In the year of 1508 Puerto rico's first governor had arrived, Juan Ponce de León . The island remained Spanish despite harassment and numerous conquest attempts by pirates, English and Dutch expeditions. To defend the island against these threats, two forts, El Morro and San Cristóbal,were built to guard the approaches to San Juan harbor. Defense of these forts foiled attempts by Sir Francis Drake in 1595, by another English fleet in 1598, and by the Dutch in 1625 to capture Puerto Rico for their respective empires.