Aracibo (born c. 1480s) was a

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

Cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...

'' in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

who governed the area which is now named after him (now spelled

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, the ...

Pre-Columbian era

Rio Abacoa, Arecibo, Puerto Rico - panoramio

Aracibo governed a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

whose village was located by the shore of the river "Abacoa" (now known as the "

Río Grande de Arecibo The Río Grande de Arecibo (Arecibo River) is a river of Puerto Rico. The headwaters lie in the mountains to the south of Adjuntas. From there it flows north until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean near Arecibo. The tributaries lie along the side of ...

"). Aracibo had been known to be a "just" and respected ''cacique'' and his tribe had led a peaceful existence before the arrival of the Spaniards. The rivers close to the village were full of fish and turtles and so it was only natural that the members of Aracibo's tribe were fishermen. Their land produced many fruits, such as

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

s; the tribe were cultivators of corn. Aracibo loved to collect various animals and birds. He, like the rest of the other ''Caciques'', reported only to the "Supreme Cacique" Agüeybaná.Moon Puerto Rico (Moon Handbooks); Suzanne Van Atten (Author); Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; Second Edition; ;

Arrival of the Conquistadors

The relationship between the Spaniards and the Taínos was peaceful at first, however, all that changed when the ''

Conquistadores Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to ...

'' started to enslave the natives. In 1511, Agueybana's brother Güeybaná, better known as

Agüeybaná II Agüeybaná II (c. 14701511), born Güeybaná and also known as Agüeybaná El Bravo (English: ''Agüeybaná The Brave''), was one of the two principal and most powerful ''caciques'' of the Taíno people in " Borikén" when the Spaniards first arr ...

(The Brave), discovered that the Spaniards were not "

god In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

s" and this encouraged the ''Cacique'' to rebel against the invaders. The rebellion failed after

Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León (, , , ; 1474 – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Florida and for serving as the first governor of Puerto Rico. He was born in Santervá ...

's troops confronted and killed Agüeybaná II.

Crónicas de Arecibo

In the ''Crónicas de Arecibo'' written by Puerto Rican historian

Cayetano Coll y Toste Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste (November 30, 1850 – November 19, 1930), was a Puerto Rican historian and writer. He was the patriarch of a prominent family of Puerto Rican educators, politicians and writers. Early years Coll y Toste was born in th ...

, Toste states that his research and investigations led him to uncover the following facts. In the year 1515, all of the area of Arecibo including the rivers of "Rio Grande" and "Tanama" were given as a gift to a Lope Conchillos (who resided in Spain) by the Spanish Crown. Conchillos sent a helper by the name of "Pedro Moreno" to the island to administer his lands; Moreno found Aracibo and his tribe of about 200 Taínos living in the land; he then enslaved them and Aracibo and his people died shortly after.

Legacy

The crown in the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the City of Arecibo represents the glory of the ''Cacique'' Aracibo, who was the first known ruler of the region.

References

External links