take the island of Puerto
Rico and use it as a base from which to attack the treasure fleets,
Spain authorized the fortification of San Juan. The construction
of El Morro de San Felipe Castle began in 1539. Other small forts
were also built.
In 1595 El Morro was attacked by Sir Francis Drake and his fleet.
Fortunately for the Spaniards El Morro proved itself worthy for
battle and the enemy was repelled. George Clifford, the count of
Cumberland along side his large fleet took the city but they couldn't
take El Morro. After suffering of exhaustion in the sun they were
forced to leave. The Dutch also attacked Puerto Rico twenty seven
years later under General Boudewin Hendricksz. They sieged San Juan
and burnt down a great part of the city. Not being able to take
El Morro, they also left. Finally the city was completely encircled
with a 50 foot wall and the San Cristobal castle was constructed
to protect the eastern part of the city. Part of the wall was demolished
later on in the twentieth century.
Today the cobble stones streets, interior
patios, hanging balconies, plazas, and chapels make of this historic
city a charming and picturesque place to visit.
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