Juan Ponce de León y Loayza (born San Juan, Puerto Rico) was the son of

Juan Ponce de León II Juan Ponce de León II (1524–1591) was a Spanish official and an acting governor of Puerto Rico. He was the first acting governor to be born on the island. Early years Ponce de León II (birth name: Juan Troche Ponce de León), was born in San ...

(born ''Juan Troche-Ponce de León''), the interim Spanish governor of

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 ...

in 1579. His mother was Isabel de Loayza born in Villa Talavera de la Reina,

Toledo, Spain Toledo ( , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, capital of the province of Toledo and the ''de jure'' seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. Toledo was declare ...

, the daughter of Governor Iñigo López de Cervantes y Loayza. The city of

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

, was named after Juan Ponce de León y Loayza.

Noble lineage

Juan Ponce de León y Loayza's father, Juan Ponce de León II, was the son of lady Juana Ponce de León, one of three daughters born of

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 ...

, the Spanish

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

, and his wife Leonora Ponce de León (their other three children were Isabel, Maria, and Luis). Thus, Juan Ponce de León y Loayza was the great-grandson of the Spanish

and first governor of Puerto Rico,

Background

In his trip from Spain to Puerto Rico in August 1577, Bishop

Diego de Salamanca Fr. Diego de Salamanca Polanco. O.S.A. (1519–1588) was the first Augustinian who was a Roman Catholic bishop in Puerto Rico. ''(in Latin)'' He was Spanish, born in Burgos, Spain in 1519.Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, which dropped him off in the southern coast of Puerto Rico at Guanica. He then rode by horse through the interior of the Island in his way to his post in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

. While traveling to San Juan, he took notice that the southern region was not being attended to by the Spanish leaders in San Juan, and while in San Juan, made efforts to have farmers sent to the South to settle there and work the land. Having married Doña Ana de Salamanca, the niece of Bishop Diego de Salamanca, Juan Ponce de León y Loayza learned of Diego's efforts and became interested in colonizing the area, thus becoming one of the first settlers on the southern shores of Puerto Rico. The first Spanish settlement was near Rio Jacaguas, but being too vulnerable to indigenous peoples attacks at that location, the colony moved further west and inland to the banks of

Rio Portugues Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

, near the center of the current location of the city that bears his name.

Political leadership

In 1670, a small chapel was built in the area where the actual plaza is now located. Ponce de León y Loaiza was the town's most enthusiastic colonizer; it was his main interest to have this area settled and incorporated into a town. These were the humble beginnings of what would become a very important and aristocratic city. While a resident there, and as son of interim governor of Puerto Rico, Juan Ponce de León y Loayza worked to have the Queen of Spain issue a permit to formalize the founding of a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

there. The hamlet had developed around the small chapel, raised and dedicated in honor of

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...

. On 17 September 1692, the King of Spain Carlos II issued a ''Cédula Real'' (Royal Permit) converting the chapel into a parish, and in so doing officially recognized the small settlement as a hamlet as was Spanish custom. It is believed that Juan Ponce de León y Loayza himself was instrumental in obtaining the royal permit to formalize the founding of the

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Aftermath

In 1848, many years after Juan Ponce de León y Loayza's death, the hamlet was declared a

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

(Villa de Ponce) by Royal Decree. In 1877, it obtained its city charter, paving the way to becoming the modern-day city of Ponce.

Ancestors

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponce de Leon y Loayza, Juan Royal Governors of Puerto Rico 16th-century Spanish people Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Politicians from Ponce Spanish West Indies