Taino Drummers During Areyto(Powwow)1998

Humble Brass Was Even Better Than Gold to the Taino

Humble Brass Was Even Better Than Gold to a 16th-Century Tribe in Cuba By JENNIFER PINKOWSKI Published: January 16, 2007 Because of its otherworldly brilliance, the 16th-century Taíno Indians of Cuba called it turey, their word for the most luminous part of the sky. Skip to next paragraph They adored its sweet smell, its reddish hue, its exotic origins and its dazzling iridescence, qualities that elevated it to the category of sacred materials known as guanín. Local chieftains wore it in pendants and medallions to show their wealth, influence and connection to the supernatural realm. Elite women and children were buried with it. What was this treasured stuff? Humble brass — specifically, the lace tags and fasteners from Spanish explorers’ shoes and clothes, for which the Taíno eagerly traded their local gold. A team of archaeologists from University College London and the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment came to these conclusions by analyzing small brass tubes found in two dozen burial sites in the Taíno village of El Chorro de Maíta in northeastern Cuba, according to a recent paper in The Journal of Archaeological Science. The graves mostly date to the late 15th and early 16th centuries, when waves of gold-hungry conquistadors landed on Caribbean shores. Within decades, the Taíno, like their neighbors the Carib and the Arawak, were largely wiped out by genocide, slavery and disease. But the archaeologists say this is not the whole picture. Their research — the first systematic study of metals from a Cuban archaeological site — focuses on one of the few indigenous settlements ever found that date from the period after the arrival of Europeans. The scientists say the finds add important detail and nuance to a history of the Caribbean long dominated by the first-person reportage of the Europeans themselves. “It’s certainly true that the arrival of the Europeans was in the short term devastating,” said Marcos Martinón-Torres of University College London, the project’s lead researcher. “But instead of lumping the Taíno in all together as ‘the Indians of Cuba who were eliminated by the Spaniards,’ we’re trying to show they were people who made choices. They had their own lives. They decided to incorporate European goods into their value system.” Brass first came to the Americas with Europeans. While a few brass artifacts have been found elsewhere in the Caribbean, no one knows when and how they were acquired. In contrast, El Chorro, first excavated in the mid-1980s, is one of the best-preserved sites in Cuba, and its artifacts have a clear archaeological context. Training X-rays and microscopes on a half-dozen pendants, Dr. Martinón-Torres and a Cuban archaeologist, Roberto Valcárcel Rojas, determined the metals’ bulk chemical composition. It was a mixture of zinc and copper — the elements of brass. They then used a scanning electron microscope to find the pendants’ unique geochemical signature. All came from Nuremberg, Germany, a center of brass production since the Middle Ages. The few other metal artifacts from the cemetery — pendants made from a gold-copper-silver alloy — probably came from Colombia, where the Taíno are thought to have originated. Only two tiny gold nuggets, of local origin, were found. Sixteenth-century portraits in places like the Tate Gallery held further clues. Many subjects wear bootlaces and bodices fastened with objects strikingly like those found in the graves. Similar objects have been excavated from early colonial settlements, including Havana and Jamestown, Va. European accounts said the Taíno traded 200 pieces of gold for a single piece of guanín, of which brass was the highest form. Yet the residents of El Chorro may not have considered the trade unfair, said Jago Cooper, a field director for the project. In fact, access to European brass may have increased the power of local chieftains, hastening the transition from an egalitarian society to a hierarchical one. The finds from El Chorro suggest that interaction between the Taíno and the Europeans may have been more varied than once thought. “Large European materials being incorporated into their culture, and exotic materials being used to reflect Taíno beliefs — it’s new, important evidence for what was happening during contact,” said William F. Keegan, an archaeologist at the University of Florida and the co-editor of The Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, who was not involved in the research. “There’s been a tendency to assume the Taínos quickly disappeared due to European diseases and harsh treatment by the Spanish, but there’s increasing evidence that the culture continued to be vibrant until the middle of the 16th century.” Some of that evidence comes from another site in Cuba: Los Buchillones, a coastal settlement about 200 miles west of El Chorro de Maíta. First excavated in 1998 by a Cuban-Canadian team, Los Buchillones is the site of the only known intact Taíno house. In the last decade, continuing study of the site and the surrounding region by Mr. Valcárcel Rojas and Mr. Cooper has revealed a community with trade networks all over the Greater Antilles that survived into the Spanish colonial period in the early 17th century. Clearly, they would have known about Europeans’ presence, but chose to avoid contact, unlike El Chorro’s chieftains. It may have kept them alive longer. Skip to next paragraph Tate Images A 17th-century portrait of William Style of Langley, England, shows him wearing lace tags, above, and other accouterments like those found in Cuba. Together, the sites hint at an array of tactics not documented by the Europeans. “Most accounts seem to be based on the idea that Europeans ‘acted’ and Taíno ‘reacted,’ ” said Elizabeth Graham of University College London, who with her husband, David Pendergast, first excavated Los Buchillones. “In the case of El Chorro de Maíta, the Taíno were clearly being proactive.” The finds at El Chorro also help to fill a hole in the study of the Caribbean past created by Cuba’s political isolation. Archaeology of the island has been little known outside of its borders since the 1959 revolution. Very few foreign archaeologists have dug there, and the few field reports published by Cuban archaeologists, mostly trained by Soviet scholars, are difficult to get outside the country. In recent years, there have been efforts to bring Cuban archaeology out of the long shadow cast by the 45-year-old United States sanctions. In 2005, the scholarly volume Dialogues in Cuban Archaeology assembled a dozen English-language reports in one place. (In it is a paper Mr. Valcárcel Rojas co-wrote about El Chorro de Maíta.) The relatively new Journal of Caribbean Archaeology currently has its first Cuban paper in peer review. For most American archaeologists, papers published by their international colleagues are about as close as they are going to get to Cuba these days. Since 2004, the Bush administration has greatly tightened restrictions on educational travel to Cuba; programs under 10 weeks are now prohibited. Last summer, Florida went a step further, banning public universities from spending money on research in countries the State Department considers state sponsors of terrorism, including Cuba. Both sets of regulations are being challenged in court. Last spring, Mr. Valcárcel Rojas was denied a visa to attend the annual Society for American Archaeology conference in Puerto Rico. Dr. Martinón-Torres and Mr. Cooper presented the research — which received Cuba’s highest academic prize — without him. Still, the British-Cuban team is seeking a three-year grant in hopes of uncovering the trade and social networks that connected El Chorro’s inhabitants — in particular, the effects of the brass-gold trade on those connections. And there is European behavior to puzzle out, too. “We would expect the Europeans to load up with brass in their cargos, but we haven’t found that brass in Cuba,” Dr. Martinón-Torres said. “It’s possible it hasn’t been recognized by archaeologists. We expect if both sides were happy with this exchange, there must be more evidence of it.”

