History

• Main groups within the Caribbean region

  • The Bahamas
  • The Greater Antilles
  • The Lesser Antilles
• Major island groups of the Caribbean

  • the Bahamas
  • the Greater Antilles
  • the Lesser Antilles
• The mainland countries of Belize, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana are often included as Caribbean islands due to their political and cultural ties with the region
• Islands of the Greater Antilles

  • Cuba
  • Jamaica
  • Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic)
  • Puerto Rico
• Islands of the Lesser Antilles


  • the Leeward Islands
  • the Leeward Antilles
  • the Windward Islands
• The Leeward Islands are composed of the upper part of the Lesser Antilles and are referred to as the Leeward Islands due to their location away from the trade winds
• The Leeward Antilles islands of Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Tortuga and Isla Margarita are located closer to South America
• The Windward Islands are at the lower part of the Lesser Antilles and are referred to as the Windward Islands due to their location on the path of North-eastern trade winds
• The Circum or Wider Caribbean includes the Caribbean islands, together with the northern coastal states of South America, Central America, and the Caribbean coast of Mexico
• In November 1969, the Trinidad and Tobago Historical Society discovered the remains of a human skeleton at Banwari Trace, Siparia, dated to about 5,000 B.C., which is the oldest skeleton in the West Indies
• Paleo-Indians


  The first people of the Caribbean, also known as native Indians, Amerindians, the First People or the indigenous people, who existed in the Americas before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492
• Paleo-Indians settled mainly along the coasts and used basic tools made of stone and shells, were hunters, fishermen and food gatherers, and had no real knowledge of ceramics/pottery
• Meso-Indians


  A second group coming from the mouth of the Orinoco River in South America who entered the Caribbean around 500 B.C., had better tools than the paleo-Indians and had knowledge about pottery making
• Neo-Indians


  The third group to arrive in the Caribbean from the Orinoco in Venezuela around 300 B.C., who were the most settled of the three groups, practised agriculture, not just for subsistence, but for trade, and had better primitive weapons than the other groups
• Three possible points of entry for the first people of the Caribbean

  • From South America via the Orinoco River into Trinidad
  • From Central America via Yucatan and Belize into Cuba
  • From Florida into the Bahamas and Cuba
• Reasons for entry into the Caribbean region

  • Search for new lands
  • To escape warlike tribes who raided and attacked them
  • Curiosity/adventure
  • Ocean currents would have played a role in guiding the canoes from the mainland into the Caribbean region
• Two main groups of Saladoid people

  • Arawakan speaking people (Tainos)
  • Cariban speaking people (Kalinagos)
• Location of Tainos and Kalinagos in 1492

  • Tainos: The Greater Antilles (e.g. Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Cuba), The Bahamas, Trinidad, Barbados, Antigua
  • Kalinagos: Lesser Antilles (e.g. Trinidad, Tobago, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Kitts and Nevis), Puerto Rico, Hispaniola
• Cacique


  The Taino leader, a hereditary post passing from father to son or eldest son of the eldest sister if no son
• Cacique's duties


  • Ceremonial leader or chief priest who arranged worship and led ceremonies
  • Distributing land and assigning of labour on the land
  • Organizing the planting, reaping and distribution of crops
  • Asking for taxes
  • Making and enforcing laws
  • Being the supreme judge; settling disputes
  • Deciding to go to war or not
  • Being the war leader
• Mitayno


  The Taino cacique's assistant who would rule a village on behalf of the cacique, also a hereditary position
• Ouboutou


  The Kalinago ruler, an elected male position based on skill and prowess as a military leader, not hereditary
• Ouboutou's duties


  • More military duties as the Kalinagos were known for waging war, especially on the Tainos, for women, food and land; military chief during war times
  • Deciding when men should be summoned to plan a raid
  • Deciding who to attack
  • Deciding the strategy for the attack
  • Choosing canoe commanders
  • Presiding over victory celebrations; warriors who killed Taino chiefs would be given the mark of honour
  • Organizing hunting and fishing trips
  • Rewarding successful men in raiding and hunting
  • Making and enforcing the laws, judging cases and having the final say in all matters
• Tiubutuli Hauthe


  The Kalinago ouboutou's assistant who would rule on the ouboutou's behalf in a village, performing similar duties
• The Tainos were a more peaceful tribe and usually went to war to defend themselves, while warfare was an important part of Kalinago life
• Kalinago boys were taught fighting skills from an early age and had to pass an initiation test focused on bearing pain to prove their strength and bravery to become warriors
• The Kalinagos were expert seafarers, swimmers and canoe makers, which were useful in raiding, and had deadlier weapons than the Tainos such as fire-tipped and poison tipped arrows and a club with sharpened flints
• Warfare was a major part of Kalinago life to acquire food, supplies, land and Taino women who were taken as wives, and many Kalinago women spoke the Arawakan language for this reason