Puerto Rico - Early History
No one knows with certainty how long Puerto Rico has been inhabited, but it is likely that humans have been present on the island for 2,000 years. The earliest indigenous population is thought to be from a primitive group called the Siboney who hunted and gathered. Somewhat later the Igneri established farms and made pottery. About 700 AD, the more advanced Taíno were developing population centers in many areas of the West Indies. By 1270 AD, they controlled the island they called Borikén, which is present day Puerto Rico. Throughout Puerto Rico today, there are many references to Borinquen, which is commonly used as a business name. A form of the word — boricua — is used to designate (with pride) a person born on the island.
Pre-Columbian Puerto Rico had no coconut palms, no grapefruit or orange trees, no coffee groves, no mangoes, no flamboyán or African tulip trees with their beautiful flowers, and no sugarcane fields. The mangroves that hugged the coasts were larger and much more widely distributed. The Taíno people that lived on the island mostly fished and grew corn, yuca, yams, and cotton to supply their needs. In the 500-plus years since Columbus discovered Puerto Rico (1493, second voyage of discovery), the introduction and growth of nonindigenous European and African human populations has resulted in enormous habitat alteration throughout the island.
In addition, thousands of alien species of plants and animals have been introduced, both intentionally and accidentally. Populations of some native species have undergone dramatic declines, whereas many introduced species have become naturalized. Destruction of native habitats occurred throughout the island as species such as sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), citrus (Citrus spp.), coffee (Coffea arabica L.), and bananas (Musa x paradisiaca L.)—to name just a few—were introduced. Many native habitats and populations were destroyed without any written description of their presence having been recorded.
The Taínos spread throughout the West Indies, probably from their origin in mainland Venezuela of South America. When the Spanish arrived, they called the Taínos the Arawaks. The Taínos were a peaceful agrarian society that grew corn, yams, and a variety of field crops. They made bread from yuca, wove cloth from native cotton, and were skilled potters. They lived in wood frame huts with thatched roofs and played soccer-like ball games on courts called bateyes. It is estimated that approximately 30,000 Taínos inhabited Borinquen in 1493.
By the time Columbus discovered the New World, the Taínos had been under heavy attack by a very hostile Indian invader, the Caribs. The Caribs burned villages, slaughtered the villagers, took prisoners, and may have practiced cannibalism. It is from their tribal name that the word Caribbean was derived. The Caribs had more advanced technology than the Taínos with which to conduct battles: the bow and arrow. The Taínos only had spears. When the Spanish came to Puerto Rico, the Taíno culture went into rapid decline. Not much remains of the Taíno culture. There are a few words from their language that survive in modern English: barbecue, canoe, hammock, hurricane, and tobacco. In recent years, numerous excavations have been conducted in various places in Puerto Rico, and as a result, there is a better understanding of their society.
The Isle of Borinquen changed forever on November 18, 1493. It was during Columbus’s second voyage to the New World that the island was discovered. Columbus’s 17-vessel fleet anchored on the west coast on November 20. The ships sent landing parties and took on food and water. They found a Taíno village, but the people had fled to the mountains. Columbus named this new island San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist), and it was later renamed Puerto Rico (rich port) in 1521.
Puerto Rico occupies a strategic point at the entrance to the Caribbean. It is the smallest and most eastern of the Greater Antilles and sits at the top end of the Lesser Antilles, which arc up from South America. Because of its position, it was of military importance and used as a stopover to and from Spain (for groups on their way to and from) and other colonization points in the New World.
The earliest Spanish settlers were conquistadores (conquerors), and one of them aboard the 1493 (second discovery) voyage was Juan Ponce who was from the province of León in Spain. Juan Ponce, now known as Ponce de León, was named governor in 1508 and given royal permission to occupy and explore San Juan Bautista. Initially he searched for gold. In addition to gaining wealth, he was also interested in converting the indigenous population to Christianity and increasing the glory and wealth of Spain. He and his men landed in a well-protected bay on the north coast, which he called Puerto Rico. The bay was later renamed San Juan Bay. The first settlement started by Ponce de León at Caparra proved too distant and unhealthy to be maintained, and so a second settlement was developed on the island that protected the entrance to the bay. This was the start of present-day Viejo San Juan (Old San Juan) and it became the capital in 1521. San Juan is the second oldest city established by Europeans in the New World.
Ponce de León did discover gold and sent tens of thousands of pesos back to Spain annually from 1511 to 1520. In a 30-year period (1509–1539), almost 300,000 pesos were sent to Spain. Puerto Rico never achieved the high colonial status of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, or mainland areas such as Perú or México, because of its small size, lack of large amounts of precious metals, and relatively small areas of easily accessed fertile soil for agriculture. By the 1570s, most mines were closed down, the Taínos were decimated, and their culture was being assimilated by the dominant European culture through intermarriage.
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