VI as an Historical Frontier between the Taino and the Caribe

Reprinted from Afredo E. Figueredo, (1978) "The Virgin Islands as anHistorical Frontier between the Taínos and the Caribs."Revista/Review Interamericana, 8(3), Fall: 393-393, by kindpermission of the author.The PDF version of this article has maintained the originalpagination and formatting.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Virgin Islands as an Historical Frontier between the Taínos andthe CaribsAlfredo E. FigueredoThe role played by the Virgin Islands as a frontier between theTaínos of Puerto Rico and the Caribs of the Lesser Antilles has notbeen studied adequately. Historians and archaeologists either haveavoided the issue,1 or been divided on the subject2 due to anincomplete consultation of printed sources, which are scattered andin various languages. This is the first attempt at a documentedhistory encompassing the whole period in question (1493-1688), andexisting theories may be tested against it. [1]St. Croix was the first of the Virgin Islands to be discovered byColumbus' fleet, and the only one found to be inhabited.3 It wasreported as being well-cultivated in 1493 and was grouped with theother main Carib centers of Guadeloupe and Dominica.4 From itfrequent raids were launched against the Taínos of Puerto Rico. [2]As in Guadeloupe and the other Carib islands, Taíno captives were aconsiderable portion of the Cruzan population.5 Women and boys wereheld in bondage, some of the former as concubines. The latter werecastrated and fattened for slaughter. Exocannibalism, in fact, was anavowed reason for Carib raids. The only captives eaten, however, wereadult males.6 The castrated boys were used in domestic and menialchores until they were old enough for consumption. Miscegenationbetween the two groups was unacceptable at this early date, sinceonly those children born of Carib women were kept, all others beingeaten.7 [3]Traditionally, the Caribs have been mortal enemies of the Taínos.8Without their cooperation, Caribs could not have obtained access totrees suitable for making sea-faring canoes, which were available inPuerto Rico. St. Croix, as now, lacked forests comparable to those ofthe larger island.9 If the sharp division evidenced clearly enough byconstant warfare had been absolute, then it would follow that theTaínos must have ambushed Carib logging parties at every opportunity.That this was not so implies regulated warfare, perhaps of a ritualnature, rather than the total conflict sometimes envisioned. [4]In 1509, Juan Ponce de León began the Spanish conquest of PuertoRico.10 While exploring the southern coast of the island, he cameacross Carib loggers, which he detained.11 The Taínos complained tohim that Caribs raided them often.12 Ponce de León wrote GovernorOvando for permission to build a brigantine in order to patrol thecoasts of Puerto Rico. He also intended to return the Caribs to St.Croix, take the Taíno captives held on that island back to PuertoRico, secure provisions from the Cruzan natives, and in general,pacify them.13 The various requests were granted, and many of theCruzan Caribs were converted briefly and nominally to Christianity.14A conuco (garbled as 'convento' in some texts) was set up for theKing.15 [5]The adventurer Diego de Nicuesa raided St. Croix for slaves onlythree months after Ponce de León's pacification of the island.16 Hetook about 150 Caribs, and scandalized the Cruzans into rebellion.17Spain lost St. Croix permanently the same year that it was won. TheTaíno revolts, aided by the Caribs, kept the Spaniards busyelsewhere.18 The two former enemies had become allies. [6]The great Taíno uprising of 1511 was the first of several aided andperhaps also instigated by the Caribs of St. Croix. Kinsmen fromGuadeloupe and Dominica joined the Cruzans in their incursions onbehalf of the oppressed Taínos,19 trying to reverse the Spanishconquest before it reached their islands. The Virgins became basesfrom which Taíno rebellions were staged and where Carib contingentsassembled.20 [7]The Taíno institution of name-exchange, known broadly to the Caribsalso, is perhaps one of the mechanisms which facilitated theconfederation of these two nations. Upon an exchange of names, theparties involved would adopt each other. Persons so joined were saidto be guatiao.21 Enmity did not cease between them altogether, butpeace or cooperation with a common foe became possible. Insofar asdocumentary evidence is lacking, this is, of course, conjectural; butname-exchange similar to Taíno guatiao was the means whereby Caribssecured trade with the Lokono of the mainland during the early andmiddle XVII Century.22 Specific forms of social interaction that mayhave led to the alliance of Taínos and Caribs against the Spaniardsare unknown. The exchange of hostages is one possibility.23 [8]It is surprising to read of the Cruzan Caribs as a threat to Spanishrule in Puerto Rico.24 The island is quite small, and a largepopulation is inconceivable. Over 20 villages are reported,25 and theminimum number of inhabitants for each may be postulated at 60. If amaximum of 250 persons were admitted for a large