History of Amerindians in the Caribbean, the Arawaks. As the 20th century came to a close, Tony Sabga developed his father's small business into one of the foremost conglomerates not merely in Trinidad and Tobago, but in fact in the Caribbean. The Dutch in the Caribbean Reasons why they came: - Political 1. The Arawak World. The Spanish came to America to spread the Christian faith and to expand trade. Taino, Arawakan-speaking people who at the time of Columbus’s exploration inhabited what are now Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The text is divided into six parts: a background review of archaeology and historiography, the period of colonial encounter, the pre-Colombian migration of village farmers, the Taino (or Arawak) on the eve of the Spanish conquest, the Island Carib of the Lesser Antilles, and finally, three short essays on contemporary Caribbean indigeneity. With dashing good looks, the Spaniard combined hard-won experience with the arrogance of a natural leader. Social Organization. Unknown by any name other than "The Spaniard", this enigmatic figure was the one agent that Ferdinand had never known to fail. The process was aided by the introduction of European diseases to which the Arawaks had little or no resistance. European settlements in the Caribbean began with Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus arrived in America in 1492 and, during the next 400 years, the Spanish arrived and took control of most of the North American continent, including Mexico, the California Pacific Coast, Central America and even … The Spanish West Indies or the Spanish Antilles (also known as "Las Antillas Occidentales" or simply "Las Antillas Españolas" in Spanish) were Spanish colonies in the Caribbean.In terms of governance of the Spanish Empire, The Indies was the designation for all its overseas territories and was overseen by the Council of the Indies, founded in 1524 and based in Spain. The Spaniards learnt the use of mahogany very soon after they came to the New World. The Spaniards built ships from mahogany. When Britain called on the Caribbean for support in World War Two, more than 10,000 men and women crossed the Atlantic to help the war effort. Caribbean Islands Table of Contents. The Dutch thus had a legitimate right to be in the Caribbean. This was similar to … About Taino technology and culture, the Arawak history. There were people called the 'SIBONEYS' in Cuba and the other large islands before the coming of the Arawaks and Caribs but our knowledge of them is not as extensive as that of the Arawaks and Caribs, also known as the Amerindians. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the community had prospered and started to move out of the city centre and in the then newly developed suburb of Woodbrook. Although our perception may not be accurate, we could still sketch a picture of these inhabitants of the islands, before the coming of the Spaniards. Caribbean cultures are marked by the heritage of the economy of plantation since the 18 th Century (sugar, coffee, cotton), generating highly hierarchised socio-economical structures, and share an identical geographical situation comprising insularity, geographical and demographical smallness and strong exposure to natural disasters. African and African-style cultures in the Caribbean Caribbean planters kept track of what they believed were the African ethnicities of their enslaved people because they … Names like Hanna, Mahfood, Issa, Joseph, Ammar, Azan, Shoucair, Karam, Younis, Khouri, Fadil, Feanny, Dabdoub, Matalon and Ziadie are giants of retail, tourism, horse racing, industry and manufacturing. Once the most numerous indigenous people of the Caribbean, the Taino may have numbered one or two million at the time of the Spanish … In the 1500?s the first Spanish settlers set sail for the New World in search of the opportunity to start a new life. Instead of placating the Spanish, this evidence of great wealth fueled their dreams of conquering the indigenous people, raiding their treasures, taking control of their land with its gold and silver mines, and becoming rich beyond their wildest dreams . Surinam , known as the ‘ Jewish Savannah ’, where a vibrant Jewish community was granted full and equal rights two hundred years before the Jews of other communities in the region. The trade in captives to the Spanish Caribbean, most notably to Cuba, continued until 1866. The background of the Spanish?s journey to the new world is one of personal gain, exploration, and religious conversion of the natives. Thererafter, when the limited supply of gold is exhausted, the Spanish West Indies survive as part of the broader economy of Spanish America. Columbus and crew met friendly people there – the Taino, an Arawak people who lived across some of the Caribbean. The Spaniard was the most trusted agent of King Ferdinand of Spain. The first Spanish colonists in the Caribbean, in the 16th century, have hoped primarily to grow rich by finding gold. The Spanish colonization of America was started by the Spanish conquistadors. On the Caribbean islands existed some degree of slavery. With Indigenous governments such as the efficient Inca Empire in ruins, the Spanish conquistadors needed to find a way to rule their new subjects. The duties of the sexes were well defined: Clothing of the Taino – Arawaks. The Governor in 1702 reported that the total number of inhabitants, that is, Spaniards, did not exceed 60 (probably households). In fact, the oldest known sample of their work is a cross in the cathedral at Santo Domingo, dating back to 1514. When the Spaniards first came in contact with the Tainos, they thought that they had small firebrands in their mouths. The Spanish cleric Bartolomé de Las Casas was appalled by the treatment of the island peoples. Spanish