![]() Around that time, slave traders forced African people to the island to build forts and work on farms. That’s because gold and treasures from the Americas went through Puerto Rico before sailing to Europe. Then in 1508, the island’s first governor, Juan Ponce de León, changed the name to Puerto Rico, which means “rich port” in the Spanish language. When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493, he made the island a colony of Spain by royal decree, and he called it San Juan Bautista in honor of John the Baptist, a Christian prophet. They called the island Borikén, which some historians think meant “island of crabs” or perhaps “land of the brave.” The Taíno people have lived on the island of Puerto Rico since around 1200, and they still live there today.
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