Caribbean Life before the Arrival of the Europeans

RATIONALE

The topic chosen for this SBA is fascinating, in the sense that it provides a great opportunity for research and in turn allows a clear insight as to what Caribbean life was like socially, culturally as well as technologically. This topic also aids me in learning more about the Caribbean’s history. My topic possesses many educational benefits. For instance a clear insight is offered as to what Caribbean life was like before the arrival of the Europeans and the impact that their arrival had upon Caribbean life and indigenous life in general.

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Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the indigenous people lived in peace and harmony. They were simple people who mainly survived on simple subsistence farming, trading as well as hunting and gathering. They also had a very complex social and political organizational structure. Apart from their social and political structure, they were also very religious. They believed in a series of Gods and practiced many rituals in their honour. They practically dominated and conquered the entire Caribbean region, and it should be noted that the Caribbean was very unmodernised and the Indigenous peoples lived a simple free life. This changed in 1492 with the arrival of the Europeans. The Europeans, over a short period of time dominated the Caribbean region leading to the deculturisation as well as the extermination of the Indigenous race. With the arrival of Columbus in 1492, the Spanish began to explore the mainland territories of the Caribbean. It seemed as if the Spanish had used Hispaniola as a base for their exploration of the Caribbean. Within a few years the entire Caribbean region was dominated by Europeans. Much of what the Indigenous people had created was now destroyed. The imposition of Christianity upon the

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Caribs and Awaraks led to their deculturisation as most of their beliefs and customs were destroyed. Over the next few years the Amerindians were unfairly and brutally massacred for a number of reasons and the Europeans did this in the cruelest ways possible. The Spanish had many methods to massacre the Amerindians. One example was that they used dogs to attack the Caribs and Awaraks and the dogs basically tore them apart. Another key factor which led to the extinction of the Amerindians was the diseases that the Spanish brought from Europe. Diseases like smallpox swept through the Caribbean territories. Many Amerindians were not immune to these diseases and thus died. Another form of domination was that the Spanish settlers forced the Amerindians to give up their women and food etc. by force. They also robbed them. Many settlers also killed the Amerindians but mainly the Awaraks for a past time sport. The Amerindians organized many forms of resistance, such as fighting back against the Europeans but their resistance failed. The Spanish was able to take out the much larger Amerindian army because they had armor and better weapons. It was a case of iron and steel weapons verses stonage weapons.

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Another form of domination was the fact that Columbus made the Amerindians pay taxes and those who resisted were enslaved and sent to Spain for sale. The Amerindians were also subjects of forced labour. The Spanish had discovered many new crops they could exploit for the mother country. However, to cultivate these crops they needed labour, and thus they turned to slavery. The Caribs and Awaraks, were subjects to forced labour. They were overworked, unfed, and even beaten by the Europeans. They were forced to work long hours for which no direct benefits were provided. The Amerindians offered many forms of resistance. Firstly they tried starving themselves and the starvation technique along with the long hours worked led to the death of the slave. Many Caribs and Awaraks also killed themselves as they believed that killing themselves was better than living the life of a slave. These events led many of the Indigenous people to flee to the west to escape these harsh treatments. Some Indigenous tribes stayed and faced warfare with the European settlers; this was a major factor that constituted to the domination and thus the extinction of the Indigenous race. It should be noted that in 1503, the Indigenous people were completely deculturised. This was because Queen Isabella had sent Ovando to the Caribbean

