**A Historical Overview of Colonial Puerto Rico: The Importance of San
Juan as a Military Outpost**

Encounters:

At the time of Columbus' sighting[^1] of Puerto Rico, the land was
inhabited by Natives called Taínos. Archeologists believe that the Taíno
were part of the latest migration from Northern South America. At the
time of the European explorations, Taíno lived in towns called
"yucayeques". Each yucayeque had a "cacique" or chief who, among other
functions, had to defend and secure the village, distribute farm work,
fish and hunt, and serve as the judicial authority[^2]. The Taínos were
structured in a hierarchical society in which the "nytainos", the family
of the cacique and the warriors were the upper class. The next level was
that of the laborers or "naborias". They were the ones who performed all
agricultural labor and could be recruited in case of an attack. In this
society, but not within the hierarchy, was the "bohíque". The bohíque
performed all religious and medical rituals and serve as the transmitter
of the tribe's history.

Taíno women had a very important function apart from reproduction. They
were in charge of agricultural activities and artisan works. Women could
become chiefs and could be succeeded by her siblings irrespective of
sex. Succession was matrilineal meaning that a male cacique was
succeeded by the children of his or her sister.[^3]

The Taíno were polytheists and animists[^4]. They believed in a pantheon
of gods headed by Yucahú or Yuquiyú whose counterpart was Juracán. Each
of the gods were associated with the forces of nature, hence Yucahú was
associated with the sources for food (the sea and agriculture) while
Juracán with the winds. The important festivities and ceremonies of the
Taíno were held at the "areyto" or ritual dance[^5]. The areyto, apart
from celebrating or commemorating any special event, reaffirmed the
tribe's unity by transmitting the history, beliefs and traditions of the
group.

When the Spanish began colonizing Borikén in 1508, the island had about
XXX yucayeques. Among them, the most important was that of Guainía,
headed by Agüeybaná [^6]. Guainía was located in the Southwestern side
of the island, where most of the important yucayeques were located.

The Taíno Revolt of 1511

Since the arrival of Ponce de León in 1508, to 1511, the Spaniards and
the Taínos lived in a relative peace. After Agüeybaná's death in 1510,
however, the relationship deteriorated progressively until the Taíno
decided to attack the Spaniards. The Taíno revolted against the attempts
of the Spaniards to use them as forced labor[^7] and also against their
forced conversion to Christianity.[^8]

The Spanish established in the colony the "repartimientos" and the
"encomienda" forced labor system. These systems were, with some
variances, implemented later in the rest of the empire. The "encomienda"
consisted on the granting to the Spanish colonists of a certain number
of natives (between 30 and 300) to be instructed in the religious
teachings of the Catholic Church. The natives were supposed to work in
the mines or in the lands of the colonist during their indoctrination.
The Crown had decreed the emancipation of the natives after they were
certified as full fledge Christians. However, the colonists early on
treated the Taíno more like enslaved labor than free subjects of the
Crown. The "encomiendas" was also a compulsory system meaning that the
Taino who were assigned to an "encomienda" didn't have the choice to
leave it afterwards[^9].

The "repartimiento" was a compulsory labor system in which a cacique and
his village were under the obligation of working for the colonists. The
Spanish government didn't want this to become a way of enslaving the
Taíno by clarifying that what the colonists were entitled to was just
labor and not the Taíno themselves. In practice, however, this system
degenerated into a form of enslavement[^10].

Another reason for the Taíno rebelion was the Spanish attempt to erase
any trace of Taíno culture and traditions. The Spanish meant a full
internal and external transformation of the Taíno. Ideologically, the
Spanish had instituted their compulsory indoctrination in Catholicism.
The Taíno were also being required to learn Spanish as well as the
"proper" ways of interacting socially. Their names were change after
being baptized for Spanish ones and their social structure was
questioned by the attempts of the Spanish to eliminate the figure of the
bohíque who was viewed by the Spanish to be the source of the "wrong"
religious practices of the Taíno[^11].

