Theme 1 Indigenous

people and Europeans

Objectives 1-6
Describe the migratory and settlement patterns of
the indigenous peoples in the Caribbean up to
the arrival of the Spanish in 1492.

 Migration refers to the movement of people from one region to another.

The nomadic Amerindians, often referred to as the Indigenous Peoples,
migrated from Asia to settle in North, Central and South America. Being
nomads, they moved about in groups or tribes, searching for food and
pasture lands for their herds in the face of harsh winters.
 When the world experienced the last Ice Age, large sections of the earth,
including land, seas and oceans, were covered with ice. The mongoloid
peoples of East Central Asia migrated from their homeland across the
Bering Strait (narrow land bridge) which connects Siberia with Alaska in
North America.
 The indigenous peoples migrated and settled in North, Central and South
America. Nomadic tribes like the Sioux, Cherokee Indians and Eskimos settled in
North America, and the Mayans settled in countries of Central America. The
Tainos and Kalinagos migrated further south in the Caribbean to the Greater
and Lesser Antilles. As a result of all this, distinct patterns of settlement emerged
among the indigenes. The Mayans established city-states, while the Tainos and
Kalinagos did not develop beyond the village stage with rudimentary (basic)
social and political structures.
 THE EUROPEANS
 At the time of the Age of Exploration, the Europeans, namely England, Spain,
Holland/Netherland and France, were in a quest to establish their empire. It is
believed that the first set of Europeans who came were the Spanish in 1492, who
established colonies in different areas of the Caribbean. The French, English and
Dutch became interlopers in the monopoly that Spain had of the New World, in
particular the Caribbean. The English, Spanish and French settled on islands and
established plantations, employing enslaved labour. The Dutch, however, who
were traders, did not erect plantations except for salt ponds in Punta De Araya,
off the coast of Venezuela, and used Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao (ABC
islands) as their base and warehouses to carry out their trade with the mainland.
Map showing migration of indigenous
people across the Bering strait and
settlement patterns in the Caribbean.
 Describe the social and economic practices of
the indigenous people in the Americas up to 1492.
Describe the political practices of the
indigenous people
Kalinago Political Structure
Mayan Political Structure
 Explain the relationship between the main art
forms and the beliefs and technology of the
Indigenous people
 Importance of craft in indigenous culture The indigenous people of the
Caribbean in the pre-Columbian period believed that the spirits they
worshipped were represented on and embodied in their craft products.
They believed that the skills and design elements used were passed down
from ancient spirit beings. Strict rules were followed when learning craft
skills. Even today the measure of the beauty of an object is the care and
attention to detail demonstrated by the maker and complexity is highly
valued. Good craftsmen and women are recognised and respected in the
community by their ability to produce consistently superior work. Traditional
crafts practised by indigenous people in the Caribbean today are directly
descended from arts that originated on the South American mainland.
 Many techniques, decorations and patterns and the words and
names used have been retained from pre-Colombian times. Today
traditional craft is also a valuable way of expressing and preserving
traditional culture. Through the sharing of craft skills older people
pass on beliefs and identity to the next generation. Traditional crafts
such as basketry, calabash work and woodcarving are an
important source of income. Survival of traditional craft The craft
traditions that survived European colonisation did so because of
their usefulness to the colonial economy. Specialist crafts such as
basketry were required to provide articles necessary for the
processes of the plantation system.
 Traditional canoes continue to be made for fishing, trading and smuggling
throughout the colonial period. Importance of craft today traditional crafts
are in demand in the local economy and bring in valuable foreign
currency through tourism. Their craft enables indigenous artisans to live
sustainable and independent lives. There is a commitment to sustaining the
natural environment, as the source of the raw materials for craft products.
indigenous contributions to Caribbean culture today Different cultural
traditions - indigenous, African and European, were mixed together to form
today’s Caribbean culture. There is evidence of the survival of indigenous
culture in many areas- the knowledge of the use of medicinal herbs, food
and cooking, in crafts such as basketry and in the construction of canoes
and ways of fishing. Indigenous culture also exists in more subtle ways, such
as through traditional stories and superstitions and in relations with the
natural world. Indigenous language survives in various forms – in plant, food
and animal names, agricultural terms and practices.
 In all parts of the Caribbean place names are a readily
recognizable source of indigenous words. The world also owes
many important food crops to the indigenous people manioc,
maize, cocoa, pineapple and other fruits and vegetables. Beliefs
And Values Indigenous spiritual beliefs and ancestral values still exist
in Caribbean culture. Taíno concepts of family relations and
hospitality customs exist in the Dominican Republic and Cuba. In
Guadeloupe, the way living spaces are arranged into private and
public and the orientation of the house to the sea, are connected
with indigenous practices. Many farmers use indigenous spiritual
practices of agriculture such as avoiding certain days and using the
lunar cycle to plant.
 Island Caribs’ gardens were placed at a distance from the home
and were protected private spaces. In Dominica the practice of
locating the garden in the hills behind the house still exists today.
The way Caribbean gardens are mixed, with tree crops, root crops,
spices and peppers all together, shows a link with indigenous
practices. People in rural Cuba, Puerto Rico and Dominican
Republic still live in traditional houses called bohios, a Taíno name.
Many Creole stories have indigenous origins, including supernatural
beings such as the Ciguapa or Lajables, a beautiful woman beast
with long hair and inverted or cow’s feet.
Explain the factors that led to
Columbus’ voyages
 The quest for knowledge involved the exploration of their world. During the
Dark Ages, it was believed and taught that the earth was flat and that if
you went too far in the ocean, you would actually fall off! When the light of
the Renaissance dawned on them, more and more people began to
believe that the earth was round and not flat. They had to produce
tangible proof. That could only be done by sailing to ‘the other side'. But
there were other factors as well.

