Portal:Puerto Rico/Did you know entries/10

History topics
 * ... that In 1509, Juan Garrido, a conquistador in Juan Ponce de León's entourage, became the first African to set foot on the island?
 * ... that the island of Puerto Rico was originally christened as "San Juan Bautista" (St. John the Baptist), whose capital was called Puerto Rico? That over the years, the names of the island and the capital were exchanged, and San Juan Bautista became the name of the capital while Puerto Rico became the name of the island?
 * ... that the state of Florida was discovered by Puerto Rico's first governor, Don Juan Ponce de León?
 * ... that slaves in Puerto Rico were branded on the forehead with a stamp so people would know they were brought in legally and it prevented them from being kidnapped? The method of hot branding was no longer used after 1784. See: African immigration to Puerto Rico
 * ... that La Fortaleza in San Juan is the oldest executive mansion in the New World?
 * ... that the Puerto Rican coat of arms is the oldest official national seal still used in the Americas?
 * ... that in 1596, Sir Francis Drake, the famed British Admiral who defeated the Spanish Armada, was defeated twice in his attempts to take San Juan and that he died of dysentery while attacking the island?
 * ... that the English settlers who established Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America, first stopped in Puerto Rico for provisions before heading towards Virginia? Yes, from April 5-10, 1607 the ships Godspeed, Susan Constant and Discovery made stops in Vieques, southern Puerto Rico, and Mona and Monito Islands on their way to Virginia.
 * ... that on February 17, 1797, the Spanish-appointed governor of Puerto Rico, Brigadier Ramón de Castro believed that the local residents and foreigners of English and Irish descent supported the anti-Spanish military campaign and ordered to place them under surveillance, plus that many were given eight days to leave the island and those who did not leave were imprisoned? Many of the people in Puerto Rico, among them Treasury official Felipe Antonio Mejía, were outraged at Castro's actions and came to the defense of the Irish. See: Irish immigration to Puerto Rico
 * ... that in 1821, Marcos Xiorro, a bozal slave, planned and conspired to lead a slave revolt against the sugar plantation owners and the Spanish Colonial government in Puerto Rico?