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History of Aguada


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According to sources, a Ta�no settlement called Amam�n was located close to the Culebrinas River. Although there is dispute to it, some sources believe that Christopher Columbus entered the island of Puerto Rico through Aguada on his second voyage in November 1493. The nearby city of Aguadilla also claims to be the site of Columbus' arrival. While there is no specific historical proof, it is known that many of the first attempts to set up a town on the island were in Aguada.

In July 1510, Crist�bal de Sotomayor received control of the area from Juan Ponce de Le�n and renamed the town Villa de Sotomayor.  However, in 1511 the settlement was attacked and burned by the local Ta�nos. That same year, the King ordered a monastery established in the island, and the Ermita de Espinar was founded. The name of the region was then changed to San Francisco de As�s de la Aguada, since the friars were Franciscan. The monastery was finished in 1516. In 1526, King Charles I of Spain officially founded the Aguada settlement. However, in 1529, Ta�nos attacked the monastery killing the friars and burning the settlement.

Still, Aguada resurfaced and became a stopover point for ships on their way to Spain from South America. In September 17, 1962, King Charles II of Spain emitted a Royal Decree declaring Aguada as a "village", and assigning Juan L�pez de Segura as First Lieutenant.

On 1737, Philip V, King of Spain, declared that all mail on route to Venezuela and other South American countries from Puerto Rico must exit from Aguada's ports, leading to the area's economic growth. Also, an increase in population has been attributed to possible desertions from foreign merchant ships.

In the early years of the 20th Century, two disasters affected the town of Aguada. First, a huge fire in 1912 destroyed most of the town buildings, including the old city hall, which contained all the city archives. Also, an earthquake in 1918 destroyed the church and other
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