The Conquest of Boriken part 4

     And the cacique's mother and stepfather showed that they were delighted with the Christians; and Captain Juan Ponce named this cacica Doña Inés, and her husband Don Francisco, and one of her brothers Añasco, because the Indian himself wanted to be named after a gentleman who accompanied Juan Ponce, who was called Luis de Añasco. And the chief himself was named Juan Ponce, just like the aforementioned captain I speak of, because it is a custom of the Indians of the islands that when they form a new friendship, they take the name of the captain or person with whom they contract peace and friendship.
    This chieftain was a good person and very obedient to his mother; and she was a good woman, and as she was mature, she had news of what happened in the conquest and pacification of the island of Hispaniola, and like a prudent person continually told and counseled her son and the other Indians to be good friends of Christians, if they did not wish to all die at their hands. And so, because of this advice, the son went with Captain Juan Ponce and gave him a sister of his as a mistress, and took him to the north coast or shore of that island, and showed him some goldproducing rivers, especially the one called in that language Manatuabon, and another called Cebuco,12 both of which are rich rivers, from which Captain Juan Ponce had gold collected, and brought a large sample of it to the Knight Commander on this island of Hispaniola, leaving some Christians on San Juan living very peaceably and in friendly fashion with the Indians.
   And when Juan Ponce reached this city of Santo Domingo, he found that the Second Admiral, Don Diego Columbus, was already come, and the Knight Commander had been relieved of the governorship. And there came at that time with the Admiral a gentleman who had been secretary to the most serene King Don Philip,13 named Cristobal de Sotomayor, whom I knew very well, son of the old Countess of Caminan

12 Brau identifies the Cebuco with the mod ern Cibuco, but is un able to find the Mana tuabon, which he believed possibly identical with the Mucarabon, a tributary of the Goa.
13 The reference is to Philip I, husband of Juana "la loca."

and heir of the Count of Caminan: this Don Cristobal was a generous and noble man, and the Catholic King sent him out as governor of San Juan; but the Admiral would not accept this, even though he had come out with him, nor did he allow him to remain on that island, and he came here to this city of Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola, while Captain Juan Ponce returned to San Juan and took his wife and daughters with him; but he went without office, since the Admiral sent as his Lieutenant and Chief Magistrate Juan Cerón, and sent over Miguel Diaz, who has been mentioned elsewhere, as his Chief Constable, and the two of them governed the island for almost a year.
And as the Commander had already gone to Spain, he recounted Juan Ponce's services, and negotiated with the Catholic King to give him the government of that island, and so he sent his royal provision to that effect. By virtue of this, Juan Ponce was accepted as governor as a lieutenant of the Admiral Don Diego Columbus; but appointed by the King, since the latter felt this convenient to his service; and a few days after Juan Ponce accepted the office, he arrested the Chief Magistrate Juan Cerón and the Chief Constable Miguel Diaz for some excesses of which he accused them; and he sent them to Spain as prisoners that they might appear at court before the Catholic King, and he made Don Cristobal de Sotomayor his Chief Magistrate.
This latter did an unusual thing in accepting it, since he was so distinguished, and in such office became inferior to none other than Juan Ponce, and even because he was not well treated, or because he and many other people considered it an unimportant post, as in truth it was; because, besides being of such unblemished and noble blood, he had been a short while before secretary to King Don Philip, our lord, as I have said; and Juan Ponce was a poor squire when he came out here, and in Spain had been a servant of Pero

Nuñez de Guzmán, brother of Ramiro Nuñez, lord of Toral. And Juan Ponce served Pero Nuñez as a page when Pero had only a hundred thousand maravedis, or little more, in income, although he was of illustrious lineage; and he afterwards became tutor to the most serene lord Prince Don Fernando, who is now King of Rome. I mean that there was a great difference in nobility of family between Don Cristobal and Juan Ponce, although Juan Ponce was considered a gentleman and had the bearing and personality to be what he later became, as we shall tell in continuing our story. So that both those who accompanied Juan Ponce and those who accompanied Don Cristobal felt that he erred in accepting this post; therefore, as if fed up with it and recognizing his error, he left the office and refused it, as if sorry for what he had done; but he did not escape blame for having accepted it.
Shortly afterwards Captain Juan Ponce came to this city of Santo Domingo and brought Chief Agueybana with him to see the sights of this island of Hispaniola, which at that time was very populous with Indians and Christians. And if this cacique Agueybana or his mother had lived, there would have never been the rebellion or misbehavior that happened among the Indians on San Juan. But a little while later both mother and son died, and one of his brothers inherited his kingdom. This fellow was naturally wicked and had even worse intentions. And he had been assigned by repartimiento to the encomienda 14 of Don Cristobal de Sotomayor, and took his name and called himself Don Cristobal. And his master, Don Cristobal de Sotomayor, was such a fine gentleman that he gave what he had to that treacherous chieftain of his, who, in repayment for this and the kindness offered, killed him very savagely in the way we shall relate further on; to fulfill in this wise the hatred he felt for his lord and Christians in general, since in truth the Indian race is naturally ungrateful and full of wicked intent and works ; and they neither remember any kindness done them nor do they wish to express gratitude for it.

