CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS'S EPOCH

Christopher Columbus, the explorer credited with the European discovery of Puerto Rico. Juan Ponce de León, Santervás de Campos, Valladolid, Spain, was the first governor of Puerto Rico. His grandson Juan Ponce de Leon II was the first indigenous governor of Puerto Rico. On September 24, 1493, Christopher Columbus set sail on his second voyage with 17 ships and 1,200 to 1,500 soldiers from Cádiz. On November 19, 1493, he landed on the island, naming it San Juan Bautista in honor of Saint John the Baptist. The first European colony, Caparra, was founded on August 8, 1508, by Juan Ponce de León, a lieutenant under Columbus, who was greeted by the Taíno Cacique Agüeybaná and who later became the first governor of the island. Ponce de Leon was actively involved in the Higuey massacre of 1503 in Hispaniola, present-day Dominican Republic. Norma Iris Pagan Morales was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. She comes from a very lovable family. Her parents, Juan Jose Pagan Rodriguez, and Digna Morales Figueroa, now deceased, always helped her with her projects as a writer and teaching career. Norma had three siblings, Adelin Milagros Pagan Morales, Juan Jose Pagan Morales, and Julio Manuel Pagan Morales. Julio Manuel Pagan Morales died on September 19, 1998, and Adelin Milagros Pagan Morales died on February 17, 2023. Norma did all her academic studies in New York City, Puerto Rico, and Canada. She worked in the City of New York Police Department. As an Educator, she worked in New York City Bd. of Education as an English Teacher, in Puerto Rico Bd. of Education as an English teacher and in the Puerto Rico Army National. Norma has published eleven books: Proud of My Puerto Rican Bequest, ¿Porque Soy Boricua? Poemas del Alma, Art in Written Form, A Baffl ing Short Stories Collection, On Job in the Big Apple, Puerto Rican Soldiers Serving with Pride, Nature's Rage in the Caribbean, Boricua de Pura Cepa, You are the One and The Unfaithfuls.