Guaynabo

Guaynabo lies near the northern coast of Puerto Rico, among the hills and lowlands west of San Juan Bay. Here stood Caparra, the first permanent Spanish settlement on the island and the seat of its early colonial government. Its location linked the harbor with routes toward the interior and the gold-bearing country sought by the conquerors.

Juan Ponce de León founded Caparra in 1508. The settlement included his fortified house and a foundry, but its position inland from the harbor proved inconvenient. In the early 1520s the Spanish moved the town to the island at the entrance to San Juan Bay, where the port and city could develop together. Caparra was abandoned, leaving the foundations of the first colonial center behind.

The later city of San Juan also lies here.