14 Repartimiento is a grant of land in con quered territory which includes the right to exploit the labor of the natives living in or near it. It was awarded as a fief to Spanish sol diers, priests,etc. Encomienda is an es tate of land and the inhabiting Indians which was formerly granted to Spanish col onists or adventurers in America for pur poses of tribute or evangelization, properly following the grant of a repartimiento that had lapsed.

The Conquest of Boriken Part 5
Of how, at the command of Friar Don Nicolas de Ovando, Knight Commander de Alcantará, governor of the island of Hispaniola, Christians began to settle the island of Boriquen (which we now call San Juan), under the hand of Captain Juan Ponce de León, and other details concerning this settlement. After the Knight Commander, Friar Don Nicolas deOvando, came out as governor of the island of Hispaniola ,and had made conquests on it and had pacified the province of Higuey, which is the easternmost of the whole island and that closest to the island of Boriquen,or San Juan, which is being considered here, he placed as his lieutenant in that town of Higuey a captain and good man named Juan Ponce de León, one of those who came to these parts with the First Admiral, Don Christopher Columbus,on the second voyage he made to these Indies; and as he had taken part in the past wars, he was considered a trustworthy and quite capable man, and his strength and person had been tried. And as he had been a captain in the conquest of Higuey, he obtained information from that province and came to know from the Indians that there was much gold on the island of San Juan or Boriquen. And having learned this, he secretly communicated it to the Knight Commander who was at that season dwelling on Hispaniola: and this latter gave him license to pass to the island of San Juan to try to learn what sort of place it was because, although the island was already known and had been discovered by the First Admiral,11 it was neither conquered or pacified. And to this end, he took a small caravel with certain people and good Indian guides and went to the land of the chief king, or cacique, of that island, who was called Agueybana, like the above-mentioned river; by whom he was very well received and entertained, being given the things on which Indians subsist, and showing that Agueybana was pleased to meet and become a friend of Christians. 11 In Chapter VIII, Book II, of his Historia General, Oviedo mentions the discovery of "Boriquen o Sanct Juan" by Columbus' armada on the second voyage. No details are given other than that it was just prior to the Hispaniola landfall of December, 1493. It is interesting to note that in the present book Oviedo makes no reference to the circumstances of the discovery.
And the cacique's mother and stepfather showed that they were delighted with the Christians; and Captain Juan Ponce named this cacica Doña Inés, and her husband Don Francisco, and one of her brothers Añasco, because the Indian himself wanted to be named after a gentleman who accompanied Juan Ponce, who was called Luis de Añasco. And the chief himself was named Juan Ponce, just like the aforementioned captain I speak of, because it is a custom of the Indians of the islands that when they form a new friendship, they take the name of the captain or person with whom they contract peace and friendship. This chieftain was a good person and very obedient to his mother; and she was a good woman, and as she was mature, she had news of what happened in the conquest and pacification of the island of Hispaniola, and like a prudent person continually told and counseled her son and the other Indians to be good friends of Christians, if they did not wish to all die at their hands. And so, because of this advice, the son went with Captain Juan Ponce and gave him a sister of his as a mistress, and took him to the north coast or shore of that island, and showed him some goldproducing rivers, especially the one called in that language Manatuabon, and another called Cebuco,12 both of which are rich rivers, from which Captain Juan Ponce had gold collected, and brought a large sample of it to the Knight Commander on this island of Hispaniola, leaving some Christians on San Juan living very peaceably and in friendly fashion with the Indians. And when Juan Ponce reached this city of Santo Domingo, he found that the Second Admiral, Don Diego Columbus, was already come, and the Knight Commander had been relieved of the governorship. And there came at that time with the Admiral a gentleman who had been secretary to the most serene King Don Philip,13 named Cristobal de Sotomayor, whom I knew very well, son of the old Countess of Caminan 12 Brau identifies the Cebuco