THEME 1: THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THE EUROPEANS

Topic: THE TAINOS AND THE KALINAGOS

The Tainos and the Kalinagos were the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. Their cultures were
very primitive and so were not regarded as civilizations.

Social Organization

Hunting and fishing was done by the men while farming was almost entirely carried out by the
women. Men also were usually involved in warfare. The Kalinagos had a well-developed
military tradition but the Tainos were not afraid to defend their settlements when necessary.
Taino society was more peaceful and based on hierarchy while Kalinago society had a more
military structure.

Indigenous women worked in the fields, planting crops such as maize. They were the ones who
carried out the household chores. They were also the caregivers for their children.

Leadership

 Each Taino community was ruled by a cacique; he was a ruler whose position was
determined by heredity. He also acted as high priest and judge in the village that he ruled.
He was treated with great respect by his villagers and he would receive the best catch and
crops from farmers and hunters. The cacique made all decisions in his village and was
assisted by noble men called nitayanos. These were the oldest men in the village.

Each Kalinago family was independent and justice was carried out on a personal level.
However villages were ruled by a civil leader who would supervise farming and fishing
activities as well as a more important war leader or ouboutu. (The civil leader had to give
up his power to the ouboutu when necessary). The ouboutu was chosen based on his
 bravery. If a Kalinago male wanted to be elected as an ouboutu, he had to have killed
several enemy warriors or one cacique with his bare hands. Before a child could become
a warrior he had to undergo a painful initiation in which he had to have his skin cut
without flinching.

Religion

 Tainos worshipped zemis or idols that were believed to control the forces of nature.
These zemis were made from shell, wood or bone in the shape of a human or animal.
Cotton zemis held the bones of ancestors. Tainos believed that trees, rivers and rocks
were the homes of spirits. To protect themselves they wore amulets, painted their bodies
with sacred designs and took specially prepared medicines. The cacique was also the high
priest and resided over all religious ceremonies. They also believed in a heaven to which
souls went after death.
 Kalinagos believed in good and bad spirits; these spirits were called maboya. They
believed that each person had their own spirit and that specially trained priests had their
own spirits. They believed (like the Tainos) that death led to a life in another form. They
also believed that their live bodies could become homes for the souls of dead enemies.
They believed that eating the flesh of a dead enemy warrior would give them strength and
courage; so because of this after a raid, enemies were cut up and certain parts of their
body eaten.

Customs
 Both cultures flattened the foreheads of their babies as this was considered attractive.
They enjoyed singing, dancing, music and tobacco smoking. They both enjoyed dancing,
music and tobacco smoking.

 The Tainos also played a ball game called batos. Their main foods were seafood,
vegetables and pepper. They also ate agouti, iguana and a barkless dog that is now
 extinct. They lived in rectangular and round thatch houses. They used gold only to make
ornaments. They traveled from island to island to trade in canoes large enough to hold 80
people.

 Kalinagos customs focused on war. Before they attacked the Tainos, they worked
themselves into a rage and then used their war canoes to carry out their attack. They
always carried away their dead and any captures Taino men were starved for five days
then ceremoniously killed and eaten. Captured women became the concubines of the
Kalinago warriors. They war canoes were narrow so that they could have been easy to
maneuver and cover long voyages in a short time.

Weapons

 Kalinago weapons were altogether more deadly than those of the Tainos. They used fire
and poison tipped arrows. The poison was fatal to whoever got struck by the arrow. They
also had clubs and spears. One club called the butu had sharpened flints fixed in its head.

 Tainos had simpler weapons than the Kalinagos. The Tainos often used a stout wooden
club called the macana. A well-aimed blow from this club could crush a skull protected
by thick armour.

Technology

It is important to recognize that the Kalinago and Taino had a level of technology in their lives.
They made hammocks and long length canoes and utilized the bow and arrow and other wooden
implements. They made pottery and wove cotton cloth. They were also skilled at extracting a
kind of flour from the poisonous cassava to make bread.

Interaction of the Tainos and the Kalinagos

The Taino and Kalinago did not have peaceful interaction. It was always during hostilities that
they met. The Kalinago would often attack Taino villages. The women in the Taino villages who
were taken to the Kalinago villages during raids would eventually become integrated into the
latter's culture but also infused some of their Taino practices in the Kalinago society.