veterans from dozens of Europeans battlefields flocked to the New World, bringing their weapons, experience, and tactics with them. Origins of the Arawaks; Spanish in conflict with the Taino. The Spanish missionary Bartolomé de Las Casas’s intervention to prevent the genocide of the Indian population came too late to save the Taino, although it did lead to the introduction of enslaved Africans in the early 16th century, a solution to the Spaniards’ labour problem that Las Casas had suggested. The Spaniards, when they came, tortured and killed the Arawaks to get their land. The natives of the islands are put to work as slaves in the mines. The Jewish Nation of the Caribbean: the Spanish Portuguese Jewish settlements in the Caribbean and the Guianas Occasionally one comes across a book, which is unexpected, delights and inspires. GOLD Upon his return from the New World, Columbus reported to the Spanish crown that he saw much potential for riches in the newly discovered territory. During the African slave trade that began in the early 1600's, foods from West Africa came to the Caribbean Islands, including okra, pigeon peas, plantains, callaloo, taro, breadfruit and ackee. When the Spanish came to a place for the first time, they were often friendly with the locals, who would give them gifts of gold and women. Aware of other islands, Columbus and crew left Guanahani late on August 14 and journeyed for three months, including to a larger island they called Hispaniola , still believing they were in … They ended up fighting in the Caribbean battles of the 1790's, and settled in Trinidad after hostilities ended. The buccaneers were the semi-lawful sailors and soldiers who harassed Spanish ships and ports in the Caribbean Sea during 17th century. The Spanish, the first Europeans to claim land on the Caribbean islands, were often harsh taskmasters. The Buccaneers History of the buccaneers. The Spanish that explored and conquered parts of the New World had three basic ideas that motivated them--Gold, Glory, and God. The first Carribean islands to be settled by the British were St Kitts (1623/4) in the north-east and Barbados (1627) in the south-east corner of the Caribbean Basin. They found the wood of the islands harder, with a richer colouring and very finely grained. 27 In contrast, during those same years scholars in Spain and the Spanish Caribbean conducted extensive research, mainly in the Archivo General de Indias (AGI), and published compilations of transcribed documents … Carrying an elaborate feudal commission that made him perpetual governor of all lands discovered and gave him a percentage of all trade conducted, Columbus set sail in September 1492, determined to find a faster, shorter way to China and Japan. According to archaeologist Laura Del Olmo Frese, while the Taínos had their similarities, they also had their differences in art and governance. 2. The French and the English did not get on very well in the islands of the Caribbean. Some came directly to the West Indies, but many were allowed to join British units to fight the revolutionaries. But it was not only used for recreation, it also held a special place in religious ceremonies, feasts and celebrations. They destroyed the English and French settlements. The Taínos were present throughout the Caribbean islands from approximately 1200 to 1500 A.D., and when Christopher Columbus arrived in the region, the Taínos were the indigenous group he encountered. Following the abolishment of the slave trade in 1838, laborers from India and China came to work in the fields and plantations, adding two very different culinary influxes to the already long list. Their deadly combination of greed, religious zeal, ruthlessness, and superior weaponry proved too much for native armies to handle, especially when combined with lethal European diseases, such as smallpox, which decimated native ranks. To Spain, they were just the ordinary pirates, but for their nations the buccaneers were a lot more than that. This meant that the major islands of the Caribbean – the Greater Antilles – were already Spanish possessions when the British began their involvement with the Caribbean in the early 17th century. However, it was really tobacco leaves rolled together. Many parts of the Americas soon came to be under the rule of Europeans, resulting in large migrations, exchange of goods, and contagious diseases. Many of the second generation Lebanese-Jamaicans did not return to Lebanon to find wives and retain aspects of their culture as had been the custom of some of their parents. They were so overworked and ill-treated that within a short time they had all died. In the 1500s, Spain systematically conquered parts of North, Central and South America as well as the Caribbean. In 1629 the Spaniards returned to evict the settlers and reclaim their territory. Sauer’s book did not lead to a strong upsurge of interest in the early Spanish Caribbean among Anglophone scholars, with again some important exceptions in the 1970s and 1980s. There are competing theories as to what actually were the main push and pull factors that caused the Tainos to migrate from their original homelands in northern South America. According to the governor there were also about 1,500 native people on the missions and encomiendas (estates with indigenous labour – … In 1560 he published a book, History of the Indies , to show how they had been killed and abused. On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta and the Nina. The encomienda system was put in place in several areas, most importantly in Peru. The settlers agreed to leave the two islands, but soon returned. The Netherlands became part of the Spanish Empire in 1517 when a Dutch prince became ruler of Spain. 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