Carib village, thenthe total would oscillate from over 1200 to under 5000, an unknownportion of whom would be Taíno captives. At a density of 40individuals per square mile (within what is feasible for slash-and-burn horticulture) an acceptable figure of about 3275 is obtained.Clearly, Nicuesa's raid was a grievous blow and aid from the LesserAntilles imperative if any large-scale fighting were to beundertaken. [9]The first Spanish reaction depopulated St. Croix for several years.26Significant ships and supplies arrived from Spain in 1511 as aforetaste of the armadas contra caribes.27 The Caribs fled, scatteredamong the northern Virgins, and continued the fight from there.28 Itis interesting that many Puerto Rican Taínos apparently went downisland with the Caribs rather than submit to the Spaniards. This hasbeen noted by historians as a Taíno exodus,29 and, specifically, itis stated that the Virgin Islands received a large number of them.Some also fled to Dominica, Guadeloupe, and other islands of theLesser Antilles. Not only did Caribs come to Puerto Rico to aid theTaínos in their wars against the Spaniards then, but also receivedthem as refugees and sheltered them from their enemies. Were theexodus as large as one might be led to believe, it is probable thathistoric Island Carib culture had blended with Taíno.30 [10]At this point the frontier became one of common resort andcooperation, the Virgin Islands being a battle ground where Taínosand Caribs together put up whatever resistance they could to theSpanish Empire. The fighting qualities of the Indians were held inlow esteem by the Spaniards,31 but one may gather that importantdifferences existed in their modes of warfare. The Taínos gave battleguided by strategic designs that demanded rigid organization. Noallowance was made for individual heroism which might spoil a jointeffort. War was waged for specific objectives and had no other socialpurpose. Rank and station were hereditary among the Taínos and couldnot be achieved in or outside combat.32 [11]The Caribs, however, used war as an instrument of social selectionand ranking. Their only chiefs were military leaders selectedaccording to their prowess. In order to retain social cohesion andstructure, a state of perpetual warfare had to exist.33 They wereorganized exclusively for predation, with no capabilities or numbersfor significant territorial expansion, having only plunder andachieved status to gain from their raids. The Caribs were thereforebetter fighters individually, but less effective collectively.34 [12]During the first rounds of anti-Spanish warfare (1511-1514), theCaribs were junior allies subordinate to the needs, designs, andmultitude of the Taínos. They fought largely, therefore, as specialshock or support units of Taíno armies.35 After the defeats of 1514and the outfitting of the first official armadas contra caribes,36Taíno tactics became ineffective. Added to this, an ant plague spreadin 1518, followed by smallpox in 1519.37 The mortality sustainedbetween war, famine and disease was such that organized resistanceceased in Puerto Rico,38 and the Caribs, deprived of their formerlynumerous allies and on the run in their own islands, reverted toraids having lost all hope of complete victory. [13]Raiding parties still resorted often to the Virgin Islands to holdouïcou or sweet-potato beer festivals, even if permanent populationswere lacking in most of them. Vieques was visited often until around1582, though Caribs never settled it.39 Another island frequentedcasually by Caribs was Virgin Gorda, where a large assembly of them,including Taíno refugees and booty, was broken up as early as 1511.40Three years later a Carib war party from Dominica was surprised whileholding a ouïcou in Vieques and massacred by the Spaniards.41 [14]Culebra was inhabited by Caribs around 1541.42 St. Croix wasinhabited sporadically at least through 1587.43 Aboriginalsettlements close to Puerto Rico, however, were at the mercy of theSpaniards and suffered the fate that many northern European settlerswere to share with them in this area until about 1689: periodicannihilation. [15]One learns of no aborigines encountered when St. Croix was colonizedbriefly by the French in 1621. As several nations (chiefly the Dutchand English) struggled for an upper hand there, a similar silenceprevails on the question. Perhaps the island had been abandonedrecently by the Caribs, or they may have been chased off island bythe colonists. Even if the native Caribs were gone, it is likely thatthe Dutch brought some to St. Croix as slaves. During the majorperiod of Dutch colonization on St. Croix (1642-1645) the Carib slavetrade was initiated on nearby St. Eustatius.44 Indeed, the Dutchcolony founded on St. Thomas between 1657 and 1666 included someCaribs.45 These were probably at least partly native, though theywere few. Despite the expulsion of the Dutch from St. Thomas in 1667,the Danes found some of these Caribs still there five years later.