He found the island populated by as many as 60,000 Taino or Arawak Indians. The Ta no Indians who greeted Columbus made a big mistake when they showed him gold nuggets in the river and told him to take all he wanted. It was not until later that the two names were switched. The Spanish Crown permitted export of slaves to America.
Spanish colonization begins.
On January 14, first school in Puerto Rico is established in Caparra. On August 8, Spaniard Juan Ponce de Le n founded the Caparra Village. In 1990 the island is surrendered to the United States military authority. Puerto Rico became U.S. first unincorporated territory. The season champs head out to the Caribbean Series to face championship teams from several other Caribbean countries, including Venezuela, M xico and the Dominican Republic.