Caribbean History- Form 3A1/A2

Objectives
 Understand the concept of history 
 Identify notable Caribbean historians and their contributions  

 Identify the original locations of the Indigenous People on a map

 Understand what self-sufficiency means

 Describe Taino and Kalinago Society organization

 Assess the contributions of the Mayans to Science, astrology and Mathematics

What is history?
Caribbean Historians?
Eric Williams (Trinidad)
•he received a B.A. in 1932 and a D.Phil. in 1938, with studies
in history and political science.

•founded (1956) the People’s National Movement (PNM) and

led his country to independence.

•Williams was the author of a number of books, among which

were The Negro in the Caribbean (1942), Capitalism and
Slavery (1944), History of the People of Trinidad and
Tobago (1962), British Historians and the West
Indies (1964), Inward Hunger: The Education of a Prime
Minister (1969), and From Columbus to Castro: The History of
the Caribbean, 1492–1969 (1970).
Hilary Beckles (Barbados)
• BA (Hons) degree in Economic and Social History from
The University of Hull
• 8th Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies 
• global public activist in the field of social justice and
minority empowerment.

• He has lectured in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia,

and has published over 100 peer reviewed essays and over
13 books on subjects ranging from Atlantic and Caribbean
History, gender relations in the Caribbean, sport
development and popular culture.
 The
Indigenous
People
The Americas and
the Caribbean
The Caribbean (the west
Indies) comprises all
islands and countries
bounded by the
Caribbean Sea or with
specific historical,
economic and political
similarities.
There are over 700
islands in the chain
subdivided by Greater
and Lesser Antilles and
further into Windward
and Leeward islands.
Migration into Americas
 Indigenous People arrived in the Caribbean from South
America. They were hunters and gatherers
following wild herds.
 The Taino and the Kalinago were some of the earliest
settlers in the Caribbean. The Europeans came after the
Amerindians with the Spanish arriving first in 1492 led by
Christopher Columbus
 Spanish was followed by the English, French and Dutch
 Africans later came as enslaved people from the 16th century
 Indentured Africans, Portuguese, Chinese and Indians came
between 1835 and 1845
Moving Into the Caribbean
The Tainos lived in the Greater Antilles such as the
Bahamas, Hispaniola, Cuba
Kalinagos lived in the lesser Antilles such as
Grenada, St Vincent.
They shared the islands of Trinidad, Puerto Rico and
Cuba
 Self Sufficient
• The Indigenous people were self-sufficient. The Caribbean’s
tropical climate and environment provided the first people with
food, clothing, shelter and materials for construction, industrial
and medical uses

List FOUR [4] items the Indigenous people use to build their
houses?
 The Taino settled in the
TAINO SOCIETY Greater Antilles-
Bahamas, Cuba,
Hispaniola, Puerto Rico
They were peaceful
agriculturalists and
craftsmen. They also did
fishing and hunting.
They wove cotton, Cloth,
Made hammocks,
pottery, made tools such
as knives and axes out of
stone, ornaments of gold
and shell
Technology
• The Taino were good potters and weavers. They made tools including
graters, hooks, cutting devices
• They were skilled hammock makers and made cloth from cotton
• They created magnificent canoes that could carry up to 100 men
which they used for fishing, war and migration
• Goldsmiths made gold ornaments and jewellery
Agriculture
• The Taino were subsistence farmers. They grew cassava, maize, sweet
potatoes, yam, cotton, tobacco, pineapple, tania and peppers
• Plots of land were called Cunucos
• Men cleared the land, but women planted, watered, fertilized and
harvested the crops. A cunuco was worked for 2-3 years then left to
regain its fertility
• Cassava was the main food. Women knew how to extract the poisonous
bitter juice from the cassava which was used to make flour and beer.
• They supplemented their diet by fishing, hunting animals like the agouti
and deer and gathered fruits from the forest
 Art Forms
 Taino pottery was made from sand, ash and crushed shell
Cotton was used to make nets, hammocks and cloth
Dyes from plants were used to paint jars, bowls, cups
They painted their bodies as a form of decoration and
protection from the sun- Roucou, saffron and berries were
used as dyes
Ornaments and jewellery made from bone, stone and gold
was worn
They decorated ceremonial chairs, canoes, duhos
Society and Political Organisation
Society
o Settlements ranged from 150-4000 people
o The largest settlements- Cuba, Puerto Rico,
Hispaniola
o Men were generally naked while women wore a
loin cloth and beads
o They loved festivals and celebrated weddings and
baby naming ceremonies
o They played a ball game called batos on a field
called batey
o They had plazas and ball courts
Political
o Islands and provinces were ruled by Caciques
o Sub-caciques governed small districts
o The cacique organized farming, hunting and food
storage
o Negotiated disputes to maintain peace
o Position was matrilineal and patrilineal- both men
and women could be Cacique
o Cacique lived in the Caneye
Kalinago
 Inhabited the lesser Antilles- Grenada, Barbados, St Vincent
They were fierce and warlike people who lived by fishing and
hunting.
They did little agriculture. That which they did was done by the Taino
women which they captured in battle
Main crop was arrowroot
Kalinago Society

 Kalinago villages are small and built around a square or

plaza
 All lands were owned by the community, but canoes and
ornaments were private property
 The carbet or meeting hall was located in the middle of the
village
 Women and men lived separately but men were
polygamous
 Women were obtained from raids on Taino villages and so
there was a similarity in their language and culture-
women worked in the fields, planting and harvesting, wove
cotton and made pottery
 They were patrilineal- men held power and authority
Political
Organisation

Leader was called the Ouboutou

He was chosen for his prowess in
war against the Taino
Competition for the position led to
rivalry
The Ouboutou was the village
commander
Art Forms
o Houses were made of wood with thatched roof
o Like the Taino the Kalinago made pottery
o Vines and leaves were used to make baskets, ropes and nets
o Cotton was used to make loin cloth
o Body paint and dyes were also important- body painting and
decoration, protection against the sun and camouflage
o They knew how to make cassava and sweet potato beer
o The art of war was trained to boys as soon as they reached puberty
Technology
• They used similar tools to the Taino but created superior
weapons. Bows and arrows were skillfully made
• They knew how to apply poison to the arrow heads
• They were skilled canoe makers. They made sophisticated
canoes that could carry up to 100 men
Mayan Achievements- Math, Science,
Astrology
1. Had a numbering system
2. Maya maths was ahead of Europe for many years
3. They had a sophisticated and complex calendar
4. They were great astronomers
5. They were skilled architects
6. They engineered roads
7. Created water pressure technology
8. They developed a writing system