Original Amerindian names for some of the Caribbean islands

 Wai'tukubuli - Dominica (Tall is her body)

 Karukera - Guadeloupe (Beautiful water)
 Xamayca or Hamaica - Jamaica (Land of wood and water)
 Iere - Trinidad (Land of the hummingbird)

RELATED PAST PAPER QUESTIONS

1. a. State 3 ways in which the Amerindians obtained their food.

b. State 2 ways in which the Tainos and Kalinagos were different.

2. a. Name the area which was the original South American home of the Kalinago and the
Tainos.
b. Name the group of Caribbean islands occupied by EACH of the following when the
Europeans arrived:
(i) The Tainos
(ii) The Kalinagos
c. Give 2 reasons why the Indigenous peoples migrated from their original South
American homes.
d. Describe the settlement patterns of EITHER the Kalinago or the Tainos.
 3. a. Why did the Tainos locate most of their settlements on the coast or near streams?
b. In what ways was the social organization of the Caribs and Arawaks similar?

Topic: The Mayans

The Mayas were Amerindians from Central America who produced one of the finest civilizations
in the western world. They were far more advanced than the relatively primitive island
Amerindian culture (Tainos and Kalinagos). The Mayan civilization lasted from about 300 AD to
100 AD.

Political Organization

The Maya developed city states. This was a small unit ruled by a priest king or Halach
Uinic. Each village was controlled by batabobs or chiefs who answered to the Halach Uinic. The
population was divided as follows:

Priests or Noblemen

Warriors

Merchants and Diplomats

Craftsmen and Farmers

Slaves

Religion
The Maya were polytheistic (worshipped many gods). They had 166 gods. Among them were
Chac - the rain god and Yum Kaax the corn god. Ah Kin or priests were very important in
Mayan society. They set and organized festivals, made sacrifices and decided dates for planting
and harvesting. They practiced human sacrifice. Even their sacred ball game called pok-a-tok
had ritual significance and the losers would be sacrificed.

Advancements
The Mayas were more advanced than other Amerindians because they practiced writing,
mathematics and they had a calendar.

The Mayans began writing in about 300 AD, using a script with an 'alphabet' of about 850
characters. Mayan hieroglyphics were used to tell stories passed down through generations.

They could add, subtract, multiply and divide in columns from top to bottom. Their symbols
were a dot for 1, a bar for 5 and a shell for 0.

The famous Mayan calendar was very accurate and demonstrated a well-developed knowledge of
astronomy. This calendar is said to predict the end of this civilization in 2012 and has been the
topic of much controversy and movies such as the movie '2012'.

They built complicated pyramids, temples and ball courts with manual labour and little else.
They left enduring features of their architectural prowess at various sites in areas such as
Chichen Itza.
THE MAYAS AND THE ISLAND AMERINDIANS: A COMPARISON

1. FARMING

Mayas - They practiced surplus farming, which meant that they planted more than they
needed and saved the rest. They did so that large number of people could be fed while
crops that were left over could be traded or paid as taxes.

Island Amerindians - They practiced subsistence farming which meant that they grew just
enough crops to fill their immediate needs. They grew enough only to meet their needs
from season to season and when supplies ran out they would turn to fishing, hunting and
gathering.

2. COMMUNITY AND HOUSING

Mayas - They lived in fixed fortified cities. Maya lands were divided between many
independent city states all built of stone, the nobles and priests resided there. Peasants
such as the farmers and craftsmen lived in small villages with houses made of mud and
wood.

Island Amerindians - These people were more or less nomadic which meant that they
moved around and settled in different places. Therefore, they did not build permanent
structures. They moved to fresh gardening plots every few years. There was also the
movement caused by Kalinagos chasing Tainos up the islands as well as the Tainos
moving frequently in search of trade. For this reason, the Tainos had settlements on
almost every Caribbean island at one point. Both the Tainos and Kalinagos made their
houses out of thatch because of the availability of this material.

3. LEADERSHIP

Mayas - They never tried to establish one central empire but rather many independent
city states with each one having a priest king or Halach Uinic. Taxes were paid to these
leaders in the form of crops.

Island Amerindians - These tribes had rulers who ruled over their entire communities.
The Kalinagos had the Ouboutu or warrior chief and the Tainos have their Cacique. No
taxes were paid to them, but they received the best crops and food when they were
brought in by hunters, fishermen and farmers.
 4. LOCATION

Mayas - They were found in Central America. In Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and
Honduras

Island Amerindians - They moved from South America (Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, and
Guyana) up the chain of islands. Tainos settled mostly in the Greater Antilles while the
Kalinagos were settled in the Lesser Antilles up to 1492.