[16]The Dutch colony on Tortola (which lasted from around 1648 until 1672)46 may also have had a Carib population. Shortly after 1672, most ofthe St. Thomian Caribs removed to the uninhabited island of St. Johnin order to avoid Danish colonists.47 What became of them isuncertain. A census of St. Thomas counted four Caribs still livingthere in 1688.48 [17]From the preceding it can be seen that the Virgin Islands playedthree different roles as a frontier area. Until the Spaniards arrivedin Puerto Rico they were an embattled frontier between the Taínos andthe Caribs, St. Croix being a Carib center. The smaller Virgins wereundefendable by either side due to constant warfare. After 1509, theVirgin Islands became a common frontier or meeting ground whereCaribs and Taínos pooled their resources in order to save Puerto Ricoand protect the Carib islands. After the defeat of the last majorTaíno revolt in 1514, devastating reverses such as the ones sufferedon Virgin Gorda andVieques, and the onset of diseases in 1519, theVirgin Islands assumed their final role as a frontier area for nativeAmericans, becoming an advanced outpost used by Taíno refugees andCaribs against Spanish Puerto Rico. They were no longer occupied bylarge numbers of Indians.[18]It was the colonization of the Lesser Antilles by European powersthat ended the role of the Virgin Islands in the history ofaboriginal America. Puerto Rico had long been alienated from thatworld when the other side of the frontier also collapsed. Little ofthe Carib homeland was left by the middle of the XVII Century, and ofthis the Virgins were a severed outlier, with a few inhabitants thathad both their escape and succour pre-empted. It is likely that thelast Indians of the Virgin Islands, whether Taínos, Caribs, or ablend of these, died in slavery or trying to resist it. [19]Notes* The author wishes to acknowledge the kind assistance of the WilburCross Library of the University of Connecticut, the Sterling Libraryof Yale University, the Rare Book Division of the Astor and LennoxBranch, New York Public Library, and the West Indian Room, St. ThomasPublic Library, Dr. Hugh M. Hamill of the University of Connecticut,and Mr. Stephen D. Glazier.Cf. Dookhan, pp. 15-29.Cf. Hatt; vide Watlington, p. 5.Bernáldez, p. 287Cf. Bernáldez, pp. 284-286; Cuneo in Raccolta, p. 97.Ibid.Bernáldez, p. 285.Op. Cit., p. 284.Cf. Santa Cruz, p. 498.Martyr, p. 99; cf. Coll y Toste, vol. I (1914), pp. 121-124; videBrau y Asensi, p. 212.Coll y Toste, loc. cit.Doc. Inéd., vol. XXXIV (1880), pp. 361, 488-489, 494.Ibid.; cf. Martyr, loc. cit.Falcó y Osorio, p. 87; Doc. Inéd., vol. XXXIV (1880), pp. 488-489;cf. Murga Sanz, Ponce, p. 45.Santa Cruz, p. 501.Doc. Inéd., vol. XXXIV (1880), p. 361.Doc. Inéd., vol. XXI (1879), pp. 530-531.Santa Cruz, loc. cit.Doc. Inéd., vol. XXXIV (1880), p. 361.Cf. Castellanos, pp. 125-138.Brau y Asensi, pp. 232, 257-258.Las Casas, vol. II, p. 234.Dreyfus-Gamelon, p. 92.Vide Martyr, pp. 99-100.Ced. P.R., vol. I, p. 158, Doc. Inéd., vol. XXXII (1879), p. 261.Santa Cruz, loc. cit.Brau y Asensi, p. 213; Doc. Inéd., vol. XXXIV (1880), p. 146; vol.XXXVI (1881), p. 383.Tapia y Rivera, p. 302.Brau y Asensi, p. 232; cf. Watlington.Vide Murga Sanz, Ponce, pp. 311-312.Cf. Dreyfus-Gamelon.Bernáldez, p. 284.Fernández de Oviedo, Las Casas; cf. Dookhan, p. 24.Cf. Dookhan, loc. cit.; Dreyfus-Gamelon, p. 89.My conjecture on the basis of the foregoing.Castellanos, loc. cit.; Brau y Asensi.Murga Sanz, Manuscritos, pp. 115, 119, 272-273, 287, 295.Las Casas, vol. III, pp. 270-273.Brau y Asensi, p. 299; Murga Sanz, op. cit., p. 158.Doc. Inéd., vol. XXI (1874), p. 285.Tió y Nazario, pp. 30-109.Castellanos, p. 137.Santa Cruz, p. 501.White in Hakluyt, pp. 764-765; vide Marx, p. 50.Hartog, p. 61.Høst pp. 5-6; Oldendorp, vol. I, p. 33.Menkman, pp. 184-185.Oldendorp, vol. I, p. 21.Westergaard, p. 122.ABBREVIATED DOCUMENTARY SOURCESCed. P.R. Vicente Murga Sanz, ed., Cedulario Puertorriqueño, 2 vols.(1961).Doc. Inéd. Academia de la Historia (Spain), Colección de DocumentosInéditos Relativos a1 Descubrimiento, Conquista y Organización de lasAntiguas Posesiones Españolas de América y Oceania, 42 vols. (1864-1884).Raccolta Guglielmo Berchet, ed., Narrazioni sincrone, Fonti Italianeper la Storia della Scoperta del Nuovo Mondo, Raccolta di Documenti eStudi Pubblicati dalle R. Commissione Colombiane pel QuartoCentenurio dalla Scoperta dell'America, Parte III, Volume II (1893).GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHYBernáldez, Andrés. Memorias del Reinado de 1os Reyes Católicos.Edición y estudio por Manuel Gomez-Moreno y Juan de M. Carriazo.Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia, 1962. lxvi+708 p.Brau y Asencio, Salvador. La colonización de Puerto Rico. Desde eldescubrimiento de la Isla hasta la reversión a la corona española delos privilegios de Colon. Cuarta edición anotada por Isabel Gutierrezdel Arroyo. San Juan de Puerto Rico: Instituto de CulturaPuertorriqueña, 1969. 639 p.Castellanos, Juan de. Primera Parte de las Elegias de VaronesIllustres de Indias. En Madrid, en casa de la viuda de Alonso Gomez.Año 1589. 382 p.Coll y Toste, Cayetano (ed.). Boletín Histórico de Puerto Rico, 14vols. (1914-1928).Dookhan, Isaac. A History of the Virgin Islands of the United States.Charlotte Amalie: College of the Virgin Islands, 1974. 