Agüeybaná II Agüeybaná II ( c . 14701511 ) , born Güeybaná , was one of the two principal and most powerful " cacique s " of the Taíno people in " Borikén " when the Spaniards first arrived on the island on November 19 , 1493 . Agüeybaná II led the Tainos of Puerto Rico in the Battle of Yagüecas , also known as the " Taíno rebellion of 1511 " against Juan Ponce de León and the Spanish Conquistador s . " The Great Sun " . Güeybaná , better known as Agüeybaná II , was the brother of the great cacique Agüeybaná and lived with his tribe in Guaynia ( Guayanilla ) , located near a river of the same name on the southern part of the island . The name Agüeybaná means " The Great Sun " , and he is often appended the " II " to differentiate him from his brother Agüeybaná , the other great cacique in Puerto Rico at the time of the arrival of the Spanish . All the other " Caciques " ( Indian military chiefs ) were subject to and had to obey Agüeybaná , even though they governed their own tribes . Arrival of the Conquistadors . Agüeybaná , the older , received Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León upon Ponce de León ' s arrival to Puerto Rico in 1508 . According to an old Taíno tradition , Agüeybaná practiced the " guaytiao " , a Taíno ritual in which he and Juan Ponce de León became friends and exchanged names . The hospitality and friendly treatment that the Spaniards received from Agüeybaná made it easy for the Spaniards to betray and conquer the island later . Agüeybaná ' s actions helped to maintain the peace between the Taíno and the Spaniards , a peace which was to be short - lived . Taíno rebellion of 1511 . Upon the senior Agüeybaná ' s death in 1510 , his brother Güeybaná ( better known as Agüeybaná II ) became the most powerful Cacique in the entire island . Agüeybaná II had his doubts about the " godly " status of the Spaniards . He came up with a plan to test the perceived godly nature of the Spanish : 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 . Agüeybaná II , held " Areytos " ( war dances ) or secret meetings with others caciques where he organized a revolt against the Spaniards . Cristobal de Sotomayor sent a spy , Juan González , to one of the " Areitos " where he learned of Agüeybaná ' s plans . 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 the killings to Ponce de León . Meanwhile , Guarionex , cacique of Utuado , attacked the village of Sotomayor ( present day Aguada ) and killed eighty of its inhabitants . Death . In 1511 , in the region known as Yagüecas some 11 , 000 to 15 , 000 Taínos had assembled against some 80 to 100 Spaniards . Before the start of the battle , a Spanish soldier using an arquebus shot and killed a native . It is presumed this was Agüeybaná II , because the warrior was wearing a golden necklace which only a cacique wore . Aftermath of the battle . After the death of Agüeybaná II , the native warriors retracted and became disorganized . Agüeybaná II ' s followers opted for engaging the Spaniards via guerilla tactics . Such guerilla warfare rebellion lasted for next 8 years , until 1519 . 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 . By 1520 the Taíno presence in the Island had almost disappeared . A government census in 1530 reports the existence of only 1 , 148 Taínos remaining in Puerto Rico . 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 . Legacy . Agüeybaná II is admired in Puerto Rico for his loyalty to his people . Puerto Rico has named many public buildings and streets after him :