5. TECHNOLOGY AND ADVANCEMENT

Mayas - They were very technologically advanced for their time. They had a script or
form of writing in 300AD which had an alphabet of sorts which was made up of
hieroglyphics. They did mathematics and had a counting device and they had a calendar.

Island Amerindians - They were not at all technologically advanced as compared to the
Mayas who were advanced in the 300AD. In 1492 AD, they had no writing, mathematics
nor calendar. They passed on their history orally through tales told by the elders in the
tribes.

DESCRIBE THE INTERACTION THAT DIFFERENT MAYAN CITY STATES

HAD WITH ONE ANOTHER.

The various Mayan city states traded extensively with one another. Trading voyages extended as
far north as upper Mexico and as far south as Panama. The city states also waged continuous
warfare among themselves in order to get slaves for sacrifices to the gods. In the 11th Century
the Mexican Toltecs invaded and conquered the Yucatan Maya and established the Toltec town
of Chichen Itza. They introduced new dimensions to Mayan architecture and warfare.

RELATED PAST PAPERS QUESTION

1. Name 1 territory where the Maya lived in 1492.

2. Give 2 reasons why the Maya located most of their towns and villages inland.
3. State 2 reasons differences between Mayan settlements and Taino settlements.
4. State 2 reasons why Mayan civilization was considered more developed than Taino and
Kalinago settlements.
5. State 2 similarities between the Mayans and the Island Amerindians.
6. Explain why the Mayan civilization might be considered advanced.
7. In what ways was the political organization of either the Tainos OR the Kalinagos
different from that of the Maya?

Topic: FACTORS THAT LED THE EUROPEANS TO SAIL WEST

1. The spirit of discovery was in the air. It was the period of the RENAISSANCE (click link
and see video above describing the renaissance) or the revival of learning in Europe.
Because of this period, there was a new zeal for exploration. One of the things invented
during this period that encouraged exploration was the mariner's compass which made
voyages to distant seas possible. There were also new developments in ship buildings;
ships that used to be built with 1 mast begun to be built with 3 and 4 masts as well as
with longer sails.

2. There was also a desire for trade. In the 15th Century, the items from the East such as
spices, silk and other precious items could only be acquired through the merchants from
Venice (in Italy). Goods from China, Japan and India as well as Persia were brought by
the Venetians who controlled the trade and they in turn sold the items to the other
European states at very high prices. The Venetians did not allow any other Europeans to
engage in trade with the people from the East. This is why the other European states
wanted to go on their own voyages.

3. Prince Henry (the navigator) was a Portuguese prince of this period who had a love for
the sea and encouraged exploration in Portugal by devoting most of his time and money
to trade and shipping. He opened a naval college to teach men to become sailors and
explorers. He built better ships and he employed map makers to make better maps. He
 did all of this so that Portugal would be able to begin trading with the people of the east
and also for Portugal to acquire new territory.

4. The Europeans also felt confident enough to go exploring because the Renaissance period
also saw the development of firearms and naval ammunition which would be used to
subdue hostile natives if necessary.

THE EARLIEST EXPLORATIONS

Because of the incentives for exploring offered by Price Henry, Portugal was the first European
state to embark on voyages. Prince Henry sent ships out along the west coast of Africa. Some
ships even ventured into the Atlantic Ocean which in those days were called the Sea of Darkness.

In this area, they sailed to and conquered the island of Madeira, the Canary Islands, the Azores
and Cape Verde, all on the coast of Northern Africa. For years the Portuguese continued to
explore the West African coast hoping they could find a route to India so they could trade
without interference from Venice.

In 1486, the Portuguese rounded the southern tip of Africa, the cape of Good Hope. Twelve
years later, they reached India by sailing around Africa and were seen bringing back the spices,
silks, perfumes and other items on their ships. This encouraged other European states such as
Spain to get involved in exploring as well.

IMPACT OF THE NEW WORLD ON EUROPE

1. The discovery of a vast landmass, believed to be filled with riches for the taking,
naturally caused a great interest in Europe. The kings and queens especially were
interested as they believed that acquisition of gold and silver would mean wealth and
power for themselves and their nations. It also inspired a group of men who had a hunger
 for wealth and fame. These men were CONQUISTADORES. Conquistadores were
Spanish men who came to the Caribbean hoping to find wealth and glory and then return
to Spain.