321 p.Dreyfus-Gamelon, Simone. "Remarques sur l'organisation socio-politique des carai'bes insulaires au XVIIème siecle." Proceedings ofthe Sixth International Congress for the Study of Pre-ColumbianCultures of the Lesser Antilles (1976), pp. 87-97.Falcó y Osorio, Maria del Rosario. (Duquesa de Berwick y Alba,Condesa de Siruela) Autógrafos de Cristóbal Colón y Papeles deAmérica. Madrid, 1892, v+203 p.Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, Gonzalo. Historia General y Natural delas Indias. Edición y estudio preliminar de Juan Perez de TudelaBueso. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Españoles desde la formación dellenguaje hasta nuestros días, tomos 117-121 (1959). 5 vols.Hakluyt, Richard. The Principall Navigations, Voiages and Discoveriesof the English nation, made by Sea or ouer Land, to the most remoteand farthest distant Quarters of the earth at any time within thecompasse of these 1500 yeares. Imprinted at London by George Bishopand Ralph Newberie, Deputies to Christopher Barker, Printer to theQueenes most excellent Maiestie. 1589. 825 p.Hartog, Johannes. De Bovenwindse Eilanden Sint Maarten-Saba-SintEustatius. Eens Gouden Rots nu Zilveren Dollars. Geschiedenis van deNederlandse Antillen, vol. IV. Aruba, 1964. xi+747 p.Hatt, Gudmund. "Archaeology of the Virgin Islands." XXI InternationalCongress of Americanists: Proceedings of the First Session (1924),pp. 29-42.Høst, Georg Hjersing. Efterretninger om Øen Sanct Thomas og densGouverneurer, optegnede der paa Landet fra 1769 indtil 1776 ued GeorgHøst, Staatsrad, og Secretair i Departementet for & udelandske Sager.Kiøbenhavn, Trykt og forlagt af Nicolaus Møller og Søn, Kongelige Hof-Bogtrykkers. 1971. xx+203 p.Las Casas, Bartolomé de. Historia de las Indias. Edición de AgustínMillares Carlo y estudio preliminar de Lewis Hanke. México: Fondo deCultura Económica, 1965. 3 vols.Martyr de Angleria, Petrus. Opera. Graz: Akademische Druck-u.Verlagsanstalt, 1966. xii+707 p.Marx, Robert F. "Pedro Serrano: The First Robinson Crusoe." Oceans,vol. 7 (1974), no. 5, pp. 50-55.Menkman, Willem Rudolph. Tortola. De West-Indische Gids, vol. 20(1938), pp. 178-192.Murga Sanz, Vicente. Juan Ponce de León. Fundador y primer gobernadordel pueblo puertorriquenño, descubridor de la Florida y del Estrechode las Bahamas. Rio Piedras: Ediciones de la Universidad de PuertoRico, 1959. 385 p.----------. Puerto Rico en los Manuscritos de Don Juan BautistaMuñoz. Rio Piedras: Ediciones de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1960.xx+419 p.Oldendorp, Christian Georg Andreas. Geschichte der Mission derevangelischen Brüder auf den caraibischen Inseln S. Thomas , S. Croixund S. Jan. Barby: bey Christian Friedrich Laux, 1777. 2 vols.Santa Cruz, Alonso de. Islario General de Todas las Islas del Mundo.Publicado por vez primera con un prólogo de D. Antonio Blázquez.Madrid: Publicaciones de la Real Sociedad Geográfica, 1918-1920. 2vols.Tió y Nazario, Aurelio. Nuevas fuentes para la historia de PuertoRico. San Juan, 1961. xix+653 p.Watlington, Francisco. "Taínos versus caribes. Una nuevaperspectiva." Fundación Arqueológica, Antropológica e Histórica dePuerto Rico: Boletín Informativo, vol. I (1973), no. 3, pp. 5-6.Westergaard, Waldemar Christian. The Danish West Indies under CompanyRule (1671 -1754), with a supplementary chapter, 1755-1917. New York:The Macmillan Company, 1917. xxiv+359 p.-------------------------------About the AuthorAt the time of publication, Alfredo E. Figueredo taught anthropologyat the University of Massachusetts. He is currently retired.CitationPlease cite this article as follows:Figueredo, Alfred E. (2006). The Virgin Islands as an HistoricalFrontier between the Taínos and the Caribs. KACIKE: The Journal ofCaribbean Amerindian History and Anthropology [On-line Journal].Available at: http://www.kacike.org/FigueredoVirginIslands.html [19par.] [Date of access: Day, Month, Year].Or use the original bibliographic data found at the top of thisarticle (the original pagination has not been preserved in the HTMLversion published by KACIKE).EDITOR'S NOTE:This article, published originally in 1978, offered a very innovativeunderstanding of the relations between Taínos and Caribs during earlycolonial encounters with European intruders. While at the start ofthe article the author reproduces what were the orthodoxunderstandings of Carib cannibalism, and here readers should exerciseprudence in considering the many critiques of these once commonportrayals. KACIKE nevertheless reproduces this article for two mainpurposes: (i) its publication is in keeping with KACIKE's goal ofproviding an archive of articles printed in journals that may not beeasily accessed by the wider public; and, (ii) the article doesprovide us with what are still some very necessary data and analysesof the ways that boundaries between the Caribs and the Taínos, theirincreasing exchange, and common resistance to Spanish colonizers.Very little information is available on the Virgin Islands duringthis period, and, we have very little in the way of detailedinformation or interpretation on Carib-Taíno relations during thiscritical period.

