Before the Taíno, several earlier Indigenous cultures lived in Puerto Rico, each contributing to the island's pre-Columbian history. Here's a simplified breakdown of the main groups that inhabited the island before the rise of the Taíno:

Are you the same person today as you were 20 years ago? Absolutely not.

The same goes for countries—especially Spain. Yet many people still cling to what Spain did to Puerto Rico over 500 years ago, ignoring the reality that Spain today is not the Spain of the past.

Spain has a completely different government structure. The king now has minimal power, and the country is a modern parliamentary democracy. Its economy has rebounded and, in many cases, is performing better than other major countries in the European Union—and even better than the U.S. in areas like healthcare, education, and public services.

Spain’s social safety net, healthcare system, and quality of life consistently rank higher than those in the United States.

The point is this: You can’t—and shouldn’t—judge a person or a country solely by their past. People evolve. Nations evolve. And in today’s world, Spain stands as a very different and much-improved country than it was centuries ago.

In the early 16th century, Spanish colonizers began importing enslaved Africans to Puerto Rico, marking the island’s entry into the brutal transatlantic slave tradewelcome.topuertorico.orgelliesbookz.wordpress.com. Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León established the colony in 1508, and by 1509 a few free Black men (such as Juan Garrido and Pedro Mejías) arrived as part of his entourageelliesbookz.wordpress.com. However, these were the exceptions – by 1513 the Spanish had started bringing enslaved Africans to replace the decimated Taíno Indian workforcewelcome.topuertorico.org. In 1517 the Spanish Crown officially authorized large-scale slave importation, accelerating the forced transport of West and Central Africans across the Atlanticen.wikipedia.org. This resulted in a rapidly growing enslaved population on the island (about 1,500 slaves by 1530, rising to 15,000 by 1555elliesbookz.wordpress.com). These Africans were brought in chains to toil in gold mines, build forts, and work sugar plantations – a harrowing journey and existence of bondage that this thumbnail aims to conveyelliesbookz.wordpress.com.