2. The most immediate conflict involved the two foremost seafaring nations at the time:
Portugal and Spain. Many of the political disputes between the two countries were
mediated (settled) by the Roman Catholic Church as the Pope had more power than any
monarch in these centuries. The trouble was that different popes sided with Portugal at
one time and Spain the next. For instance Pope Nicholas V passed a Papal Bull* giving
Portugal a trading monopoly on all territories between Africa and the Indies. Then Pope
Alexander VI later went on to pass a Papal Bull giving Spain ownership of new land
discovered by Spanish explorers.

The second Papal Bull angered the Portuguese and because of this a treaty or agreement
was passed to resolve the dispute between Portugal and Spain. This treaty was called the
Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494 and it defined which parts of the world each could conquer
and colonize. It divided the world into 2 hemispheres, with Africa and Asia belonging to
Portugal and the New World to Spain.

Map showing the division of the world according to the Treaty of Tordesillas
 3. It increased the wars between the European nations. They were already fighting one
another within Europe and on the high seas, but now the arena of war was moved to the
Caribbean. The British and French competed most fiercely with the Spaniards and each
other to seize the Caribbean islands. For instance; St Lucia was conquered 17 times by
France and Britain at different times. Martinique and Guadeloupe changed hands 7 times,
Tobago 6 times and St Vincent and Grenada 4 times.

4. It caused piracy in the Caribbean. Since it would have been difficult to take over the
Spanish colonies in South America and the Caribbean, the other European monarchs
decided to attack the Spanish at sea. (see more on piracy in note number 8)

Note: A papal bull was a decree issued by the Roman Catholic Pope on property matters.

Topic: Geographic Factors that affected the European Journeys to the New
World
1. Winds and Currents

On their westward voyage, sailing ships took the route that the North-East Trade Wind
route boosted by the Equatorial Current since they needed favourable winds to reach
destinations in reasonable time. On their return to Europe, the Gulf Stream (a current)
swept them through the Florida Channel, up the Atlantic coast of North America into the
south-westerly winds and North Atlantic Drift.

2. Location of the land masses

The Caribbean archipelago (chain of Caribbean islands) stretches from the Florida
Channel in the north to the Orinoco Basin in Venezuela to the south. It is divided into the
Western and Eastern Caribbean which consists of the Greater and Lesser Antilles
respectively.

Using Hispaniola as a base, the Spaniards occupied the other islands of the Greater
 Antilles and the mainland. Apart from Trinidad, they ignored the 'Useless Islands' (in
their opinion) of the Lesser Antilles.

Because of the direction of the North-East Trade Winds, ships from Europe and Africa
entered the Caribbean through many passages between the islands of the Lesser Antilles,
proceeding to the mainland of South and Central America, and to the Greater Antilles.

Topic: Columbus and his voyages

The motives of Columbus's voyages

His basic idea was to reach the Indies or Asia, by sailing westward across Atlantic. He expected
to get the riches of the East by trade or conquest. He reached the Americas purely by accident.
After failing to gain support for his voyages from Portugal, Columbus convinced the Spanish
Crown (King and Queen of Spain) to provide 3 ships for the voyages. (The Nina, Pinta and Santa
Maria). Their majesties' motives for supporting Columbus were:

 to get the riches of the Far East before their rivals, the Portuguese (GOLD)

 to spread the Catholic religion (GOD)

 for personal and national glory (GLORY)

Achievements of Columbus

His voyages proved that he was a courageous seaman with a good knowledge of navigation,
winds and currents. He pioneered the trade winds route to and from the Caribbean. On his four
voyages to the Caribbean he discovered and named most of the Caribbean islands and part of the
coast of Central America. He established permanent contact between Europe and the Caribbean.
The Crown initially promised that he would be governor of these lands.
However, Columbus was unsuccessful as a colonizer and administrator. Both of the settlements
he attempted to establish were failures and his ruler ship of the Caribbean was revoked by the
queen. Very little wealth was extracted from the islands as they had little gold. The genocide
(mass extermination) of the Amerindians started with his enslavement of these people. The
Spaniards had been promised the wealth of Asia but what they actually got was the wealth of the
Indies/ New World.