The Taino and Carib Indians invented the Caribbean’s first peppe

Cayman Pepper Peeves!Saturday, January 13, 2007Caribbean Scotch Bonnet peppers have been one of thehottest "ingredients" in the North American food scene for the lastdecade.Celebrity chefs like Allan Susser and Steven Raichlen "discovered"Scotch Bonnets and caused a sensation with their searing creationsstarring our humble little peppers.The Food Network has showcased Scotch bonnets in segments aboutJamaica's jerk seasoning.Almost every issue of Chile Pepper magazine, the last word on globalHeat Cuisine, features at least a mention of the unique flavor of theScotch Bonnet.Today, the nugget-size chile appears in everything from four starrated restaurant cuisine to hot sauces and fancy condiments.So tell me, please why I have to beg for real pepper with my mealwhenever I eat out here in Cayman?Where are those tempting jars full of vinegar and Scotch bonnetpeppers, the original Cayman pepper sauce—or any pepper at all? Thisissue has become a pet peeve – and I'll bet it's a burning issue formany readers too.Now, there are exceptions and I salute those few restaurants withproper pepper on their tables. But lately it seems that even thosespecializing in "local food," don't offer any to customers. Ask forit and the server usually points to a shaker filled with commonground black pepper.If I request pepper sauce, I may get a bottle of that wateryLouisiana red stuff. Let me tell you: when a Caribbean person isoffered Tabasco with red bean soup, stew beef or steam fish, it's aninsult. I have enough in my purse without having to pack a travelerbottle of pepper sauce. But right now, that's the only solution.Maybe this is simply a cultural oversight. Or perhaps litigation-waryrestaurateurs are worried about unsuspecting tourists and foreignresidents tangling with incendiary West Indian seasoning.However, I have been in upscale Cayman restaurants catering totourists where "New World Fusion" recipes using Scotch Bonnetsresembled culinary arson. And yet, there's no pepper allowed at thetable.In Cayman and Jamaica, "country pepper" is a general term for hotpepper and includes Scotch Bonnets and mutton peppers—but the Scotchbonnet is the most commonly used. It a smaller relative of theMexican habanero—one of the world's hottest peppers.In Scoville Units (the international scale which measures theintensity of capsaicin, the heat source of chiles) the Scotch Bonnetranks 9 to 10 with 100,000 units—lots hotter than a jalapeno, whichhas only 2,500 –5,000 units.The come in a variety of colors, from pale green through orange andbright red, depending on age. This pepper is famous for putting thefire in Jamaica's jerk seasoning. But it's really the flavor we craveeven more than the heat.Mutton peppers have long been the favorite pepper in Cayman Brac,however. These small, pale green peppers have a more oval, eventriangular shape, a wonderful flavor and aren't as fiery. Brackersmake a table pepper sauce from them and use them for seasoning fish,conch and whelk stews, along with meats and soups. They're hard tofind on Grand Cayman.We also like our "seasoning peppers" a smaller and milder ScotchBonnet hybrid that has a similar flavor without much heat, found onlyin Cayman.Regardless of the nationality of the menu or the culinary artistry ofthe dish in front of us, Caymanians may still want to add a littlepepper. This should not be taken as an insult by the chef. We'retalking about a cultural affinity whose roots date back 10,000 years.Scientists now believe that hot peppers (the correct name is actuallychiles with an "e") probably originated in South America, in theregion bordered by the mountains of southern Brazil, Bolivia,Paraguay and Northern Argentina. Migrating birds ate the fruits andspread the seeds throughout the Americas as "organic fertilizer."Chiles have been the soul of South and Central American and Caribbeanseasoning since the beginning of this region's recorded history.Proof of chili use dates back to Tehaucan, Mexico around 7500 BC. andPeru in 6500 BC.They were one of the first plants to be domesticated and cultivatedin the New World. Chiles were important to the Incan diet andespecially loved by the Aztec, whose royalty enjoyed chicahuatl, adrink made from chocolate and chiles. The Mayan considered pepperssacred for their magical and medicinal powers.Botanists believe our Scotch Bonnet, now truly an indigenousCaribbean pepper, originated as a wild chile first domesticated inPeru, and later, cultivated enthusiastically by the Taino Indianslong before Columbus arrived. How it first traveled to the GreaterAntilles remains a mystery.The Taino and Carib Indians invented the Caribbean's first peppersauce, liberally seasoning fish, game and other food with coui, amixture of hot peppers and cassava juice. Columbus wrote this in his1493 journal, noting the Tainos' use of pepper on almost everythingthey ate.Chiles were one of the first—and most celebrated—"discoveries"Columbus took home to spice-crazed Europe from his first voyage,adding new fuel to the Old World's fascination with pepper as a spice.Traditional Caymanian cookery used only a few simple seasonings likeblack pepper, sweet green pepper, scallion and thyme, and hot peppersplayed an important role for their special flavor.Caymanian cooks discovered long ago that the Scotch bonnet or muttonpepper's fruity, fiery taste was an ideal complement to coconut milkdishes. Paired with lime juice and salt, these peppers had no equalfor seasoning fish, conch and whelks.In days gone, most Cayman yards had a pepper "tree", either in a potor in the ground—bushy, healthy plants