Discovered on November 19,1493 by Christopher Colombus in his second voyage to the new world. He found the island populated by 50,000 TaÃnos or Arawak Indians. The TaÃno Indians who greeted Colombus made a big mistake when they showed him gold nuggets in the rivers and told him to take all he wanted. Originally the newcomers called the island San Juan Bautista, for St.John the Baptist and the town Puerto Rico because of it's obvious excellent potentialities. It was not until later that the two names were switched. Thanks in part to the enthusiasm of ambitious Juan Ponce de León, a lieutenant to Colombus, the city of Puerto Rico quickly became Spain's most important military outpost in the Caribbean. The TaÃnos called the island Boriquén or (Borinquen). They lived in settled villages, in small, thatch-roofed houses or huts known as bohÃos. TaÃno society centered around the village, whose chief was called Cacique.The Cacique Urayoan ordered his warriors to drown Diego Salcedo to determine wether or not the Spaniards were inmortal, as they believed that Spanish colonizers had divine powers. It is told that after they drowned Diego, they watched him for several days until they were sure that he was dead.The TaÃno Indians' after learning through the drowning of Diego Salcedo, that the Spanish were mortal, revolted against Spaniards with no success. Ponce de León ordered 6,000 shot; survivors flee to mountains or left the island. Juan Ponce de León organized an expedition, setting out to Florida, where he suffered serious injuries. He took refuge on La Habana,Cuba, where he died. On January 24,1522 San José Church is founded,it is the oldest church still in use in America.