Related Past Paper Questions

1. Give one reason why Columbus wanted to go on a voyage.

2. State two ways in which the King and Queen of Spain helped Columbus.

3. State two benefits that Spain received from the voyages of Columbus.

Hispaniola as a Spanish Colony under Ovando's rule

In 1502, Nicolas Ovando arrived in Hispaniola to pick up his position as the new governor as
well as the Supreme Justice of the islands and the mainland of the Indies.

Ovando's role as the new governor was clear, to make the new lands profitable and to create a
new Spanish empire. Ovando's first aim was to produce enough food for large numbers of
settlers. First he brought in 2000 colonists, he brought livestock including, pigs, goats, cattle and
horses (all of which were foreign to the New World). New crops which they brought were wheat,
barley, rice, oranges, olives and sugarcane. With all of these methods of development, the
population of Hispaniola grew to 12,000 settlers in the 5 years after Ovando became governor of
Hispaniola.

Systems of forced labour

Starting in Hispaniola, systems of forced labour were introduced. Columbus
introduced encomienda In Hispaniola and later Ovando introduced repartimiento.

1. Encomiendas

At first the Spanish rulers had commanded the Spaniards in the Indies to disturb the
Amerindians as little as possible and to leave them free to follow their own customs .It
soon became clear however that this was impossible if any profits was to be made from
the Indies. At the beginning of the 16th century, Ovando introduced the system of
encomienda. Encomienda was a system by which a grant of land along with a number of
Amerindians for labour was entrusted to a Spanish settler known as an encomendero.

Originally, the encomendero was supposed to assign a Spanish priest to educate the
Amerindians about Catholicism and to support them. The encomenderos were supposed
to collect goods and gold from the Amerindians in return.

Very soon after the introduction of the encomienda, the Spaniards began to demand
labour rather than goods and gold from the Amerindians. They also took over their best
land, they did not pay them any wages for work and they did not educate nor convert the
Amerindians as promised.

2. Repartimiento
The repartimiento system involved a percentage of the Indigenous male population
between the ages of 18 and 60 was recruited to work for a Spaniard for a week for pay.
However, they were hardly ever paid.

The difference between Ovando and Columbus as governors of

Hispaniola
Nicolas Ovando was different from Columbus because he stayed in Hispaniola to govern it
instead of returning to Spain and not focusing on governing the island like Columbus did.
Ovando governed Hispaniola in a way that made Hispaniola the model for the Spanish Empire.
His accomplishments with Hispaniola was developing it into a successful colony within a short
space of time due to

 successful cattle ranching

 gold production

 sugar and tobacco production

Many Spaniards were drawn to the island because of news of how well organized it was and that
he had organized gold mining there.

Topic: Conquest of the Greater Antilles

Using Hispaniola as a base, the Spaniards set out during the next few years to establish their hold
on the neighbouring islands of the Greater Antilles. These conquests were assigned to private
adventurers who were on contract. The contracts were called CAPICULACION. These
contracts gave each adventurer the title of ADELANTADO; the title meant that he would be the
governor of the new territory and he would also have the right to collect duties and taxes.
Adelantados were also supposed to build up towns in each of the colonies, bring in other Spanish
settlers and see about converting Amerindians to Christianity.

Puerto Rico
The conquest of Puerto Rico was organized by Ponce de Leon in 1508. When the Spaniards
arrived there they met fierce resistance from Caribs who came north from the Leeward Islands,
however the Caribs lost the battle. The capital of San Juan was built up within a few years. They
built mines, sugar plantations and organized cattle ranching.
Cuba
Diego Velasquez was the adelantado in this island. He conquered Cuba in 1511. It was a major
producer of beef and provisions, these products were picked up by the Spanish fleets on the
return to the city of Seville in Spain which was a major port. Around 1750, Cuba became a major
sugar producer in the Caribbean.

Jamaica
Jamaica was conquered by Juan de Esquivel; it attracted only a few cattle ranchers and farmers
and was the least significant and important of the Greater Antilles colonies mostly due to the fact
that there were no precious metals. Spanish Town became the capital in 1534. (The capital of
Jamaica today is Kingston).

Trinidad
Trinidad was occupied by the Spanish in 1532 to serve only as a base for exploration of South
America

Mexico
In Central and South America; the conquistadores subdued the mainland Amerindians by sword
and slavery. Out of the chaos and destruction orderly settlement progressed. Mineral wealth
made the mainland empire the focus of Spanish colonization. The island colonies were fatally
neglected after this.

