For Social Studies we enjoyed learning about the Taino, which were the first people to settle on the Caribbean Islands. In my opinion, the Taino were very sophisticated and had an interesting way of life. In third grade we learned about the Wampenoags and the Pilgrims, and they ended up getting on very well. But, the Taino and the Spanish did the exact opposite, and obliterated each other.
The Taino people
came to the Caribbean islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic,
Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Cayman Islands around 3,000 B.C.E. The
Taino had a very sophisticated way of life. They were good
navigators, fishermen, hunters, canoe makers, and farmers. They had
ceremonial ball parks where they played a game similar to baseball. They had
ceremonial dances. They had interesting beliefs such as their creation story.
They believe that all of humanity came out of two caves: one from which the
Taino came and one from which everyone else came. The Taino were divided into
three social classes: the workers, the sub-chiefs and noblemen, and the chiefs.
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| This is a Taino woman preparing dinner. We got it from a museum website. |
In 1492, Christopher Columbus, a Spaniard, came to the
Caribbean Islands with three ships, the Nina, The Pinta and the Santa Maria
looking for a western route to Asia. When he and his men got to the Caribbean
they were looking for riches and wanted to establish trade with any people they
found the island. But, when they got to the islands and met the Taino, the
Taino felt threatened.
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| This is an engraved picture of Christopher Columbus, around 1492. |
Over about a
period of 20 years, the Spanish established a colony. They expected that the
Taino would work for Spain and would become Christians. The Taino rebelled
against these ideas. The story is that what started their uprising was one Spanish
man who took of his clothes to cross the river and when he got to the other
side accused a Taino of stealing his clothes. From that point they started to
hate each other and fights started to break out which turned into a full on battle.
The Spanish had many unfair advantages in that fight like crossbows, cannons
and lances but the thing that really killed the Taino the most was disease: things
like chickenpox and smallpox. The Taino had no idea that if they just rested
and got some food and drink, they might be able to return back to war. For
nearly ten years the Spanish were capturing, killing and torturing the Taino
and some Taino thought that there lives were so different that they could not
cope with the changes so they killed their children and then committed suicide.
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| This picture shows the Spanish settlers conquering the Taino people. |
After this time, the battle was over. Spain had won and the
Tainos had been decimated. Some estimate that the number of Taino decreased
from 20,000-50,000 to about 4000 by the year 1515 and to 60 by 1544.
Even though the Taino essentially disappeared almost 500
years ago, their influence has continued.
Taino names for trees, plants, animals, and places continue to be used
in the present.
References:
http://www.elmuseo.org/pc-taino/
It sounds very cool when you have Halloween in Puerto Rico
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