After three years of relative peace, some Taíno caciques under the
leadership of Agüeybaná II (nephew of the first Agüeybaná and known as
"el bravo" or the "brave one") led an offensive against the Spanish
towns located in the Western side of Puerto Rico. The Battle of Villa de
Sotomayor was the first and only success the Taíno had, killing almost
all of the Spanish living there and destroying the village. Afterwards,
Ponce de León himself led the Spaniards in a series of offensives that
culminated in the Battle of Yaguecas[^12]. This battle ended effective
Taíno resistance. Agüeybaná II was killed and the remaining Taíno rebels
decided to retreat either to the mountainous center of the island or to
the Lesser Antilles were they allied themselves with their former
enemies the Caribe[^13].

The relatively easy conquest of the Taíno meant that the Spaniards could
pay attention to other matters such as the shortage of workers and the
colonization process in itself. In a few years the colonists will
experiment the need to defend themselves from the Caribe attacks as well
as the threats by European powers rivaling Spain.

European Discovery and Early Colonization:

After Columbus first voyage in 1492, the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel and
Fernando, financed another expedition to what was already being named
"Las Indias". On November 19^th^, 1493, during his second voyage,
Columbus encountered the Island which he named San Juan Bautista (Saint
John the Baptist) which was known in to Taínos as Borikén. In 1508,
after a failed attempt by Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (1505) to colonize the
island, the Spanish governor of La Española, Fray Nicolás de Ovando,
sent Juan Ponce de León to settle the Island. The first town founded by
the Spaniards was Caparra, about two miles south from where San Juan is
located today. The area selected wasn't ideal. Caparra was surrounded by
swamps and hills that weren't conducive for the main activities of the
colonists: mining and agriculture[^14].

After the initial settlement in Caparra proved to be inadequate, the
Spanish colonists asked the Crown permission to move to the San Juan
Islet. The Spanish government approved the move based on the claims of
the colonists and military considerations.

The conquest of the Aztec and Inca Empires in the American continent
gave the Spaniards control of vast and rich lands. After the first
attacks on the Spanish ports and towns in the Caribbean, the Crown
became aware of the menace looming over their newly acquire empire.
Hence the colonial governors of Puerto Rico, having realized the
strategic importance of the island urged the Crown to protect the port
of San Juan[^15]. The need to protect the fledging colony against
attacks from the Taíno and the Caribe as well as other European nations
moved the Spanish government to fund fortification work on the city.

The first fortification built was La Fortaleza (The Fortress-also known
as the Santa Catalina Palace). Begun in 1537, the fort was located in an
area where it offered no protection to the city of San Juan. Gonzalo
Fernández de Oviedo, a known Spanish historian reported: "only blind men
could have chosen the site for this fort"[^16].

The Spanish Crown then decided to fortify the entrance of the San Juan
harbor and commissioned the construction of a fortification in a
headland ("morro" in Spanish) on the Western-most side of the San Juan
Islet. In 1539, construction of what was to become Fort San Felipe del
Morro was initiated. This fortification became the key and the only
effective part of the Spanish defensive system in Puerto Rico for nearly
a hundred years.

With the growth of her empire, Spain soon realized the strategic
importance of Puerto Rico, the city of San Juan and its fortification
system. As Historian Ricardo Torres Reyes says:

> "Puerto Rico's geographic position at the edge of the Caribbean made
> San Juan one of the key frontier outposts of Spain's West Indies
> dominions. The forts here and those in Cartagena, Portobelo, Havana,
> Veracruz, and St. Augustine formed a chain of defenses that guarded
> Spain's New World trade routes... and helped to protect the treasure
> ships that vitalized her empire.
>
> King Phillip IV called Puerto Rico 'the front and vanguard of all my
> West Indies...the most important of them all and the most coveted by
> my enemies...' "[^17]

But as the Spaniards realized the importance of the colony, their
European enemies were already looking for strategies to wrest Puerto
Rico from Spanish control.

