Agüeybaná II (c. 1470 – 1511), 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 arrived in Puerto Rico on November 19, 1493. Agüeybaná II led the Taínos of Puerto Rico in the Battle of Yagüecas, also known as the "Taíno rebellion of 1511" against Juan Ponce de León and the Spanish Conquistadors.[4]
Güeybaná, better known as Agüeybaná II, was the brother[a][4][5][6] of the great cacique Agüeybaná and lived with his tribe in Guaynia (Guayanilla), located near a river of the same name on the southern part of the island. The name Agüeybaná means "The Great Sun", and he is often appended the "II" to differentiate him from his brother Agüeybaná, the other great cacique in Puerto Rico at the time of the arrival of the Spanish. All the other Caciques (Indian military chiefs) were subject to and had to obey Agüeybaná, even though they governed their own tribes.
Arrival of the Conquistadors
Agüeybaná, the older, received Spanish conquistadorJuan Ponce de León upon Ponce de León's arrival to Puerto Rico in 1508. According to an old Taíno tradition, Agüeybaná practiced the "guaytiao", a Taíno ritual in which he and Juan Ponce de León became friends and exchanged names.[7] Agüeybaná's had obeyed his mother's advice to become friends with the Spaniards lest they all die at their hands.[8] The hospitality and friendly treatment that the Spaniards received from Agüeybaná made it easy for the Spaniards to betray and conquer the island later.[2] Agüeybaná's actions helped to maintain the peace between the Taíno and the Spaniards, a peace which was to be short-lived.[2]
Upon the senior Agüeybaná's death in 1510, his brother [4][2] Güeybaná (better known as Agüeybaná II) became the most powerful Cacique in the entire island. Agüeybaná II had his doubts about the "godly" status of the Spaniards. He came up with a plan to test the perceived godly nature of the Spanish: he and Urayoán (cacique of Añasco) sent some of their tribe members to lure a Spaniard by the name of Diego Salcedo into a river and drown him. They watched over Salcedo's body to make sure that he would not resuscitate. Salcedo's death was enough to convince him and the rest of the Taíno people that the Spaniards were not gods.[4][2]
Agüeybaná II, held Areytos (war dances) or secret meetings with others caciques where he organized a revolt against the Spaniards. Cristobal de Sotomayor sent a spy, Juan González, to one of the Areitos where he learned of Agüeybaná's plans.[9] In spite of the warning, Agüeybana II killed Sotomayor and his men, and gravely wounded González. Juan González escaped making his way to Caparra where he reported the killings to Ponce de León.[10] Meanwhile, Guarionex, cacique of Utuado, attacked the village of Sotomayor (present day Aguada) and killed eighty of its inhabitants. [11] After this, Ponce de León led the Spaniards in a series of offensives against the Tainos that culminated in the Battle of Yagüecas.[12]
The Agüeybaná II ("El Bravo") Park in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Death
In 1511, in the region known as Yagüecas some 11,000 to 15,000 Taínos had assembled against some 80 to 100 Spaniards.[7] Before the start of the battle, a Spanish soldier using an arquebus shot and killed a native.[13] It is presumed this was Agüeybaná II, because the warrior was wearing a golden necklace which only a cacique wore.[14]
Aftermath of the battle
After the death of Agüeybaná II, the native warriors retracted and became disorganized.[7] Agüeybaná II's followers opted for engaging the Spaniards via guerilla tactics.[7] Such guerilla warfare rebellion lasted for the next 8 years, until 1519.[15] A second round of raids erupted in 1513 when Ponce de Leon departed the island to explore Florida. The settlement of Caparra, the seat of the island government at that time, was sacked and burned by an alliance between Taínos and natives from the northeastern Antilles.[13]
By 1520 the Taíno presence in the Island had almost disappeared. A government census in 1530 reports the existence of only 1,148 Taínos remaining in Puerto Rico.[16] However, oppressive conditions for the surviving Taíno continued. Many of those who stayed on the island soon died of either the cruel treatment that they had received or of the smallpox epidemic, which had attacked the island in 1519.[2][17]
Legacy
Plaque at Agüeybaná II ("El Bravo") Park in sector Caracoles, Barrio Playa, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Agüeybaná II is admired in Puerto Rico for his loyalty to his people. Puerto Rico has named many public buildings and streets after him:
The City of Bayamón has named a high school after him.
