It is an ongoing theme under the lens of colonialism that most (to all) peoples, places, and things in existence need to be identified, categorized, named, and more times than not exploited. That being said this group of people are historically identified as the Taino (meaning good or noble) people (as described by Christopher Columbus). The Taino people are (or were) part of a larger group of the Arawak people (originally from South America. Likely to have originated between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers, but now in the countries of Colombia and Venezuela) and the two biggest tribes within the Arawaks were the Taino & the Lokono (indigineous to South America - Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, the Falkland Islands, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay). The Taino more specifically are the indigenous people of the Caribbean, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic , Puerto Rico & Florida. Now, when Christopher Columbus arrived on the Island of Hispaniola (near modern day Cap-Haïtien) in 1492 it wasn’t called that. It was referred to as Quisqueya or Bohio and it was a well-organized communal society divided among five different Kingdoms. Hispaniola or Española means “Little Spain” and that name comes from Columbus. The Taino chief Guacanagari, (the first to greet Columbus in fact to rescue him from shipwreck) allowed 39 of his crew to stay on the island while Christopher Columbus left the island for an extended period to return later. That decision by the chief proved to be fatal. On Columbus’ second voyage, he began to require tribute from the Taíno in Hispaniola. Each person over 14 years of age was expected to deliver a hawks bell full of gold every three months, or twenty-five pounds of spun cotton. If they failed to do so, the European-Spanish cut off the hands of the Taíno and left them to bleed to death. These cruel practices inspired many revolts, but history proves in the long-run were unsuccessful. Reports debate the amount of Arawak-Taino that inhabited the island upon Christopher Columbus’ disruptive arrival range from 400,000-100,000 on the low-end. This forceful takeover of the island resulted in murders, revolts turned wars, famine, disease (especially smallpox) & slavery. These were large part the reasons why these people did not survive. All for the European-Spanish exploitation of the island’s gold and other natural resources. Within twenty-five years of Columbus’ arrival, most of the Taíno had died from enslavement, massacre, or disease. By 1514, only 32,000 Taíno survived . Which is why in 1490 the slave trade was beginning where the European-Spanish brought African people from present-day Senegal and Gambia as slaves to the island. The Taino were declared extinct in 1565. But this was not before the enslaved people (Taino & African) were intermarrying.
Columbus wrote:
Modern day groups who most notably currently identify as a descendant of Taino heritage are Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, & Jamaicans. Multiple sources do not include Haitians from that group, unfortunately, however, that doesn’t change what common sense will tell you. The island’s history is intertwined with more than 28 African tribes who were brought to Santo Domingo as slaves. Haiti & DR are one, even though they are not. There is an imaginary divide on the island. Recent research revealed a high percentage of mixed or tri-racial ancestry in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Those claiming Taíno ancestry also have African ancestry, European-Spanish ancestry and often, both. But we are in quite deep, a familial connection across the island as a whole is not recognized in modern day.
