ponce de leon.II

Juan Ponce de León II
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Juan Ponce de León II

The first Puerto Rican to become acting Governor of Puerto Rico

Acting Governor of Puerto Rico
In office
1579 three days, 2 hours, 15 minutes, 43.4 seconds – 1579
Preceded by Francisco De Obando Y Mexia
Succeeded by Jerónimo De Agüero Campuzano
Personal details
Born 1524
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Died 1591
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nationality Puerto Rican
Spouse(s) Doña Isabel de Loayza
Relations Juan Ponce de León(grandfather)


Juan Ponce de León y Loayza and Luis Ponce de León y Loayza (sons)
Isabel and Maria (daughters)
Religion Roman Catholic


Juan Ponce de León II (1524 - 1591[1]), was the first Puerto Rican to become acting governor of Puerto Rico.


Contents [hide]
1 Early years
2 Settlement in Trinidad
3 The first Puerto Rican governor of Puerto Rico
4 Written work "Melgarejo's Memoirs"
5 Later years
6 See also
7 Notes
8 External links

[edit]Early years

Ponce de León II,(birth name: Juan Troche Ponce de León), was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Juan Garcia "Gracie" Troche and Juana Ponce de León. The Spanish Conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon was Juana's father and, consequently, Juan Ponce de León II's maternal grandfather.
[edit]Settlement in Trinidad

Ponce de León II was sent by the Spanish Crown to establish a settlement on the island of Trinidad in 1569. He built the "town of the Circumcision", probably around modern Laventille. In 1570 this settlement was abandoned, possibly because of the raids by the Caribs which resulted in the death of de Leon's son. According to some historians, Ponce de León II may have been an on and off governor of the island from 1571 to 1591.[2]
[edit]The first Puerto Rican governor of Puerto Rico

In 1579, the Spanish Crown named Jerónimo De Agüero Campuzano governor of Puerto Rico. He was to replace the then governor Francisco De Obando Y Mexia. Juan Ponce de León II became the first Puerto Rican to be appointed as acting governor of Puerto Rico until the arrival of Jerónimo De Agüero Campuzano, who assumed the governorship of the island that same year.[3]
[edit]Written work "Melgarejo's Memoirs"

In 1581, at the request of King Phillip II of Spain, Juan Lopez Melgarejo, who served as governor of Puerto Rico from 1581 to 1582, asked Juan Ponce de León II to write a general description of the West Indies with emphasis on the part corresponding to Puerto Rico. He did this with the collaboration of his fellow Puerto Rican Antonio de Santa Clara. Ponce de León II's written work Memorias de Melgarejo (Melgarejo's Memoirs) is one of Puerto Rico's most important historical documents. In 1581, Ponce de León II was able to establish the exact geographical coordinates of San Juan by observing an eclipse.[4]
[edit]Later years

San José Church

Later in life, after he became a widower, Ponce de León II embraced and lived a religious life. He took it upon himself to transfer the body of his grandfather, Juan Ponce de León from Cuba and had it interred at the San José Church in San Juan, (the remains were moved once again in 1913, when they were placed in the San Juan Cathedral).

Juan Ponce de León II's remains are buried in the San José Church, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has honored his memory by naming a high school in the town of Florida, Puerto Rico after him.
[edit]See also

Puerto Rico portal

Juan Ponce de León
List of famous Puerto Ricans
List of Governors of Puerto Rico
[edit]Notes

^ Juan Ponce de León. By Jane Sutcliffe. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Company. 2005. ISBN 0-8225-2944-0. Page 42.
^ Spanish Governors of Trinidad
^ Casa Blanca reveals centuries of San Juan history
^ Historia de la investigación científica en Puerto Rico
[edit]External links
Spanish Governors of Trinidad
Puerto Rico Profile: Ponce de León
Preceded by
Francisco de Obando y Mexia Governor of Puerto Rico
1579 Succeeded by
Jerónimo de Agüero Campuzano