Juan Cerón
2nd and 4th Governor of Puerto Rico
In office
1509–1510
Preceded byJuan Ponce de León
Succeeded byJuan Ponce de León
In office
1511–1512
Preceded byJuan Ponce de León
Succeeded byRodrigo Moscoso
Personal details
BornÉcija, Spain
NationalitySpaniard
ProfessionConquistador

Juan Cerón was a Spanish Conquistador and the second and fourth governor (1509–1513) of Puerto Rico when the island was still called San Juan. He was born in Écija, Spain.

Biography

Cerón's legacy in the history of the island is tainted by the rivalries between Nicolas de Ovando and Christopher Columbus' son, Diego Colón.[1][2] When Colón retook possession of his father's title of "Admiral of the Seas" and the governorship of Hispaniola in 1509, he dispatched Cerón to Puerto Rico with the title of Alcalde Mayor to replace Ovando's favorite, Juan Ponce de León.[3] Ponce de León had just begun the conquest of Puerto Rico the previous year, and his replacement produced much dissension among the few settlers. Ovando advocated for Ponce de León in Madrid, and the Crown conferred on him the title of Captain General and Governor of San Juan Bautista. In 1511, however, under pressure by Colón, Cerón was posted as governor and Ponce de León left for his first adventure in Florida.

Cerón's governorship did not end well; complaints about his handling of the Repartimiento of Indians prompted the Crown to remove him and reinstall Ponce de León as governor in 1513.[4][5]

References

  1. ↑ Abbad y Lasierr, Íñigo (1866). Historia geográfica, civil y natural de la isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico. Imprenta y librería de Acosta. pp. 84–5.
  2. ↑ Siegel, Peter E. (2006). Ancient Borinquen: Archaeology and Ethnohistory of Native Puerto Rico. University of Alabama Press. pp. 343–44. ISBN 0817352384.
  3. ↑ Floyd, Troy (1973). The Columbus Dynasty in the Caribbean, 1492-1526. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. pp. 99, 101, 104–105, 129.
  4. ↑ Vivas Maldonado, José Luis and Gaetano Massa (1969). The History of Puerto Rico. New York: Las Americas. pp. 70–90.
  5. ↑ Irving, Washington (1843). The Complete Works of Washington Irving in One Volume: With a Memoir of the Author. Baudry's European Library. p. 1021.


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