Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico was discovered by Christopher Columbus while on his Second Voyage of exploration. They first spotted Dominica and sailed North-West discovering the island that make up the Windward, Leeward, and the Virgin Island. On November 18, 1493 they spotted a beautiful green island which he named Gratiosa, after the mother of one of his men On the next day, November 19, 1493, they sailed before a hard wind, along the southern coast of an island that the natives called Borinque, and Columbus gave the name of San Juan Bautista. On the west coast of the island, they found a place to anchor and spent two days there, taking on fresh water. His landing place is disputed by the Puerto Ricans, to this day. He landed at the mouth of a river, that was given the name of Culebrina (because it meandered like a snake). This river is located between the cities of Aguada and Aguadilla, on the north-west coast of the island. Over the years this river has changed its course many times, and the exact spot of where Columbus landed, is disputed. On this island, they had no interaction with the native Taino's.

On April 24, 1505, the King and Queen of Spain, awarded Yáñez Pinzón a license and financing to colonize and settle the island of San Juan Bautista in one year. In this documents, they name him Captain y Chief Magistrate of the island. In a separate document, dated March 24, 1505, he is awarded the position of mayor of the fortress that he was suppose to build on the island. Pinzón was more interested in the exploration of Tierra Firme, and never attempted to colonize the island. He transferred his license to García Salazar, but he too did not pursue the colonization of the island. He did not become interested in the enterprise until 4 years later, when Juan Ponce de León (the man who would go on to discover Florida in 1513) set out to colonize San Juan Bautista.

On June 15, 1508, the viceroy of Española, granted Juan Ponce de León the privilege to explore and subjugate the island of San Juan Bautista, an island that he had been to before. In July 12, PL departed the settlement of Santo Domingo, and sailed to Salvaleón de Higüey to take on provisions and settlers. He finally sailed out of the Port of Yuma, with 42 soldiers and 8 sailors. On the 3rd of August, he was hit by a storm that almost sank the ship, forcing him to land on the coast of Española to fix the ship. The damage to his ship was also responsible for the loss of some of his provisions. Once the storm was over, they sailed again. On the Isla de la Mona, he was informed by some of the natives, of the island of San Juan Bautista.

On August 12th, 1508, they landed at the mouth of the Toa River (66º 15' Lat), on the northern coast of San Juan and about 10 miles from the present capital, San Juan of Puerto Rico. Here he constructed some huts, and it was the first Spanish settlement on the island. In September, he started the construction of the first fort, in a bay located about 8 miles to the east. This bay had an excellent harbor, and he gave it the name of Puerto Rico. The ruins of this fort are still visible today, in the town of Pueblo Viejo, between San Juan and Bayamón. This fort was constructed with palisades made of rocks, gravel, shells, and coquina, had terraced flat roofs and barricades in front of the main gate, that were 7 tapias high (I have not been able to determine how high is a tapia. My Velázquez Spanish-English Dictionary defines tapia as a mud wall containing 50 square feet). These walls were covered with stucco, inside and out.

While on a trip back to Santo Domingo, to get more supplies and men, the Viceroy, Ovando, named Ponce de León (May 2, 1509) the first Governor and Captain General of the Island.