Taíno rebellion of 1511

Taíno rebellion of 1511
Date1511–13
LocationPuerto Rico
Result Castilian victory
Belligerents
Castile Taínos of "Boriken" and allies from The Antilles
Commanders and leaders
Juan Ponce de León
Cristobal de Sotomayor		 Agueybana II †
Urayoan
Guarionex  (POW)
Strength
100 - 500 11,000 - 15,000
Casualties and losses
80 - 150 unknown

The Taíno rebellion of 1511 was a military conflict between the Conquistadors of Castile led by Juan Ponce de León and the Taínos of "Boriken" led by Agueybana II. The rebellion erupted after the drowning of Diego Salcedo in 1511. The rebellion lasted until 1513 when Taíno soldiers surrendered to Spanish Conquistadors.

Background

The first Spaniards landed on the shores of Puerto Rico on November 19, 1493. The Taínos saw the Spaniards as gods upon their arrival. There was no real conflict between Taínos and the Spaniards until 1508 when Juan Ponce de León arrived in Puerto Rico. When gold was discovered on the island Taínos were forced to work in the mines along with African slaves. Often Taíno women were raped by Conquistadors and forced to have their children. Taíno women often would kill themselves while pregnant because they did not wish to have the children of the Spaniards. In 1510, the grand cacique of "Boriken", Agueybana, died of natural causes. Control was given to his nephew, Agueybana II. The Taínos succession of throne would be passed down to their nephews knowing that the nephew came from blood, the leader's sister.

Rebellion

Agueybana II had doubt that the Spaniards were Gods so he decided to test this belief. One day in 1511 Agueybana and Urayoan, cacique of Anasco, lured a Spanish soldier named Diego Salcedo to a river bank and drowned him. Now that the Taínos knew that the Spaniards were not gods, Agueybana II had secret meetings with other Taíno caciques. Spanish general Cristobal de Sotomayor sent a spy named Juan Gonzalez to spy on one of the meetings. After Gonzalez reported this Sotomayor the cacique of Utuado, Guarionex, raided the village of Sotomayor, killing 80 and severely wounding Cristobal de Sotomayor.Juan Ponce de León led a series of offensives against the Taínos, capturing Guarionex during a battle. These battle eventually culminated at the Battle of Yaguecas. At the Battle of Yaguecas a Spanish soldier shot and killed Agueybana II with an arquebus.

The Spanish kept control after the death of Agueybana II but another rebellion erupted in 1513, after Ponce de León left to Florida, when a band of Taínos, led by Urayoan, raided and sacked the city of Caparra. There was no other significant conflict between the Taínos and Spaniards ever recorded.

Aftermath

After the final battle between Taínos and Spaniards in 1513 most Taínos went back to work in the mines. In 1519 the Puerto Rican gold mines were declared empty. In 1519 a smallpox epidemic hit Puerto Rico, killing even more Taínos.

References