with the mod ern Cibuco, but is un able to find the Mana tuabon, which he believed possibly identical with the Mucarabon, a tributary of the Goa. 13 The reference is to Philip I, husband of Juana "la loca." and heir of the Count of Caminan: this Don Cristobal was a generous and noble man, and the Catholic King sent him out as governor of San Juan; but the Admiral would not accept this, even though he had come out with him, nor did he allow him to remain on that island, and he came here to this city of Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola, while Captain Juan Ponce returned to San Juan and took his wife and daughters with him; but he went without office, since the Admiral sent as his Lieutenant and Chief Magistrate Juan Cerón, and sent over Miguel Diaz, who has been mentioned elsewhere, as his Chief Constable, and the two of them governed the island for almost a year. And as the Commander had already gone to Spain, he recounted Juan Ponce's services, and negotiated with the Catholic King to give him the government of that island, and so he sent his royal provision to that effect. By virtue of this, Juan Ponce was accepted as governor as a lieutenant of the Admiral Don Diego Columbus; but appointed by the King, since the latter felt this convenient to his service; and a few days after Juan Ponce accepted the office, he arrested the Chief Magistrate Juan Cerón and the Chief Constable Miguel Diaz for some excesses of which he accused them; and he sent them to Spain as prisoners that they might appear at court before the Catholic King, and he made Don Cristobal de Sotomayor his Chief Magistrate. This latter did an unusual thing in accepting it, since he was so distinguished, and in such office became inferior to none other than Juan Ponce, and even because he was not well treated, or because he and many other people considered it an unimportant post, as in truth it was; because, besides being of such unblemished and noble blood, he had been a short while before secretary to King Don Philip, our lord, as I have said; and Juan Ponce was a poor squire when he came out here, and in Spain had been a servant of Pero Nuñez de Guzmán, brother of Ramiro Nuñez, lord of Toral. And Juan Ponce served Pero Nuñez as a page when Pero had only a hundred thousand maravedis, or little more, in income, although he was of illustrious lineage; and he afterwards became tutor to the most serene lord Prince Don Fernando, who is now King of Rome. I mean that there was a great difference in nobility of family between Don Cristobal and Juan Ponce, although Juan Ponce was considered a gentleman and had the bearing and personality to be what he later became, as we shall tell in continuing our story. So that both those who accompanied Juan Ponce and those who accompanied Don Cristobal felt that he erred in accepting this post; therefore, as if fed up with it and recognizing his error, he left the office and refused it, as if sorry for what he had done; but he did not escape blame for having accepted it. Shortly afterwards Captain Juan Ponce came to this city of Santo Domingo and brought Chief Agueybana with him to see the sights of this island of Hispaniola, which at that time was very populous with Indians and Christians. And if this cacique Agueybana or his mother had lived, there would have never been the rebellion or misbehavior that happened among the Indians on San Juan. But a little while later both mother and son died, and one of his brothers inherited his kingdom. This fellow was naturally wicked and had even worse intentions. And he had been assigned by repartimiento to the encomienda 14 of Don Cristobal de Sotomayor, and took his name and called himself Don Cristobal. And his master, Don Cristobal de Sotomayor, was such a fine gentleman that he gave what he had to that treacherous chieftain of his, who, in repayment for this and the kindness offered, killed him very savagely in the way we shall relate further on; to fulfill in this wise the hatred he felt for his lord and Christians in general, since in truth the Indian race is naturally ungrateful and full of wicked intent and works ; and they neither remember any kindness done them nor do they wish to express gratitude for it. 14 Repartimiento is a grant of land in con quered territory which includes the right to exploit the labor of the natives living in or near it. It was awarded as a fief to Spanish sol diers, priests,etc. Encomienda is an es tate of land and the inhabiting Indians which was formerly granted to Spanish col onists or adventurers in America for pur poses of tribute or evangelization, properly following the grant of a repartimiento that had lapsed.
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