Conflicts in Europe and Their Impact on Puerto Rico

While Spain devoted herself to conquering the American lands, Europe was
in turmoil. After the surge of the Reformation[^18], Europe was immersed
in the Wars of Religion that lasted until about 1648. Throughout the
whole period, Spain championed the cause of the Catholic Church while
other nations, such as England as well as the Netherlands[^19], embraced
Protestantism.

England at the time was not directly involved in an open conflict with
Spain but was secretly supporting the protestant Dutch in their fight
for independence from Spain[^20]. While not committing herself to fight
Spain, Queen Elizabeth of England authorized some of her subjects to
become privateers and corsairs. One of the most famous privateers at
that time was Sir Francis Drake.

The First British Attack (1595)

Sir Francis Drake was a privateer under the service of Queen Elizabeth
who had already become a legend in his own time. Drake raided Spanish
possessions in the Caribbean and distinguished himself in one of the
most decisive naval encounters in the history of Western Europe: the
defeat of the Spanish "Armada Invencible" in 1588 (Invincible Armada).
After the defeat of the Armada, Drake raided the Spanish and Portuguese
coast and in 1595, the Queen asked Drake to undertake the attacks on the
Spanish Caribbean ports of Nombre de Dios, Panamá; and San Juan, Puerto
Rico.[^21]

On November 22, 1595, Drake appeared off the coast of the San Juan
Islet. Since Drake had already attacked the Canary Islands, the Spanish
Governor Pedro Suárez Coronel had already made preparations to meet
Drake's armada. The Spanish governor had under his command about 1500
soldiers. On the night of the 23^rd^, Drake sent 1500 of his men
(matching the Spanish force) to the attack. A Spanish anonymous account
of the attack describes the decisive moment battle:

> "\[A\]t ten o'clock at night, when it was quite dark, the enemy
> commenced an attack on the port with twenty-five boats, each carrying
> fifty or sixty men well armed, with the view of the burning
> frigates...and they all entered close up to the platform of the Rock
> \[the Water Battery\], ranging themselves under the fire of the
> artillery....Dark as it was, the boats were seen, and instantly the
> guns from the Rock and the fort of \[Santa\] Helena \[Elena\] began to
> play as briskly as possible. Most of the boats attacked the Capitana,
> the Texeda frigate, setting fire to her at the bow, and throwing into
> her a quantity of fire-pots and shells, while ours succeeded in
> extinguishing the flames before they had done any damage, the fight
> being carried on with cannon, musquetry, and stones.
>
> At the same time they set fire to the \[Santa\] Ysabel and Magdalena
> frigates, and to the \[Santa\] Clara, which was extinguished; but the
> third time that the Magdalena frigate, of which Domingo de Ynsurraga
> was captain, took fire, it was impossible to extinguish the flames, as
> the ship took fire at the stern and burned furiously; and all that
> could be done to maintain a footing on board was done by the...captain
> and the people with him, until the ship was just burnt down and twelve
> men were killed by the enemy's musquetry, besides as many more
> burnt...The battle lasted for an hour, the most obstinately contested
> that was ever seen, and the whole port was illuminated by the burning
> frigate in a manner favourable \[sic\] for the rest, who could thus
> see to point our artillery and that of the forts, with which, and with
> musquetry and the stones thrown from the frigates, they did such
> effect, that the enemy, after an hour...retreated with the loss of
> nine or ten boats and more than four hundred men, besides many more
> wounded; while on our side, the only loss was that of the frigate and
> forty men killed or burnt, besides a few wounded by the
> musquetry"[^22]

The Spanish defenses at Fort San Felipe del Morro, with the appropriate
command and resources proved able to withstand Drake's attack. While the
Spanish felt confident on their ability to defend Puerto Rico against
enemy attacks, England was already planning another attempt. This time
the Spanish were not that fortunate.

