|
|
|
|
The history Caribean
   
The history of the Caribean is rich with adventure, from pirates, to smugglers, slavery, Indians, traders and explores!
When the first Europeans arrived in the Caribean, they found two races of America Indians living there, the Caribs, originally from Venezuela, who mostly inhabited the Lesser Antilles, and the Tainos, who settled the Winwards and Leewards, eventually spreading to the greater Antilles and the Bahamas. Both tribes were thought to have populated the Isands steadily from several hundred years BC. The tribes found nourishment by fishing, and eating the various fruits and wildlife found on the islands.
The Carib tribe are often attributed to the destruction of the Tainos, but in fact the history books more accuratly state it was in fact Spanish who wiped out the tribe mostly by enslaving them and forcing them to work in the gold mines and pearl beds, many of the tribe commited suicide to avoid this rather un-appealing life style. The gold rush continued right up until the early 1500's at which point more lucrative supplies were found in Mexico. Very few Caribean Indians are still alive today.
Christopher Columbus set out to find a new route to the Asian "spice Islands" in order to restore spice supply routes. He set out to the West and upon finding the Caribean, branded them the West Indies, as he thought he has discovered a Western approach to the Asian spice Islands, he maintained this theory until his death in 1506. Columbus made several voyages to the Islands, first spotting them in 1492, he named the Island San Salvador. He then landed in Cuba. Upon his return to the region in 1502 he discovered gold deposits on the Islands.
The Islands rich gold deposits as well as Sugar plantations, made the Islands rich picking for European nations, and war was waged over the Islands many times, until the early 1800's when slavery was ended. The Islands were no longer considered such a jewel.
A rough time line:
1496 The Spanish founded settlements in Hispaniola
1508 The Spanish founded settlements in Puerto Rico
1515 The Spanish founded settlements in Cuba
1554 The Dutch plundered Santiago de Cuba
1555 The French plunder Havana
1586 Santo Domingo surrendered to the British
1595 The British took over San Juan
1628 The Dutch captured the Spanish silver fleet off Cuba
1634 The Dutch seized Curaçao
1635 The French acquired Martinique
1655 The British commandeered Jamaica from Spain
1665 The French occupied half of Hispaniola and called it Haiti
Common misspellings found on this page include:
|
|
|
|
