 One and a half kilometres west of St. Ann's Bay is the site of the first Spanish settlement on the island, Sevilla, which was established in 1509 by Juan de Esquivel but abandoned around 1524 because it was deemed unhealthy.The capital was moved to Spanish Town, then called "St. Jago de la Vega", around 1534 (at present-day St. Catherine).Meanwhile, the Taínos began dying in large numbers, either from introduced diseases to which they had no immunity, or from enslavement by the Spanish.