Juan Ponce de Leon II
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Juan Ponce de León II born in Puerto Rico in the early part of the 16th century, was the first Puerto Rican to assume the temporary governorship of Puerto Rico.
He was born Juan Troche Ponce de Leon and was the son of Juan Garcia "Gracie" Troche and Juana Ponce de Leon. The Spanish Conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon was Juana's father and, consequently, Juan Ponce de Leon II's maternal grandfather.
Ponce de Leon II was sent by the Spanish Crown to establish a settlement on the island of Trindad in 1569. Ponce de León 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 Leon II may have been an on and off governor of the island from 1571 to 1591.
In 1579, Juan Ponce de Leon II became the first native Puerto Rican to assume, temporarily, the governorship of Puerto Rico.
In 1580, at the request of King Phillip II of Spain, Governor Juan Lopez Melgarejo asked Juan Ponce de Leon 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 Leon II's written work, known as "Melgarejo's Memoirs" or "Memorias de Melgarejo", is one of Puerto Rico's most important historical documents.
Later in life, after he bacame a widower, Ponce de Leon II embraced and lived a religious life. He took it upon himself to transfer the body of Juan Ponce de Leon from Cuba and had it interred at San José Church in San Juan, (the remains were moved once again in 1913, when they were placed in San Juan Cathedral).
Juan Ponce de Leon II's remains are buried in the Church of San José, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has honored his memory by naming a high school in the city of Florida, Puerto Rico after him.
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December 15, 2000
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