An avenue in the Hato Rey area of San Juan is named after Agüeybaná.
Puerto Rico once had an equivalent to the Oscars which was awarded annually and was called the "Agüeybaná de Oro" (The Golden Agüeybaná), in honor of the great cacique.[18]
^ En Marcha: Organo del Comite Central del Partido Comunista Maxista Leninista de Ecuador. Seccion: Testimonio y Dialéctica. 8 May 2006. Page 1. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
^ abcdefLand Tenure Development in Puerto Rico. 2006-09-13 at the Wayback Machine Cathy Bryan. Department of Spatial Information Science and Engineering. University of Maine. Orono, Maine. ca. 2000. Old Town, Maine: James W. Sewall Company. Page 5. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
^Puerto Rico y su historia: Investigaciones críticas. Salvador Brau. Valencia, España: Imprenta Francisco Vives Mora. 1894. Page 64. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
^ abcd En Marcha: Organo del Comite Central del Partido Comunista Maxista Leninista de Ecuador. Seccion: Testimonio y Dialéctica. 8 May 2006. Page 1. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
^Land Tenure Development in Puerto Rico. 2006-09-13 at the Wayback Machine Cathy Bryan. Department of Spatial Information Science and Engineering. University of Maine. Orono, Maine. ca. 2000. Old Town, Maine: James W. Sewall Company. Page 5. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
^Puerto Rico y su historia: Investigaciones críticas. Salvador Brau. Valencia, España: Imprenta Francisco Vives Mora. 1894. Page 64. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
^ abcdDel mito al hito: la defensa de los taínos. Héctor L. Sánchez. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 26 December 2012. (Title in printed version: "Del mito al hito: Conozca la brave defensa de los tainos." Year 31. Issue 1517. Page 28.) Retrieved 26 December 2012.
^Historia general y natural de las Indias, islas y tierra-firme del mar oceano (in Spanish). Madrid, Impr. de la Real academia de la historia. 23 October 1851. p. 467. Retrieved 6 November 2019 – via Internet Archive.
^Puerto Rico y su historia: Investigaciones críticas. Salvador Brau. Valencia, España: Imprenta Francisco Vives Mora. 1894. Pages 64 and 180. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
^Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. W. H. Holmes. 25th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 1903–1904. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1907. Page 38. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
^Puerto Rico in the Great Depression: History. 2007-11-05 at the Wayback Machine "Puerto Rico: A Guide to the Island of Boriquén." Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration in Cooperation with the Writer's Program of the Work Projects Administration. 1940. (Federal Writers Project, 1940.) New York: The University Society, Inc. (American Guide Series) p. 36-67. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
^Historical Overview of Colonial Puerto Rico_The Importance of San Juan as a Military Outpost.doc A Historical Overview of Colonial Puerto Rico: The Importance of San Juan as a Military Outpost.[permanent dead link] National Park Service. San Juan National Historic Site. History and Culture. no date. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
^ abCaciques and Cemí Idols: The Web Spun by Taíno Rulers Between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. José R. Oliver. The University of Alabama Press. 2009. Page 4. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
^El Mito de la Muerte de Agueybana: y de los Caciques Colaboradoes Caguax y Don Alfonso. Francisco Moscoso. Revista ICP. Year 10. Number 20. Page 46. 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
^Caciques and Cemí Idols: The Web Spun by Taíno Rulers Between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. José R. Oliver. The University of Alabama Press. 2009. Pages 4, 41. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
^Puerto Rico. 2009-11-20 at the Wayback Machine Yale University. Genocide Studies Program. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
^Puerto Rico's First People December 31, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^El Gran Combo. Music of Puerto Rico. (Reference to the "Agüeybaná de Oro".) Retrieved 14 July 2012.
