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Article: San Juan: city of riches: Puerto Rico's capital offers fine beaches, a tropical climate, and history galore. (PVA's Convention City).
- Article from:
- Paraplegia News
- Article date:
- July 1, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Paralyzed Veterans of America. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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On September 25, 1493, Christopher Columbus--with 17 ships and almost 1,500 men--set sail from Cadiz, Spain, on his second voyage to the New World. Not quite two months later, he discovered Puerto Rico.
Originally the newcomers called the island "San Juan Bautista," for Saint John the Baptist, and the town "Puerto Rico" because of its excellent potentialities. Later the two names were switched. Thanks in part to the enthusiasm of Juan Ponce de Leon, an ambitious lieutenant to Columbus, the city of Puerto Rico ("rich port") quickly became Spain's most important military outpost in the Caribbean.
Called "La Ciudad Amurallada," San Juan was founded in ...
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