| Agüeybaná | |
|---|---|
The most powerful Taíno Cacique in Puerto Rico (Borikén) |
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| Born | ? Puerto Rico/"Borikén" |
| Died | 1510 in Puerto Rico/"Borikén" |
| Nationality | "Puerto Rican" or "Borikén" Taíno |
| Occupation | Cacique |
| Notes
Preceeded in death by his nephew Güeybaná (better known as Agüeybaná II)
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Agüeybaná (died 1510) and Agüeybaná II (died 1511), were the principal and most powerful caciques (chiefs) of the Taíno people in "Borikén" (Puerto Rico) when the Spaniards first arrived on the island on November 19, 1493.[1]
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Agüeybaná, whose name means "The Great Sun", lived with his tribe in Guaynia (Guayanilla), located near a river of the same name, on the southern part of the island. All the other Caciques were subject to and had to obey Agüeybaná, even though they governed their own tribes.
Agüeybaná received the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León upon his arrival in 1508. According to an old Taíno tradition, Agüeybaná practiced the "guatiao", an old Taíno ritual, in which he and Juan Ponce de León became friends and exchanged names. Ponce de León then baptized the cacique's mother into Christianity and renamed her Inés. The hospitality and friendly treatment that the Spaniards received from Agüeybaná made it easy for them to betray and conquer the island. [2]
The cacique joined Ponce de León in the exploration of the island. After this had been accomplished, Agüeybaná accompanied the conquistador to the island of "La Española" (What today comprises the nations of the Dominican Republic and Haiti), where he was well received by the Governor Nicolás de Ovando.[3] Agüeybaná's actions helped to maintain the peace between the Taíno and the Spaniards, a peace which was to be short-lived. The Taínos were forced to work in the island's gold mines and in the construction of forts as slaves. Many Taínos died as a result of the cruel treatment which they received.[2]
Upon Agüeybaná's death in 1510, his nephew Güeybaná (better known as Agüeybaná II) became the most powerful Cacique in the island. Agüeybaná II had his doubts about the "godly" status of the Spaniards. He came up with a plan to test these doubts; he and Urayoán (cacique of Añasco) sent some of their tribe members to lure a Spaniard by the name of Diego Salcedo into a river and drown him. They watched over Salcedo's body to make sure that he would not resuscitate. Salcedo's death was enough to convince him and the rest of the Taíno people that the Spaniards were not gods.[1][2]
Agüeybaná II, held Areytos (war dances) or secret meetings with others caciques where he organized a revolt against the Spaniards. Cristobal de Sotomayor send a spy, Juan González, to one of the Areitos where he learned of Agüeybaná's plans.[4] In spite of the warning, Agüeybana II killed Sotomayor and his men, and gravely wounded González. Juan González escaped making his way to Caparra where he reported to Ponce de León about the incident.[5] Meanwhile, Guarionex, cacique of Utuado, attacked the village of Sotomayor (present day Aguada) and killed eighty of its inhabitants.[6]
Juan Ponce de León led the Spaniards in a series of offensives that culminated in the Battle of Yagüecas.[7] In the region known as Yagüecas more than 11,000 Taínos had assemble against 80 to 100 Spaniards. Before the start of the battle, a Spanish soldier using an arquebus shot and killed a native.[8] It's presumed this was Agüeybaná II, because the warrior was wearing a golden necklace which only a cacique wore. the native warriors retracted. A second round of raids erupted in 1513 when Ponce de Leon departed the island to explore Florida. The settlement of Caparra, the seat of the island government at that time, was sacked and burned by an alliance between Taínos and natives from the northeastern Antilles.[8]
By 1520 the Taíno presence had almost vanished. A government census in 1530 reports the existence of only 1,148 Taínos remaining in Puerto Rico.[9] However, oppressive conditions for the surviving Taíno continued. Many of those who stayed on the island soon died of either the cruel treatment that they had received or of the smallpox epidemic, which had attacked the island in 1519.[2][10]
Agüeybaná is admired in Puerto Rico for his duty to his people. Puerto Rico has named many public buildings and streets after him:
Many songs and poems, by poets such as Juan Antonio Corretjer, among others, have been written about Agüeybaná.