History of Puerto Rico

The history of Puerto Rico goes back many years to the time when the island was the home of the Taino Indians. They called the land Boriken, which means the :land of the great lord”. These peoples lived in clans, or small villages, each one rule by a chief. They were a peaceful people and grew crops such as pineapple, cassava and sweet potatoes. They also fished for the seafood to supplement the crops for food. The Taino Indians were the people that the Spaniards met when they discovered Puerto Rico.

The modern history of Puerto Rico begins with Columbus’ discovery of the island on November 19, 1493 on his second voyage to the New World. The island was originally named San Juan Batista and the main settlement was called Puerto Rico. It was not until much later that the two names were switched. The Spanish authorities would not grant the land of Puerto Rico to Diego Columbus, the son of the explorer and appointed Juan Ponce de Leon as governor. Under the original agreement, the Spaniards were supposed to pay the natives for their work, bring Christianity to the island and teach them in the first school that was established in 1509. However, the Spanish treated the Indians as slaves and made them work tirelessly under threats of being killed if they didn’t do as they were told. After a while, the Taino started to rebel against their oppressors and after the Spaniards killed many natives, they natives fled to the mountains or left the island all together.

With the Spanish now in full control, African slaves were brought to work the fields. The Spanish were given permission to marry the Taino natives. An important fact in the history of Puerto Rico is that during the Spanish Inquisition, this island became the headquarters. Problems continued with the Caribe Indians, who continued to attack the island. Sugar processing became an important industry in Puerto Rico with the building of a processing plant in 1523 and a hospital was built. During the 19th century, the governors sent from Spain were very strict, but home rule was established in 1887 and the island became a Spanish Dominion. In the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States as part of the 1898 treaty that ended the war. If you would like your site listed here or if you would like to contact us, we would be glad to hear from you.