Agüeybaná

Agüeybaná († 1510 ) was the highest cacique of the Taínos and most powerful Taíno on "Boriken" ( Puerto Rico ) when the Spaniards arrived there.

Life

Agüeybaná, whose name means "the great sun", lived with his tribe in Guayanilla on the river of the same name in the south of the island. All other cacique were subject to Agüeybaná and had to follow him, even if they ruled their own tribes.

Believing that the Spaniards were gods, Agüeybaná received the conquistador Juan Ponce de León on his arrival in 1508. Following an old Taíno tradition ( guaitiao ), Agüeybaná made friends with Ponce de León and their wives got to know each other. Ponce de León baptized the chief's mother according to the Christian religion and named her Inés. The hospitality and peaceful treatment that Agüeybaná showed the Spaniards made it easier for them to conquer the island.

The cacique accompanied Ponce de León as he explored the island. They then visited the island of Hispaniola together , where they were received by Governor Nicolás de Ovando .

Agüeybanás measures secured the peace between the Taínos and the Spaniards, which however only lasted for a short time, because the Spaniards soon exploited the Taínos' good faith to enslave them . They forced them to work in the island's gold mines and build forts . Many Taínos died in the process.

Agüeybaná's brother, Agüeybaná II. Doubted the divinity of the Spaniards and developed a plan to test the status. Together with Urayoán , the cacique of Añasco , he sent some of their tribe members to lure a Spaniard named Diego Salcedo into the river and drown him there. They watched Salcedo's body to make sure he was no longer alive. His death convinced the Taínos that the Spaniards were not gods.

After this shocking news, Agüeybaná I organized a revolt and under his leadership the Taínos raided many Spanish settlements. Agüeybanás people, armed only with spears and bows and arrows, had no chance against the better armed Spanish forces. When Agüeybaná met the army of his former "friend" Ponce de León in 1510, he was shot.

The revolt failed and many Taínos either committed suicide or left the island. Most of the folks back home soon died on the cruel treatment or a smallpox - epidemic .

souvenir

Agüeybaná is revered in Puerto Rico for his service to the people. Many public buildings and streets are named after him, for example a high school in Bayamón , a street in Caguas and an avenue in the Hato Rey district of San Juan .

Puerto Rico's counterpart to the Oscar is named in honor of the cacique Agueybana de Oro and is awarded annually. Many songs and poems, including by Juan Antonio Corretjer , keep the memory of Agüeybaná alive.

Web links

• Biography (spanish)