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History of Ponce


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Early settlers

The region of what is now Ponce belonged to the Ta�no Guaynia region, which stretched along the southern coast of Puerto Rico. Ag�eybana, a cacique who led the region, was among those that greeted Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Le�n when he came to the island in 1508. Archeological findings have identified four sites within the municipality of Ponce with archeological significance: Canas, Tibes, Caracoles, and El Bronce.

During the first years of the colonization, Spanish families started settling around the Jacaguas River, in the south of the island. For security reasons, these families moved to the banks of the Rio Portugu�s, then called Baramaya. Starting around 1646 the whole area from the Rio Portugu�s to the Bay of Guayanilla was called Ponce. In 1670, a small chapel was raised in the middle of the small settlement and dedicated in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Among its earliest settlers were Juan Ponce de Le�n y Loayza, and the Portuguese Don Pedro Rodr�guez de Guzm�n, from nearby San Germ�n.

On September 17, 1692, the King of Spain Carlos II issued a C�dula Real (Royal Permit) converting the chapel into a parish, and in so doing officially recognizing the small settlement as a hamlet. It is believed that Juan Ponce de Le�n y Loayza, Juan Ponce de Le�n's great-grandson, was instrumental in obtaining the royal permit to formalize the founding of the hamlet. Captains Enrique Salazar and Miguel del Toro where also instrumental. The city is named after Juan Ponce de Le�n y Loayza, the great-grandson of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Le�n.

In the early 18th century Don Antonio Abad Rodriguez Berrios built a small chapel under the name of San Antonio Abad. The area would later receive the name of San Ant�n, a historically important part of modern Ponce. In 1712 the village was chartered as El Poblado de Nuestra Se�ora de Guadalupe de Ponce (The Village of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Ponce).

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