Agüeybaná II (Agüeybana el Bravo)

Agüeybaná II, known as Agüeybana el Bravo (the Brave), was the principal cacique (chief) of the Taíno people in Borikén (Puerto Rico) who led the first organized indigenous resistance against Spanish colonization in 1511.

After the death of his uncle Agüeybaná I, who had initially cooperated with the Spanish, Agüeybaná II organized a confederation of Taíno caciques to resist Spanish enslavement and exploitation. According to Spanish accounts, he first ordered the "experiment of Salcedo" — testing whether the Spanish were truly immortal by drowning the soldier Diego Salcedo in a river and watching his body for days to confirm he was dead.

Once convinced the Spanish were mortal, Agüeybaná II launched a coordinated uprising in 1511, attacking Spanish settlements across the island. The Taíno inflicted significant casualties, including the death of conquistador Cristóbal de Sotomayor and the burning of the settlement of Sotomayor (modern Aguada). However, the Spanish retaliated with superior weaponry, and Agüeybaná II was killed in the Battle of Yagüecas.

His resistance, though ultimately unsuccessful, represents the first armed struggle against colonialism in Puerto Rico's history — a legacy that independence advocates have honored for five centuries.