Agüeybaná II

Agüeybaná II
Statue of Agüeybaná II, "El Bravo", in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Nickname(s)	"El Bravo" (The Brave)
Born	c. 1470 in Puerto Rico/"Borikén"
Died	1511 in Puerto Rico/"Borikén"
Rank	Cacique
Commands held	Taínos of "Borikén"
Battles/wars	Taíno rebellion of 1511
Relations	Brother of Agüeybaná

External audio

Newsreel of the "Homenaje a Agüeybaná El bravo" at the Plaza Agüeybaná II, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, at youtube.com.

Agüeybaná II (c. 1470 – 1511), born Güeybaná, 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.

Agüeybana, which has been interpreted by 19th and 20th century authors as meaning "The Great Sun", was the hereditary title shared by the family that ruled the theocratic monarchy of Borikén, govering the hierarchy over the rest of the regional chiefs or caciques. Like other nobiliary recognitions within Taíno culture, it was passed down through the maternal bloodline. The Spanish Hispanicized the title to be the equivalent of the European concept of kings, with contemporary writers such as Juan de Castellanos employing the title of Rey Agüeybana (literally meaning "King Agüeybana") when referring to him after inheriting it from his brother and becoming the second monarch to lead the Taíno during the 1510s.

Agüeybaná, the older, received Spanish conquistador Juan 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. The hospitality and friendly treatment that the Spaniards received from Agüeybaná made it easy for the Spaniards to betray and conquer the island later. Agüeybaná's actions helped to maintain the peace between the Taíno and the Spaniards, a peace which was to be short-lived.

Upon the senior Agüeybaná's death in 1510, his brother 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.