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'' 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).

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 is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

whose village was located by the shore of the river "Abacoa" (now known as the " Río Grande de Arecibo"). 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 papayas; 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'' started to enslave the natives. In 1511, Agueybana's brother Güeybaná, better known as Agüeybaná II (The Brave), discovered that the Spaniards were not " gods" and this encouraged the ''Cacique'' to rebel against the invaders. The rebellion failed after Juan Ponce de León's troops confronted and killed Agüeybaná II.

Crónicas de Arecibo

In the ''Crónicas de Arecibo'' written by Puerto Rican historian Cayetano Coll y Toste, 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 heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

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

References

External links