^Socorro Giron. Ponce, el Teatro La Perla, y la Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 1992. Page 71. LOC Number: 85-90989.
Further reading
Elegias de Varones illustres de Indias. Juan de Castellanos. Biblioteca de Autores Españoles: Desde la Formacion del Lenguaje Hasta Nuestros Dias. (Commissioned by D. Buenaventura Carlos Aribau.) Second Edition. Madrid: M. Rivadeneyra. 1857.
External links
External audio
Newsreel of the "Homenaje a Agüeybaná El bravo" at the Plaza Agüeybaná II, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, at youtube.com.
agüeybaná, 1470, 1511, born, güeybaná, also, known, agüeybaná, bravo, english, agüeybaná, brave, principal, most, powerful, caciques, taíno, people, borikén, when, spaniards, first, arrived, puerto, rico, november, 1493, taínos, puerto, rico, battle, yagüecas,. Agueybana II c 1470 1511 born Gueybana and also known as Agueybana El Bravo English Agueybana The Brave was one of the two principal and most powerful caciques of the Taino people in Boriken when the Spaniards first arrived in Puerto Rico on November 19 1493 Agueybana II led the Tainos of Puerto Rico in the Battle of Yaguecas also known as the Taino rebellion of 1511 against Juan Ponce de Leon and the Spanish Conquistadors 4 Agueybana IIStatue of Agueybana II El Bravo in Ponce Puerto RicoCacique of BorikenReign1510 1511PredecessorAgueybana IBornc 1470 1470 Boriken Died1511 aged 40 41 Puerto RicoMilitary careerNickname s El Bravo The Brave RankCaciqueCommands heldTainos of Boriken Battles warsTaino rebellion of 1511RelationsBrother of Agueybana 1 2 3 Contents 1 Introduction 2 Arrival of the Conquistadors 3 Taino rebellion of 1511 4 Death 5 Aftermath of the battle 6 Legacy 7 Ancestry 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External linksIntroduction EditGueybana better known as Agueybana II was the brother a 4 5 6 of the great cacique Agueybana and lived with his tribe in Guaynia Guayanilla located near a river of the same name on the southern part of the island The name Agueybana means The Great Sun and he is often appended the II to differentiate him from his brother Agueybana the other great cacique in Puerto Rico at the time of the arrival of the Spanish All the other Caciques Indian military chiefs were subject to and had to obey Agueybana even though they governed their own tribes Arrival of the Conquistadors EditAgueybana the older received Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon upon Ponce de Leon s arrival to Puerto Rico in 1508 According to an old Taino tradition Agueybana practiced the guaytiao a Taino ritual in which he and Juan Ponce de Leon became friends and exchanged names 7 Agueybana s had obeyed his mother s advice to become friends with the Spaniards lest they all die at their hands 8 The hospitality and friendly treatment that the Spaniards received from Agueybana made it easy for the Spaniards to betray and conquer the island later 2 Agueybana s actions helped to maintain the peace between the Taino and the Spaniards a peace which was to be short lived 2 Taino rebellion of 1511 EditMain article Taino rebellion of 1511 Upon the senior Agueybana s death in 1510 his brother 4 2 Gueybana better known as Agueybana II became the most powerful Cacique in the entire island Agueybana II had his doubts about the godly status of the Spaniards He came up with a plan to test the perceived godly nature of the Spanish he and Urayoan cacique of Anasco sent some of their tribe members to lure a Spaniard by the name of Diego Salcedo into a river and drown him They watched over Salcedo s body to make sure that he would not resuscitate Salcedo s death was enough to convince him and the rest of the Taino people that the Spaniards were not gods 4 2 Agueybana II held Areytos war dances or secret meetings with others caciques where he organized a revolt against the Spaniards Cristobal de Sotomayor sent a spy Juan Gonzalez to one of the Areitos where he learned of Agueybana s plans 9 In