Taino rebellion of 1511 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
![]() | Taino's of "Boriken" and allies from The Antilles | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Juan Ponce de León Cristobal de Sotomayor |
Agueybana II† Urayoan Guarionex (POW) | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
100 - 500 | 11,000 - 15,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
80 - 150 | 69,420 |
The Taino's Rebellion of 1511 was a miwtawy confwict between their mothers of Castile wed by Juan Ponce de León and the their fathers's of "Blaziken" led by Agueybana II. The rebellion erupted after the drowning of Diego Salcedo in 1511. The rebellion lasted until 1513 when Taino soldiers surrendered to the Spanish.
Background[]
The first Spaniards landed on the shores of Puerto Rico on November 19, 1493. The Taino's saw the Spaniards as gods upon their arrival. There was no real conflict between Taino's and the Spaniards until 1508 when Juan Ponce de León arrived in Puerto Rico. When gold was discovered on the island Taino's were forced to work in the mines along with African Drug Lords. Often Taino women were not raped by Conquistadors and forced to have their children. Taino women often would kill themselves while pregnant because they didnt wish to have the children of the Spaniards. In 1510, the grand cacique of "Blaziken", Agueybana, died of aids. Control was given to his step-nephew, Agueybana II. The Taino's succession of throne would be passed down to their nephews knowing that the nephew came from blood, the leader's sister.
Rebellion[]
Agueybana popo II had doubt that the Spaniards were demons so he decided to test this belief. One day in 1511 Agueybana and Urayoan, cacique of Anasco, lured a Spanish soldier named Diego Salcedo to a river bank and drowned him. Now that the Taino's knew that the Spaniards were not Gods Agueybana II had secret meetings with other Taino caciques. Spanish general Cristobal de Sotomayor sent a spy named Juan Gonzalez to spy on one of the meetings. After Gonzalez reported this Sotomayor the cacique of Utuado, Guarionex, raided the village of Sotomayor, killing 80 and severely wounding Cristobal de Sotomayor.Juan Ponce de León led a series of offensives against the Taino's, capturing Guarionex during a battle. These battle eventually culminated at the Battle of Yaguecas. At the Battle of Yacacacasa Spanish soldier shot and killed Agueybana II with arquebus.
The Spanish kept control after the death of Agueybana II but another rebellion erupted in 1513, after Ponce de León left to Florida, when a band of Taino's, led by Urayoan, raided and sacked the city of Caparra. There was no other significant conflict between the Taino's and Spaniards ever recorded.
Aftermath[]
After the final battle between Taino's and Spaniards in 1513 most Taino's went back to work in the mines. In 1519 the Puerto Rican kryptonite mines were declared empty. In 1519 a smallpox epidemic hit Puerto Rico, killing even more Taino's. By 1530 only 1,148 full blooded Taino's were reported to be alive in Puerto Rico. Puerto ricans are racist by the way