Before Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the island of Puerto Rico, the island was populated by Taíno Indians who named the island Borinquen. The meaning of Borinquen is "the great land of the valiant and noble Lord" or "land of the great lords". (History of Puerto Rico). …show more content…
213) Columbus claimed the island for Spain and renamed it San Juan Bautista. The Spanish crown began to rule and colonized the island. On his second voyage to the New World, Juan Ponce de Leon, who around the same time was colonizing the island of Hispaniola, accompanied Columbus. In 1508, Ponce de Leon was permitted consent to survey the island by Queen Isabella, and established Caparra (a port), where the island first mining and farming occurred. (Fodors: Puerto Rico) A year later, repartimiento is created which forces Tainos to work wage free in the gold mines. Protests against the repartimiento occurred amongst a group of priest, and the Spanish Crown in turn, paid the Tainos laborers as well as forcibly taught them about the Christian religion. Even with the small achievement of allowing the laborers to be paid, the Tainos were treated like …show more content…
By becoming the new president of the movement, Campos revived the party. All the efforts Campos continually put in for his cause paid off; Campos 's encouragement grew amongst people of all backgrounds. Even with his influence growing on the locals around, U.S. authorities found him threatening. The main objective of the Puerto Rican independence was to gain independence. To stress the means of their wants, the Nationalist Party held meetings and rallies to educate many. On a fateful day in October of 1935, a meeting was held in Río Piedras. The police tried to control the meeting, and the eruption of gunfire in turn, fueled the police to murder four Nationalists. Seeking vengeance for the death of their fellow members, two Nationalists killed a police commissioner in early 1936. A result of the retaliated murder was the arraignment of Pedro Albizu Campos and eight fellow members of the Nationalist party in federal court. They were charged with "conspiracy to overthrow the government of the United