We will remember these by calling them the FOUR Gs

 1. God
 2. Goods
 3. Gold
 4. Glory
The Iberian peninsula –Spain and
Portugal
 1. God
 In the fifteenth century, all of Europe was Christian except for small parts in
the south east and south west which were held by people of the Muslim
faith. The Muslims controlled a large portion of the Old World or the Eastern
Hemisphere, from Africa in the west all the way around to western Asia.
 There was much rivalry between these two religions to see who could gain
the most converts. So far, the Muslims were leading. This angered the
Christians. As a result they held crusades against each other.
 The Christians in Europe were eager to discover new lands where they
hoped to find heathens that they could convert to Christianity and increase
the membership of their religion as the Muslims had done in the East.
 2. Goods
 Many merchants in Europe had more than a religious reason for hating the
Muslims. The Arab lands formed a barrier between Europe and the East for
example, India. How? These Arabs were Muslims. They charged the
Europeans high taxes to pass through their territory to get to the East Indies.
It is even said that the route was dangerous because zealous Muslims often
attacked, raided and killed traders as they passed through the area. The
Europeans needed the spice to preserve their meat to last them through
the long winters when the animals go into hibernation and a fresh catch is
not possible. What they needed was a direct route by sea (transoceanic)
that they control.
 (a) This would be less dangerous
 (b) The goods would be cheaper since they would not have to pay any
taxes to use the sea
 (c) They would make more profits
 (d) They could carry far more in a ship than they could on camels' back
through the Middle East
 3. Gold
 The Europeans also hoped to find gold and other precious minerals on the other
side of the world. This would make them more powerful.
 4. Glory
 Who would be the first to discover this new trade route by sea? This required
exploration by brave sailors willing to risk their lives and their reputation, but
whoever did it would certainly be famous! They would be richly rewarded by the
King and Queen of their country. They would go down in history forever! They
would have helped to shape the course of history for the entire Europe. What a
glory that would be.
 The Portuguese started the race. With the help of Prince Henry the Navigator,
prince of Portugal who had built a library and an observatory at Sagres, they
began intensive research and exploration voyages.
 Later on, an unknown Italian sailor, Christopher Columbus, would approach the
Spanish King and Queen and put forward a most unusual idea. If the earth was
round and not flat then you could go around it. If that is so, Columbus argued, he
could reach east by sailing west! He could even beat the Portuguese in finding
the route.
 Why did the King and Queen of Spain agree to sponsor an unknown Italian?
 Even though the Portuguese had begun their exploration voyages from as
early as 1420, they had only reached the coast of West Africa. When
Columbus approached King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492, the
Portuguese had not yet found or reached India. The race was still wide
open and so far Spain would be the second competitor. That meant that
they had a good chance of beating the Portuguese. Besides, if Columbus
