Juan Cerón

Juan Cerón was a Spanish conquistador who served as the second and fourth governor of Puerto Rico from 1509 to 1510, and 1511 to 1512. He was aligned with Diego Columbus and opposed to Juan Ponce de León.

Biography Cerón arrived in Puerto Rico in 1509. He was aligned with Diego Columbus and was appointed to political officers by Columbus.

Cerón's legacy in the history of the island is tainted by the rivalries between Nicolas de Ovando and Columbus. When Columbus 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.

Cerón took office as governor on 28 October 1509 while his brother Martín was made alguacil mayor. He instituted a new repartimiento against the indigenous population and took away natives that were assigned to colonists by de León. The monarchy of Spain gave Cerón permission to enslave all indigenous people who were captured in combat. King Ferdinand II of Aragon appointed de León as captain governor on 2 March 1510, and de León arrested the Cerón brothers on 10 July before sending them to Spain.

Távora was built by Cristóbal de Sotomayor in 1509, but moved the settlement in 1510 due to indigenous opposition. Cerón constructed a new city near the former site of Távora and named it San Germán.

Columbus restored Cerón as governor. A second repartimiento was instituted by Cerón on 25 July 1511, and ordered the indigienious population to work in gold mines.

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.