The Second British Attack (1598)

After Drake's failure to conquer Puerto Rico, Queen Elizabeth asked Sir
George Clifford, Third Earl of Cumberland, and a privateer, to attack
Puerto Rico and secure it for the English Crown. The Earl of Cumberland
was another veteran of the battle with the Spanish Armada and a noted
mathematician. Taking Puerto Rico would establish an English outpost
from which to harass Spanish commerce and Spain's defensive lines.
Cumberland also realized Drake's mistake in trying to attack the
fortifications of the harbor entrance and decided on another strategy.

On June 16, 1598, Clifford landed his troops in the Condado area, near
the San Juan Islet's Eastern side. The next day the English attacked the
area where the San Antonio Bridge is, the only land access to the San
Juan islet. The Spanish at the Boquerón Battery held the English at bay
until the next day, but on June 18, the English were able to silence the
defensive outpost and march on San Juan.

After entering the abandoned city, Clifford, informed by reports of the
desperate situation of the garrison at El Morro, decided to lay siege on
the fortification but did not attempt to take it by force. Meanwhile,
the Spaniards, affected by dysentery and the lack of munitions and
supplies, were reaching the limit of their resources. On July 1, 1598,
the Spanish garrison at El Morro surrendered to the English.

The Spanish surrender opened a three month English control over San
Juan. The rest of the inhabitants of the island remained loyal to Spain.
Former Governor Pedro Suárez Coronel, who defeated Drake in 1595, was
organizing the resistance to the English in the Puerto-Rican hinterland.
Meanwhile, the Spanish King Phillip III[^23] was already organizing a
military expedition to retake the island from English control.

In the meantime, the Earl of Cumberland was facing an unexpected
problem. Due to food and water contamination, his troops were decimated
(about 400 dead and 400 sick) by dysentery. Faced with the fact that he
didn't have enough men to garrison the city, he decided to leave Puerto
Rico. Before leaving, the English pillaged and burned San Juan[^24].

Spain resumed control and a period of 27 years of peace allowed the new
governor, Alonso de Mercado, to rebuild and reinforce Fort San Felipe
del Morro, the Boquerón Battery and build a minor but very important
defense on the Western side of the San Juan harbor. This fortification
was named San Juan de la Cruz but was soon known as El Cañuelo. The
newly reconstructed fortifications were tested when a new enemy tried to
end Spanish dominion in Puerto Rico.

The Spanish Empire in Europe: The Beginning of the End

The Dutch Attack (1625)

Include something about Spain's decline as a world power

The Illustration and Puerto Rico: Government and Military Reforms in the
Colony

Brief description of life before the reforms

Impact of Dutch attack

Implementation of reforms (big examples, etc.)

A Defense of the First Order

The French Revolution Wars and the Last British Attack (1797) Abercromby

The Spanish-American War (1898)

Slavery:

Military character of the colony:

Conclusion:

"The San Juan fortifications served to keep the island and its excellent
port out of the hands of Spain's enemies, notably England, Holland, and
France...In their hands, San Juan and Puerto Rico would have provided a
base for raids upon Spanish trade and settlements". (Ver nota al calce
#1).

[^1]: There is no written account of Columbus ever landing in Puerto
    Rico. Nevertheless this has not precluded a heated debate among
    historians as to the place where Columbus apparently landed. This
    debate has never produced conclusive evidence in support of any
    particular theory.

[^2]: Blanca G. Silvestrini and María Dolores Luque de Sánchez,
    *Historia de Puerto Rico: Trayectoria de un pueblo* (San Juan:
    Ediciones Cultural Panamericana, 1992), p. 61.

[^3]: Ibid., p. 58-67

[^4]: According to Webster's Third International Dictionary, polytheism
    refers to the belief in many gods, animism refers to the belief of
    the divinities "incarnation" in the forces of nature or unanimated
    objects.

[^5]: Sebastián Robiou Lamarche, *Taínos y Caribes: las culturas
    aborígenes antillanas* (San Juan: Editorial Punto y Coma, 2003), p.
    80-101.