spite of the warning Agueybana II killed Sotomayor and his men and gravely wounded Gonzalez Juan Gonzalez escaped making his way to Caparra where he reported the killings to Ponce de Leon 10 Meanwhile Guarionex cacique of Utuado attacked the village of Sotomayor present day Aguada and killed eighty of its inhabitants 11 After this Ponce de Leon led the Spaniards in a series of offensives against the Tainos that culminated in the Battle of Yaguecas 12 The Agueybana II El Bravo Park in Ponce Puerto RicoDeath EditIn 1511 in the region known as Yaguecas some 11 000 to 15 000 Tainos had assembled against some 80 to 100 Spaniards 7 Before the start of the battle a Spanish soldier using an arquebus shot and killed a native 13 It is presumed this was Agueybana II because the warrior was wearing a golden necklace which only a cacique wore 14 Aftermath of the battle EditAfter the death of Agueybana II the native warriors retracted and became disorganized 7 Agueybana II s followers opted for engaging the Spaniards via guerilla tactics 7 Such guerilla warfare rebellion lasted for the next 8 years until 1519 15 A second round of raids erupted in 1513 when Ponce de Leon departed the island to explore Florida The settlement of Caparra the seat of the island government at that time was sacked and burned by an alliance between Tainos and natives from the northeastern Antilles 13 By 1520 the Taino presence in the Island had almost disappeared A government census in 1530 reports the existence of only 1 148 Tainos remaining in Puerto Rico 16 However oppressive conditions for the surviving Taino continued Many of those who stayed on the island soon died of either the cruel treatment that they had received or of the smallpox epidemic which had attacked the island in 1519 2 17 Legacy Edit Plaque at Agueybana II El Bravo Park in sector Caracoles Barrio Playa Ponce Puerto Rico Agueybana II is admired in Puerto Rico for his loyalty to his people Puerto Rico has named many public buildings and streets after him The City of Bayamon has named a high school after him There is a street in Caguas that honors him An avenue in the Hato Rey area of San Juan is named after Agueybana Puerto Rico once had an equivalent to the Oscars which was awarded annually and was called the Agueybana de Oro The Golden Agueybana in honor of the great cacique 18 In the Caracoles sector of barrio Playa in Ponce Puerto Rico there is a small park with a statue depicting Agueybana II El Bravo The Brave It is located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Ponce By pass PR 2 and Avenida Hostos PR 123 Poet Daniel de Rivera composed a poem titled Agueybana El Bravo dedicated to him It partially reads 19 Ea companeros Vamos al combate Honor la patria a defender nos llama Si en paz contento el corazon no late La guerra nos dara fortuna y fama Hasta la mar que nuestra costa bate Ondas escupe y agitada brama Que cual nosotros contemplar quisiera Libre esta perla de la gente ibera Hey brothers Let s go to the fight The motherland calls us to defend our honor If our hearts do not beat peacefully War will grant us fortune and fame Even the sea that beats our shores Spits waves and rumbles with alarm For like us it too would like to see Our pearl freed from the Iberian people dd Ancestry EditAncestors of Agueybana II2 Agueybana I1 Dona Ines3 Agueybana IISee also Edit Puerto Rico portalList of Puerto Ricans Agueybana I List of Tainos Arasibo Hayuya Jumacao Orocobix Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial CenterNotes Edit Some sources erroneously call him the cousin References Edit La Rebelion del Cacique Agueybana II En Marcha Organo del Comite Central del Partido Comunista Maxista Leninista de Ecuador Seccion Testimonio y Dialectica 8 May 2006 Page 1 Retrieved 14 July 2011 a b c d e f Land Tenure Development in Puerto Rico Archived 2006 09 13 at the Wayback Machine Cathy Bryan Department of Spatial Information Science and Engineering University of Maine Orono