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to introduce the Encomienda system. Under this system the Amerindians were converted to Christianity, to look after their wellbeing. While the land was to remain the property of the Spanish crown, groups of Amerindians were given to Spanish settlers to work for their benefit. Although it was a system of protection for the Indigenous people, in my opinion it led to the deculturisation of the indigenous people. What Ovando did was introduce an entire new form of slavery as the Spanish settlers were to protect the Amerindians but the Encomienda system was ignored and it simply turned into a form of slavery, in which the Indigenous people was forced to conform to the belief of Christianity. Ovando also imported slaves to Hispaniola from other territories such as The Bahamas. The Spanish completely deculturised the Indigenous people, in the sense that converting them to Christianity under the Encomienda system, put an absolute halt on the Amerindian’s religion, culture and customs. Their beliefs could not be passed on to another generation and thus their religion and culture faded away. There was also the Law of Burgos which was a set of laws governing the behavior of Spaniards. They forbade the maltreatment of the indigenous people, and endorsed their conversion to Catholicism. The laws were created to avoid legal problems which had arisen between colonists and amerindians. However these

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laws were never fully inforced and thus, it had little impact. These laws in a way led to the fall of the Amerindian empires around the Caribbean. As their culture and religion faded away. The collapse of the Amerindian empires led to the establishment of the Spanish and European empire. Under Ovando’s governance the number of Spanish settlers increased as incentives such as houses and land were promised to the settlers. The population rapidly increased and very soon Hispaniola was a very important area for trade. This led to another problem, slavery. With the Amerindians almost non-existent, the Europeans turned to African slaves. Their dependency on slaves led to many slaving companies being established . These slaving companies enabled industrial growth within the Caribbean. The very land the Amerindians were once walking on was now becoming an industrial breathing ground. The Spanish ruled most of the territories in the Caribbean for centuries. In the process they practically destroyed and deculturised Amerindian life. Another negative impact was that they introduced slavery to the Caribbean. The arrival of Columbus had really impacted on the life of the Amerindians. It leaves speculation as to what if the Europeans did not arrive in the 15th century
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but many centuries later, what would Amerindian life be like in terms of their religion, agriculture and technology? In the end it seems as though the accidental voyage of Columbus in 1492 has changed the entire history of the Caribbean. Although, one thing remains for sure, the voyage enabled European enterprise and Spain’s power as a nation was quickly growing. At that time they were on the verge of domination. It can clearly be seen from the points presented in my essay that the arrival of Columbus led to the domination and deculturisation of the Indigenous people. Therefore, it can be said that the rediscovery of the new world by Christopher Columbus opened the flood gates to European domination and the deculturisation of the indigenous people. It seems that this lead to slavery but it also introduced the Caribbean to an entire new culture and a new way of life. Columbus’ rediscovery of the New World practically changed almost every aspect of Caribbean life in the 15th century and onwards.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

This school based assessment was complied with information from the following sources: 1. William, Claypole and John, Robottom, Caribbean Story Book 1- 3rd edition, Longman, 2001. 2. Gilmore, John, Allen, Beryl M, McCallum, Dian & Ramdeen, Romila, Empires and Conquests, Longman, 2003. 3. Rouseo, Irving, The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the people who greeted Columbus, Yale University Press, 1992. 4. Wilson, SW, The Indigenous people of the Caribbean, University Press of Florida,1997. 5. www.google.com/caribbeanhistory 6. www.wikipedia.com 7. Mircosoft Encarta

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Columbus Arrives in the Americas
On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus and his crew arrived in the Americas. They landed on a small island in the Bahamas. He called the land San Salvador. He we can safely say that this was the beginning of the domination of the indigenous people.

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Bibliography: This school based assessment was complied with information from the following sources: 1. William, Claypole and John, Robottom, Caribbean Story Book 1- 3rd edition, Longman, 2001. 2. Gilmore, John, Allen, Beryl M, McCallum, Dian & Ramdeen, Romila, Empires and Conquests, Longman, 2003. 3. Rouseo, Irving, The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the people who greeted Columbus, Yale University Press, 1992. 4. Wilson, SW, The Indigenous people of the Caribbean, University Press of Florida,1997. 5. www.google.com/caribbeanhistory 6. www.wikipedia.com 7. Mircosoft Encarta 8 Columbus Arrives in the Americas On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus and his crew arrived in the Americas. They landed on a small island in the Bahamas. He called the land San Salvador. He we can safely say that this was the beginning of the domination of the indigenous people. 9 10