[^6]: Blanca G. Silvestrini and María Dolores Luque de Sánchez, op.cit.,
    p. 70-73. The location of Guainía in a modern map of Puerto Rico
    would correspond to that of the cities of Guánica (name derived from
    Guainía) and Yauco.

[^7]: Luis M. Díaz Soler, *Puerto Rico: desde sus orígenes hasta el cese
    de la dominación española* (Rio Piedras: Editorial de la Universidad
    de Puerto Rico, 1994), p. 100-107.

[^8]: Blanca G. Silvestrini and María Dolores Luque de Sánchez, op.cit.,
    p.75-86. Both Silvestrini and Luque de Sánchez identified three
    simultaneous and complementary processes taking place: the conquest
    of labor, and the ideological and military conquests.

[^9]: Ibid.

[^10]: Ibid.

[^11]: Ibid. The bohíque was in charge of religious practices and also
    served as the keeper of the traditions and history of the yucayeque.
    By eliminating them the Spanish were effectively leaving the Taíno
    without any source of tribal history and traditions. This process,
    conscious or unconscious on the part of the Spaniards, practically
    left the Taíno the choice of enforced assimilation or physical
    extermination.

[^12]: The Yagüecas area has been identified with modern day towns of
    Mayagüez and Añasco, in the Western side of Puerto Rico.

[^13]: Luis M. Díaz Soler, op.cit., p. 103-107.

[^14]: Ibid., p. 127-128. Mining was soon abandoned due to the
    exhaustion of gold mines. By 1529 mining was not a factor in
    generating revenues or economic activity. In fact because of the
    high prizes of enslaved labor and the high costs of credit (needed
    to buy enslaved Africans) a great percentage of the colonists
    involved in gold mining were either in bankruptcy or switching to
    agriculture (especially sugar cane farming).

[^15]: Governor Francisco Lando in a letter to King Charles I (also
    Charles V, Emperor of the Sacred Roman Empire) wrote about Puerto
    Rico: "This is the entrance and key of all the Indies: we are the
    first ones with whom the French and English corsairs have to contend
    with..." . In Salvador Brau, *La colonización de Puerto Rico* (San
    Juan: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1981), p. 445-446.

[^16]: National Park Service, *The Forts of Old San Juan*, (Washington
    DC., Division of Publications of the National Park Service, 1996),
    p. 24.

[^17]: National Park Service, *The Forts of Old San Juan*, p. 19.

[^18]: Jean Carpentier and François Lebrun, *Breve Historia de Europa*
    (Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1992), p. 263-270. The Reformation is
    the religious movement that ended Christian religious unity in
    Europe in the 16^th^ Century. It was initially led by a German
    Augustine monk named Martin Luther, and gave rise to various
    Christian groups like the Lutherans, Calvinists, Anglicans, among
    others.

[^19]: Since the death of the King-Emperor Charles, the Netherlands were
    part of the Spanish European Empire. At the time the Netherlands
    included modern day Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands proper
    (commonly known as Holland).

[^20]: Jean Carpentier and François Lebrun, *Breve Historia de Europa*
    (Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1992), p. 280-281. The Netherlands
    started their war for independence in 1566. It was not officially
    recognized until 1648 as part of the provisions of the Treaty of
    Westfalia that also ended the Thirty Years War on Europe.

[^21]: John Cummins, *Francis Drake* (London: Phoenix Giant, 1997), p.
    242-248.

[^22]: Anonymous, *An Account of What Took Place at San Juan de Puerto
    Rico...the 23^rd^ of November1595*, on the National Park Service,
    *The Forts of Old San Juan* (Washington DC., Division of
    Publications of the National Park Service, 1996), p.32-33.

[^23]: Phillip II died three days after learning of the fall of Puerto
    Rico into English hands, hence the responsibility for the recovery
    of Puerto Rico fell on Phillip III.

[^24]: National Park Service, *The Forts of Old San Juan*, p. 34-39.