‘found' land in the west, Spain would become the sole owner because the
Portuguese were exploring from the East. She would have a new overseas
empire. She could trade exclusively with them and make huge profits. She
would become a super power in Europe. She was a staunch catholic nation.
She could make literally thousands of new coverts to her religion with very
little effort. This proved to be so true.
 They signed an agreement with the Italian sailor. It stipulated Columbus
would get one tenth of all the wealth and trade. He would get the title of
Viceroy of all lands discovered while all the lands would be colonized and
controlled by Spain.
 The regents gave Columbus their blessings as well as the equipment, crew
and financing that he needed to set out on what would be the first of four
voyages to the New World.
 What new developments made these
voyages possible?
 1. Improved compass
 2. Improvement in shipbuilding. New types of ships were built in the 14th and
15th centuries. The steering was improved. Instead of two steering oars there
was a rudder at the stern. An extra mast was added to make the ship go
faster. The main sails were no longer triangular but square.
 3. Improvement in cartography- map making. Maps were now more
accurate as they included territories in the east.
 4. The development of gun powder meant that more people would be
willing to go on long sea voyages since they could better defend
themselves.
Assess the main impact of Europeans
on the indigenous people
Assess the impact of indigenous
peoples on the Europeans up to 1600.
 Introduction of crafts- Special Tools: The upper class of nitaínos made all
objects of wood, stone, gold, shell, bone, and pottery. A variety of Taíno
stone graters, mortars, and pestles have been found by archaeologists,
ranging from simple everyday household types for grinding yuca and other
tubers and making dyes, to richly decorated examples that were probably
used to grind cohoba powder from seeds. Stone knives and axes were
both tools and weapons. Petaloid axes, stone celts hafted into wooden
handles, were used to clear land, carve canoes and other wooden
objects, and perhaps to cut manioc roots. Wood was fashioned into a
variety of household articles, as well as into spears used in warfare. Musical
instruments of wood, played during ceremonies and areytos, included
maracas, rattles, and hollow-log drums of various sizes.
 Many Taíno implements and techniques were copied directly by the
Europeans, including the bohío (straw hut) and the hamaca (hammock),
the musical instrument known as the maracas, and the method of making
cassava bread. Many Taino words persist in the Puerto Rican vocabulary of
today. Names of plants, trees and fruits includes: maní, leren, ají, yuca,
mamey, pajuil, pitajaya, cupey, tabonuco and ceiba. Names of fish,
animals and birds include: mucaro, guaraguao, iguana, cobo, carey,
jicotea, guabina, manati, buruquena and juey. Other objects and
instruments include: güiro, bohío, batey, caney, hamaca, nasa, petate,
coy, barbacoa, batea, cabuya, casabe and canoa. Words were passed
not only into Spanish, but also into English, such as huracan (hurricane) and
hamaca (hammock). Also, many Taíno superstitions and legends were
adopted and adapted by the Spanish and still influence the Puerto Rican
imagination.
 Provision of Labour- Repartimento and Encommienda
 Diseases- tuberculosis and an extremely virulent syphilis