Maine ca 2000 Old Town Maine James W Sewall Company Page 5 Retrieved 14 July 2012 Puerto Rico y su historia Investigaciones criticas Salvador Brau Valencia Espana Imprenta Francisco Vives Mora 1894 Page 64 Retrieved 14 July 2012 a b c d La Rebelion del Cacique Agueybana II En Marcha Organo del Comite Central del Partido Comunista Maxista Leninista de Ecuador Seccion Testimonio y Dialectica 8 May 2006 Page 1 Retrieved 14 July 2011 Land Tenure Development in Puerto Rico Archived 2006 09 13 at the Wayback Machine Cathy Bryan Department of Spatial Information Science and Engineering University of Maine Orono Maine ca 2000 Old Town Maine James W Sewall Company Page 5 Retrieved 14 July 2012 Puerto Rico y su historia Investigaciones criticas Salvador Brau Valencia Espana Imprenta Francisco Vives Mora 1894 Page 64 Retrieved 14 July 2012 a b c d Del mito al hito la defensa de los tainos Hector L Sanchez La Perla del Sur Ponce Puerto Rico 26 December 2012 Title in printed version Del mito al hito Conozca la brave defensa de los tainos Year 31 Issue 1517 Page 28 Retrieved 26 December 2012 Historia general y natural de las Indias islas y tierra firme del mar oceano in Spanish Madrid Impr de la Real academia de la historia 23 October 1851 p 467 Retrieved 6 November 2019 via Internet Archive Puerto Rico y su historia Investigaciones criticas Salvador Brau Valencia Espana Imprenta Francisco Vives Mora 1894 Pages 64 and 180 Retrieved 14 July 2012 Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution W H Holmes 25th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1903 1904 Washington Government Printing Office 1907 Page 38 Retrieved 14 July 2012 Puerto Rico in the Great Depression History Archived 2007 11 05 at the Wayback Machine Puerto Rico A Guide to the Island of Boriquen Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration in Cooperation with the Writer s Program of the Work Projects Administration 1940 Federal Writers Project 1940 New York The University Society Inc American Guide Series p 36 67 Retrieved 14 July 2012 Historical Overview of Colonial Puerto Rico The Importance of San Juan as a Military Outpost doc A Historical Overview of Colonial Puerto Rico The Importance of San Juan as a Military Outpost permanent dead link National Park Service San Juan National Historic Site History and Culture no date Retrieved 14 July 2012 a b Caciques and Cemi Idols The Web Spun by Taino Rulers Between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico Jose R Oliver The University of Alabama Press 2009 Page 4 Retrieved 14 July 2012 El Mito de la Muerte de Agueybana y de los Caciques Colaboradoes Caguax y Don Alfonso Francisco Moscoso Revista ICP Year 10 Number 20 Page 46 2011 Retrieved 27 December 2012 Caciques and Cemi Idols The Web Spun by Taino Rulers Between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico Jose R Oliver The University of Alabama Press 2009 Pages 4 41 Retrieved 14 July 2012 Puerto Rico Archived 2009 11 20 at the Wayback Machine Yale University Genocide Studies Program Retrieved 14 July 2012 Puerto Rico s First People Archived December 31 2007 at the Wayback Machine El Gran Combo Music of Puerto Rico Reference to the Agueybana de Oro Retrieved 14 July 2012 Socorro Giron Ponce el Teatro La Perla y la Campana de la Almudaina Gobierno Municipal de Ponce Ponce Puerto Rico 1992 Page 71 LOC Number 85 90989 Further reading EditElegias de Varones illustres de Indias Juan de Castellanos Biblioteca de Autores Espanoles Desde la Formacion del Lenguaje Hasta Nuestros Dias Commissioned by D Buenaventura Carlos Aribau Second Edition Madrid M Rivadeneyra 1857 External links EditExternal audio Newsreel of the Homenaje a Agueybana El bravo at the Plaza Agueybana II in Ponce Puerto Rico at youtube com History of Puerto Rico Agueynaba Appletons Cyclopaedia of American Biography 1900 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Agueybana II amp oldid 1120202225, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
