Columbus Arrives: Beginning of Spanish Colonization (1493)

Christopher Columbus arrived at the shores of Borikén on November 19, 1493, during his second voyage to the Americas. He claimed the island for the Spanish Crown and named it San Juan Bautista (Saint John the Baptist).

The actual colonization began in 1508 when Juan Ponce de León, who had served as a soldier in Columbus's second voyage, established the first Spanish settlement at Caparra, near present-day San Juan. Ponce de León was appointed governor by the Crown.

Impact on the Taíno:
- The Spanish initially established the encomienda system, forcing Taíno to labor in gold mines and agricultural production
- Taíno population collapsed catastrophically due to:
- Forced labor in gold mining and agriculture
- European diseases (smallpox, measles, influenza) for which Taíno had no immunity
- Violent suppression of resistance
- Displacement from traditional food sources
- Deliberate destruction of Taíno social structures
- By 1520, the Taíno population had been reduced by an estimated 90%
- By 1582, the Spanish census recorded only 2,000 Taíno — from an original population of 30,000-70,000

Gold Rush and Decline: Initial Spanish interest in Puerto Rico centered on gold mining. By the 1540s, the easily accessible gold deposits were exhausted. With the gold gone and the indigenous labor force decimated, Spain turned Puerto Rico into a military outpost guarding the entrance to the Caribbean.

The African Slave Trade: As the Taíno population collapsed, the Spanish imported enslaved Africans to replace indigenous labor. The first enslaved Africans arrived in Puerto Rico in 1513. The slave trade would continue for over three centuries, fundamentally shaping Puerto Rican demographics, culture, and identity.

The colonization of Borikén represents one of the earliest examples of the pattern that would define European colonialism worldwide: arrival, resource extraction, indigenous population collapse, and the import of enslaved labor.