Culebra

Isla Culebra is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico (U.S.). It is located approximately 17mi east of the Puerto Rican mainland, 12mi west of St. Thomas and 9mi north of Vieques. Culebra is spread over 5 wards and Culebra Pueblo (Dewey), the downtown area and the administrative center of the city. Residents of the island are known as Culebrenses. With a population of 1,818 as of the latest census, it is Puerto Rico's least populous municipality.Originally called Isla Pasaje and Isla de San Ildefonso, Culebra is also known as Isla Chiquita (“Little Island”) and Última Virgen (“Last Virgin”, due to its position at the end of the Virgin Islands archipelago).HistorySome sources claim that Christopher Columbus was the first European to arrive at the island during his second voyage in 1493. It is believed that the island was populated by Carib Indians during the colonization. After Agüeybaná and Agüeybaná II led the Taíno rebellion of 1511, Taíno Indians from the main island sought refuge on Culebra and allied with Caribs to launch random attacks at the island estates.After that, the island was left abandoned for centuries. During the era of Spanish commerce through the Americas, it was used as a refuge for pirates, as well as local fishermen and sailors. Some sources mention an Englishman named Stevens, who was put in charge of Culebra in 1875 by the Spanish crown to protect the island from foreigners.