Settlement Juan Ponce de León landed in the
Guánica harbor on August 12, 1508, and founded a town called
Guaynía, a word derived from the
Taíno language that is popularly said to mean "
Here is a place with water". The town, considered the first capital of the island of Puerto Rico (which was at that time named
Isla de San Juan Bautista), was destroyed during the indigenous uprising of 1511, and the area was abandoned by Europeans for some years, during which time
San Juan (itself at first called Puerto Rico) became the capital of the island. The Spanish overseas province of Puerto Rico was ceded by a decadent imperial Spain in the aftermath of the
Spanish–American War under the terms of the
Treaty of Paris of 1898. Thus, Puerto Rico became a colony of the ascendant United States Empire. In 1899, the
United States Department of War conducted a
census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Guánica was 2,700. The re-founded town of Guánica was at first a barrio of the municipality of
Yauco until Guánica was established as a separate municipality on March 13, 1914. Víctor Ángel Sallaberry Safini was Guánica's first mayor.
Invasion |left On July 25, 1898, American forces (who included the young poet-writer
Carl Sandburg led by General
Nelson A. Miles) landed in Guánica as part of the course of the
Puerto Rico campaign in the
Spanish–American War. This invasion led to Puerto Rico being acquired by the United States. The invasion, just one small part of the war between Spain and United States, occurred in Guánica due to its sheltered harbor and proximity to
Ponce, besides being such an unexpected site for such an attack, which had been anticipated at the heavily fortified city of
San Juan. The
Gloucester was the first ship to set anchor in the
Bay of Guánica. Twenty-eight sailors and
Marines, under the command of lieutenants H. P. Huse and Wood, departed from the ship on rafts and landed on the beach. The Marines lowered the
Spanish flag from the beach flagpole and replaced it with the
American flag. They then proceeded to set up a machine gun nest and placed
barbed wire around their perimeter. The first land skirmish in Puerto Rico between the Puerto Rican militia and the American forces occurred when Lt. Méndez López and his men attacked and opened fire on the Americans. During the small battle which followed, the Americans returned fire with their machine gun and the
Gloucester began to bombard the Spanish position. Lt. Méndez López and three of his men were wounded and the militia unit was forced to retreat to the town of
Yauco. The invasion is commemorated by a contentious monument on the waterfront: along a broad paseo (
el malecón), there is a large coral boulder known as the
Guánica Rock (
Piedra de Guánica) marked by the carved words,
"3rd Battalion, 1st U.S.V. Engineers, September 16, 1898." July 25 was subsequently commemorated in Puerto Rico as Occupation Day, later renamed Constitution Day (see
Public holidays in Puerto Rico).
Today which indicates where Major General
Nelson A. Miles and his men landed Guánica is a modern town that maintains roots and connections to a traditional past. Known as
el pueblo de la amistad ('the town of friendship'), it is also occasionally referred to as
el pueblo de las doce calles ('the town of the twelve streets'). The
central part of town consists of five streets running north–south crossing seven other streets that run east–west, resulting in a compact grid of 24 square blocks, one of which is the main town square. Facing the square are the Catholic church, city hall, a school, and many shops; the plaza itself contains greenery, walks, and a music stand. In recent years this central area of the twelve streets has been extensively supplemented by suburbs in the south and west. Hills surround the town and harbor, including the hill to the east of town, itself topped by the tiny
Fort Caprón. Two large factories, one producing fertilizer, partially distract the eye from the pleasant landscape, but both have been important to the economy of the town, at one time dominated by the sugar plantations of
Central Guánica. The resort chain known as
Club Med once attempted to set up a luxury resort on beaches east of the town but withdrew due to local opposition which was apprehensive about both environmental and community degradation. East of the town some of land, including of beach, have been intermittently for sale. It is a fishing village; commercial fishermen still ply their traditional trade beyond the harbor entrance.
Copamarina Beach Resort & Spa offers beach access and a short boat ride to
Gilligan Island, the westernmost key of the
Cayos de Caña Gorda, which is a great spot to go
snorkeling. The water is crystal clear and shallow, in which old pieces of coral and fish can be seen. People can walk or swim from one island to another. On September 20, 2017,
Hurricane Maria struck the island of Puerto Rico. In Guánica, 951 homes were damaged or destroyed. On January 6, 2020, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake was felt in Guánica and nearby municipalities, and several residences and cars were destroyed. On January 7, 2020, a
6.4 magnitude earthquake hit. ==Geography==