bear year-round. Every tablewhether home or restaurant, always had a small dish of minced orsliced pepper and a glass jar filled with homemade pepper sauce.This potent condiment is a fragrant fusion of Scotch bonnet (ormutton) peppers, vinegar, onions, and carrots, sometimes seasonedwith garlic, allspice berries and cho-cho slices. Its metal lid wasencrusted with telltale black, signifying the sauce was aged andready to use.Hurricane Ivan destroyed many things, including our local pepper cropand for more than a year, we suffered without fresh heat. Weshamelessly wrestled to beat other shoppers if we spotted a fewhandfuls of fresh peppers at Kirk's or Foster's.However, today you'll once again see a generous supply of ScotchBonnets in local supermarkets and when available, seasoning pepperstoo. Shelves are filled with a five-alarm collection of Caribbeanpepper sauces, including our own delicious local brands.You can also buy freshly made Cayman pepper sauce from ZelmaleeEbanks North Side kitchen at Willie's Fresh Fruits & Juices in RedBay. (It's so good you'll want to buy the largest bottle available.)Cayman even has Hell Sauce, its own home-grown and bottled condiment,and several award winning hot sauces including Tortuga Hell-Fire HotPepper Sauce and Tortuga Spicy Mango Sauce, produced by Tortuga RumCompany Ltd. (available at www.tortugarums.com) Their sauces have wontop honors in the Annual Scovie Awards, the Official Contest of theFiery Foods and Barbecue Industry.Based in New Mexico, the organization is considered the world'sauthority on chile-seasoned products, from barbecue sauces to sweets.Each year, the competition attracts more than 500 entries from allover the world, competing in 80 fiery food categories includingsalsas, hot pepper sauces, barbecue sauces and sweet heat products.I think you'll agree: there's no longer any excuse for Tabasco aloneon the Cayman table. Restaurant people, hear me now. Honor ourculinary heritage and put real pepper sauce back on the table whereit belongs—at every meal. And that includes breakfast—a dash or twoof scotch bonnet sauce in cold orange juice could be the beginning ofa better day. What a way to wake up ordinary scrambled eggs—or evencornmeal porridge, for that matter.Pepper FactsChile, with an "e", is the correct name for what we call "pepper" andthere are more than 100 varieties worldwide. Chili is the spicy dishpopular in Tex-Mex restaurants.Chiles are good for you: rich in vitamins A, C and E and excellentsources of potassium and folic acid. However, be careful whenhandling the peppers and never touch your eyes, nose or any mucousmembranes until you have washed your hands thoroughly. If you want totaste a tiny piece of fresh chile pepper, put it in your mouthwithout touching your lips or you may be in pain for some time!Peppers get their heat from capsaicin, a potent chemical unaffectedby cooking or freezing. It is concentrated in the seeds and insideveins, or ribs, of the pepper. To reduce the fire of chiles whileretaining flavor, remove seeds and pale membranes or veins inside thepepper—these contain the most intense heat.Capsaicin tells the brain to produce endorphins, natural painkillersthat create a feeling of well being and stimulation. It's now beingused in creams and homeopathic remedies ranging from arthritis reliefto routing the flu.A whole Scotch bonnet, minced, even without the membrane and seeds,is a lot of heat. When you are ready to experiment, startconservatively, using a very tiny amount, perhaps a few slivers—definitely not a whole minced pepper—in any recipe. You can alwaysadd more later. Or use a milder mutton pepper—or if you are luckyenough to find one, use what we call "seasoning peppers," includinghybrid varieties of Scotch Bonnet, that have the bold Scotch bonnetflavor without the intense fire.Alcoholic drinks will not put out a chile fire. If you get a pepperoverdose, reach for milk, sour cream, ice cream or any dairyproduct. At roadside stands, harddough bread and festival are commonaccompaniments to jerk pork or chicken because bread, rice andstarchy foods also help absorb the heat of capsaicin.Consuming huge quantities of Red Stripe, tequila or rum will NOT curepepper afterburn…you just won't care anymore. Alcohol actually helpsincrease the body's absorption of capsaicin and may make the foodtaste hotter. A beer chaser to pepper also makes you sweat more.Are these peppers worth so much work—and possible pain? Absolutely.Many islanders swear good health requires a dose of pepper every dayand have believed, like their ancestors, that pepper boosts theimmune system.Cayman Pepper SauceOn my first visit to Cayman, this fiery but colorful concoction wasmy introduction to Caribbean peppers. I ate a spoonful of peppersinstead of drops of the sauce. After they resuscitated me, I couldnever again settle for that sissy Louisiana red sauce. No Caymaniantable is complete without a jar of this.1 dozen Scotch bonnet peppers, including red, yellow and green, sliced1/2 medium onion, sliced very thin2 cloves garlic, sliced very thin1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced into very thin rounds2 teaspoons salt2 cups white vinegarTake a sterilized 16-ounce jar (or two 8-ounce jars) and add thepeppers and other vegetables and salt. Heat the vinegar until veryhot but not boiling. Pour over the peppers and vegetables to cover,then seal jar. Let stand at least a week for flavors to blend. Drops(or spoonfuls) of the peppery vinegar is the actual "sauce" but manyof us cannot resist digging into the pickled peppers and veggies.(**Some people add four or five whole allspice berries to thisrecipe.)

