The Tainos and Caribs: The History of the Indigenous Natives Who Encountered Christopher Columbus in 1492

by Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents On October 12, 1492, one of the most important “first contacts” of the modern era was made when three ships of Spanish origin approached the island archipelago now known as the Bahamas, cautiously dropping anchor as the captain of the fleet gazed across to what he assumed was the coast of India. According to the popular version of the story, amazed at the sight of ships and men of such unfamiliar appearance, the native people of the island plunged into the clear waters of the western Atlantic, expertly swimming or aboard dugout canoes, and came out to greet the strangers. In all probability, the meeting was much more cautious and incremental, but the idea that these innocent people, raised in a tropical Eden, might embrace with such open enthusiasm their own destruction is picturesque, and no doubt appeals to contemporary perceptions. By whatever means one might choose to view it, this meeting of cultures certainly did mark the beginning of a bold new chapter in the history of Europe, and the beginning of the end of an ancient race of native people occupying a vast new continent. The entries into Christopher Columbus’ log as he recorded his first encounters with the indigenous people of the “Indies” are very telling. The island people arrived alongside his ships, offering humble gifts that Columbus described as “parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells.” These were the Taínos people, or the “Arawaks” as they would come to be known, and Columbus described them as “well built…with good bodies and handsome features.” This description, while deceptively simple, had a chilling implication, because Columbus was not taking note of these facts out of idle interest but in terms of how best to exploit them. As the natives offered up gifts, and the open hand of friendship, and by implication the freedom of their islands, Columbus remarked simply on their primitive appearance and primaeval technology, and how easy they would be to overcome. He noted, “They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane. They would make fine servants. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” What Columbus wanted in the first instance was gold, and he was quick to observe the small items of gold jewelry worn by his visitors, which alerted him immediately to the fact that there was gold to be found somewhere on these islands. To get to the bottom of it, Columbus would waste no time. Thus, a chain of events was set in motion that would permanently affect Western Civilization, and the Taino and Caribs, as the first two groups of indigenous people to encounter the Spanish, were driven to extinction within a century of Columbus’ arrival. In a sense, that would make them the first casualties of European imperialism in the New World. The Tainos and The History of the Indigenous Natives Who Encountered Christopher Columbus in 1492 examines the culture and history of the indigenous groups, and what happened when they came into contact with the Europeans. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Tainos and Caribs like never before.

Genres: Audiobook, History, Anthropology

90 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 15, 2021

About the author

Charles River Editors is an independent publisher of thousands of ebooks on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore & provider of original content for third parties.

Reviews

[Alysses · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let this be a stepping stone within many.

It's disappointing that the publisher/narrator couldn't go that extra step of making sure that words were pronounced correctly. We have enough resources that can help with that much.

[Migdalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informational!

I borrowed this book because as a Caribbean islander, I wanted to add Taíno and Carib history into our homeschool curriculum. For now, we don't need anything specific to our island, so this book was perfect. My child also didn't read it all, as some of what's in it isn't age-appropriate, but I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about the native peoples of the Caribbean islands. I took a star off my rating because of some spelling errors, but overall, it's an excellent book.

[Obsidian Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, some out dated info

I am a reconnecting Taino and friends with those who are reconnecting Kalinago. And while this book was very informative and gave me info I didn’t know, there was also some that some Elders who have been passed down oral history and cultural knowledge would disagree with. And if I were to share that information publicly I might get called in by an Elder for spreading misinformation

[Darrell Wong · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book was easy to read. It seems the second half is written by a different person entirely. The flow is horrible as if someone hurried to finish this book and simply copied and pasted various bits of information. Imagine reading a wikipedia page where various people added stuff to it but no one bothered to make the whole thing more readable.

[Giuseppe Casalino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool introduction to the Taino and Carib tribes

[Yvonne Lacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could split the star ratings, I'd give the book 3.5 stars (shame, shame for actually citing Wikipedia in the text...) and the reader 2 stars at most. An unfortunate, rushed reading, during which he mispronounced numerous common English words and butchered names like Louisiana and Amerindians.

Honestly, why can't publishers have their audiobook performers just read the book before they start recording, so they can make sure they have the correct pronunciation of names and non-English words...?

And it's such an interesting subject. Poor reading really gets in the way of my enjoyment. This publisher has put out such a wide variety of historical books, and should be able to do better than Wikipedia!