Settlement of the Island of Porto Rico, under the command of Juan Ponce
de Leon.
A war which took place in a province of Hispaniola, called Higuey, added
greatly to the power of the Spaniards, as Obando appointed Juan Ponce de
Leon to keep the Indians of that quarter under subjection. This man was
possessed of good sense and great courage, but was of an imperious and
cruel disposition, and soon formed projects of extending his authority
beyond the narrow bounds which had been assigned him. Learning from the
Indians of his province, that the island of St Juan de Puerto Rico,
called Borriquen by the natives, was very rich in gold, he was anxious
to inquire into this circumstance personally. For this purpose, he
communicated the intelligence he had received to Obando, whose leave he
asked to go over to that island, to trade with the natives, to inquire
into the circumstance of its being rich in gold, and to endeavour to make
a settlement. Hitherto nothing more was known of that island than that it
appeared very beautiful and abundantly peopled to those who sailed along
its coasts. Having received authority from Obando, Juan Ponce went over to
Porto Rico in a small caravel, with a small number of Spaniards, and some
Indians who had been there. He landed in the territories of a cacique
named Aguey Bana, the most powerful chief of the island, by whom, and
the mother and father-in-law of the chief, he was received and entertained
in the most friendly manner.
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