Top Ten Reasons for Changing US Policy Towards Cuba

Posted on : Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:26:00 GMT Author : The Center forDemocracy in the AmericasNews Category : PressReleaseWASHINGTON, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Center forDemocracy in the Americas, joined by U.S.A. Engage, today released InOur National Interest: The Top Ten Reasons for Changing U.S. policytoward Cuba."This top ten list is a powerful reminder to Congress and allAmericans that sanctions against Cuba do nothing but violate Americanvalues, cost American jobs, stain our image overseas, and breach ourbasic rights," said Sarah Stephens with the Center for Democracy inthe Americas. "As Cuba enters a new era, so should America, andreplace our policy of isolating Cuba with one favoring engagement,travel, and trade."Grounded in research and reality, "In Our National Interest" statesthe key arguments in fourteen pages with backup research and apowerful clarity:* The policy has produced nothing in decades * Enforcing the policydrains resources from the war on terror * The policy hurts Americancompanies and American workers * The policy is an assault on familyvalues * The policy infringes on the rights and liberties of all U.S.citizens * The policy hurts America's image abroad * The Castrogovernment uses our policy to advance its own ends * The policy putspolitical interests above the national interest * Important peopleoppose the policy and want to see it changed * The policy stopsAmericans from doing what they do best"The point here is that changing our policies is clearly in America'snational interest," said Jake Colvin, Director ofUSA*Engage. "Congress and the Administration should consider how tomove forward with new policies that would benefit American workers,promote the reunification of Cuban families and improve our nationalsecurity and reputation abroad."CONTACT: Sarah Stephens of the Center for Democracy in the Americas,+1-202-234-5506, or Jake Colvin of USA Engage, +1-202-464-2025The Center for Democracy in the Americas

Monday, January 15, 2007The Dominican Republic, (Spanish: Rep¨²blica Dominicana, IPA[re'pu¦Âlika domini'kana]) is a country located on the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, bordering Haiti.Hispaniola is the second-largest of the Greater Antilles islands, andlies west of Puerto Rico and east of Cuba and Jamaica. A legacy ofunsettled, mostly non-representative rule lasted for much of the 20thcentury; the move towards representative democracy has improvedvastly since the death of military dictator Rafael Le¨®nidas Trujilloin 1961. Dominicans sometimes refer to their country as Quisqueya, aname for Hispaniola used by indigenous Ta¨ªno people meaning "highland", referring to the highest portion of the hisponiola island. TheDominican Republic is not to be confused with Dominica, anotherCaribbean country.The Dominican Republic was the first European settlement in the NewWorld and became the first point of colonisation in the Americas fromexplorers from Europe.The TainosThe earliest inhabitants of the island of Hispaniola, on which theDominican Republic is located, were the Ta¨ªnos. The Ta¨ªnos were aseafaring branch of the South American Arawaks. Ta¨ªno means "thegood" or "noble" in that native language. A system of cacicazgos(chiefdoms) existed. They were called Marien, Maguana, Higuey, Maguaand Xaragua (also written as Jaragua) by the natives. These chiefdomswere then subdivided into subchiefdoms. The cacicazgos were based ona system of tribute, consisting of the food grown by the Ta¨ªno. Amongthe cultural signs that they left were cave paintings around thecountry, which have become touristic and nationalistic symbols of theDominican Republic, and words from their language,including ¡®hurricane¡¯ (hurrakan) and ¡®tobacco¡¯ (tabakko). Thenorthern dialect is more closely influenced by the Ta¨ªno languagethan the southern. Many Dominicans in the region (known as Cibao)pronounce their 'r' as 'i'. "Comer" (Spanish for 'to eat'), ispronounced "comei," by the northerners.Discovery And ColonisationChristopher Columbus explored and claimed Hispaniola for the Spanishcrown during his first voyage to the hemisphere in 1492. On hisreturn the following year, Columbus founded the first Europeansettlement in America at La Isabela. Large numbers of Tainos andother native migrants of island were killed due to diseases likesmallpox and others were enslaved. Hispaniola was to become aspringboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the Americanmainland. In 1697, Spain recognised French dominion over the westernthird of the island, which in 1804 became independent Haiti after aslave rebellion.IndependenceHaiti controlled the western 2/5 of the island and the remainder ofthe island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its ownindependence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republicin February 27 of the year 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarilyreturned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later a war ofindependence was launched, ending with victory in 1865. The UnitedStates ruled Dominican territory with a military government from 1916to 1924. From 1931 to his assassination in 1961 dictator RafaelLeonidas Trujillo ruled the Dominican Republic. During this time, thenation experienced social and economic progress. A continual slowgrowing economy has been seen by the past decades.U.S Military ControlIn 1965, US troops invaded the Dominican Republic to steer theoutcome of a civil war in Operation Powerpack, later to be joined byforces from other countries in an early example of a "coalition ofthe willing". They remained in the country for over a year and leftafter supervising elections, in which they ensured victory by Joaqu¨ªnBalaguer. He retained power for 12 years, which saw moderaterepression presumably to avoid pro Cuba or pro communist to gainpower in the country, in which succeeded, and saw a growing disparitybetween rich and poor, until 1978, There where a small gap andrelieve in democracy, two periods elapsed without direct control orrepresion until Balaguer re-attained power for another two periods of4 years each in 1986, which saw almost complete freedom of speech andexpression. In 1994. Balaguer was pressured out of office in 1994following international outcry over fixed elections but rearrangedellections in 1996 when the Partido Liberal gained elections for thefirsth time.CultureThe Dominican Republic is a Hispanic country, therefore, as with allHispanic countries in the Americas, its culture has many elementswhich originate in Spain, the culture is heavily blended with Africantraditions and few indigenous American cultural elements. The Spanishcultural heritage is most evident in the national language andpredominant religion¡ªRoman Catholicism. African cultural elements aremost prominent in musical expressions and the carnival vibe of life,testimony to the rich African heritage that existed before and afterslavery, but was not allowed to be practiced during it. More recentAntillean and Anglo-American influences also exist. Near the borderbetween Haiti and Dominican Republic, some people practice santaria.Baseball is by far the most popular sport in the Dominican Republicand there are many famous Dominicans who play Major League Baseballin the U.S., including Albert Pujols, Sammy Sosa, Pedro Mart¨ªnez,David Ortiz, Jose Reyes, Rafael Furcal, Vladimir Guerrero, MiguelTejada, and Manny Ramirez. The Dominican Republic also has its ownbaseball league which runs from October to January. Many MLB playersand minor leaguers play in this six-team league during off-season. Assuch, the Dominican winter league serves as an important "trainingground" for the MLB. Eighty-nine percent of Dominicans are baptisedin the Roman Catholic Church. Other substantial religious groups arethe Evangelical Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Around one percent of the nation's inhabitants practicepure spiritism.Every year, tens of thousands of Catholics make the pilgrimage toHiguey to celebrate the Virgin de la Altagracia in late January. Themain historical element in Higuey is the cathedral, home ofthe ¡°virgin de la Altagracia¡± a painting brought by the Spaniards inthe late 15th century.