HOW THE SPANISH GOVERNED THE NEW WORLD EMPIRE

After the conquest of the mainland, the Caribbean colonies were rules from Spain as part of her
huge empire in the Americas. However, the actual work of governing the Empire was done by
the following groups of people, the PENINSULARES, the AUDIENCIAS and
the VICEROYS.

Peninsulares
Peninsulares were men who came from Spain to work in the New Spanish Empire; their role was
to make laws and regulations to govern the New World. In order to ensure that rules were
obeyed, a council was set up. It was called the COUNCIL OF THE INDIES and it was set up
in 1524. By 1635 the peninsulares in this council had made more than 400,000 laws controlling
life in the Colonies. The laws included laws about what to wear and what order officials should
enter the church in.

Audiencias

Audiencias were set up to ensure that the laws put in place by the council were obeyed.
Audiencias were made up of courts of judges and lawyers as well as other officials and clerks.
When the empire was at its biggest size each audiencia supervised an area called a presidency. A
president was put in charge of a presidency. Each presidency also had its own governor. Remote
areas were put in the charge of captain generals. Below these senior officials were many
government servants who were lower in rank

Viceroys

The head of all officials were the viceroys. Viceroys were in charge of viceroyalties. There were
4 viceroyalties; they were Mexico, La Plata, Peru and New Granada. Viceroys were treated like
royalty because they were representatives of the king and the queen. The work of his officials
was inspected by audiencias and his financial records were inspected by a VISITADOR who
came unannounced from Spain to check that the viceroy was not using his position for profit. At
the end of his term, the viceroy had to hold a RESIDENCIA, which was a public meeting in
which the viceroy's work was questioned.

HOW THE SPANISH MAINTAI NED ECONOMIC CONTROL OF THE

NEW WORLD EMPIRE
The Spanish set up an organization called the HOUSE OF TRADE (CASA DE
CONTRATACION) to control all economic activity in the Spanish Empire. This organization
was based in Seville in Spain and it operated from 1503 to 1707.

The Spanish based all of their economic activity on the MERCANTILE (PROTECTIONIST)
THEORY. This economic theory stated that it was essential to protect Spain's trade and empire
by ensuring that other countries did not get to trade in that empire and that the exotic goods from
the Spanish Empire were only carried in Spanish ships. In other words the goods produced in the
Spanish Empire could only be shipped to Spain in Spanish ships to promote Spain's wealth.
(Spain had a MONOPOLY on the goods from the Spanish Empire).

The only way that a non-Spanish country was able to trade in the Spanish Empire was if their
government was given an ASIENTO from Spain. The Asiento was permission given by the
Spanish government to other countries to sell slaves to Spanish colonies in the Americas.
(Asientos were given to the following countries during the following years; Portugal 1517-1640;
Portugal 1663-1702; France 1702-1713; Britain 1713-1750).

The production of silver, gold, precious stones, hides or animal skins, dyes, tobacco and sugar
gave Spain a vast supply of wealth that was protected by a CONVOY SYSTEM (a convoy is a
group of ships traveling together for protection). There were also Coast Guards or GUARDA-
COSTAS to watch for incoming invaders and to fortify port cities.

The early economic development of the empire rested on the encomienda, but the Amerindian
labour force was soon exterminated and replaced by African slaves.

Topic: Pirates, Buccaneers and Privateers in the Caribbean

Piracy in the Caribbean

The great era of piracy in the Caribbean extends from around 1560 up until the 1720s. The
period during which pirates were most successful was from the 1640s until the 1680s. There
were pirates, privateers and buccaneers. A pirate was a sea robber who on his own without
permission. A privateer was a private individual who owned and officered an armed ship
commissioned by the government and authorized for use in war, especially in the capture of
enemy merchant shipping vessels.

By 1550, Spain controlled the West Indies and large areas of the South American mainland. As a
result, bands of English, Dutch, and French pirates robbed Spain's ships and looted its
settlements. Other European countries were eager to colonize the newly discovered Americas led
to an outbreak of piracy on the Caribbean Sea. Pirates sailed the Caribbean for over 300 years.

Piracy did not only take place on the sea. Sometimes pirates would attack Spanish colonies. They
would ransack the towns, pillaging and taking away as many valuables as could be found. Pirates
held a Spanish town ransom until all inhabitants gave them all of their wealth in exchange for
their lives.

During the early 1600's, French, English, Dutch, and other European sailors settled on
Hispaniola, Tortue Island (also called Tortuga Island), and other Caribbean islands. They raided
Spanish ships and towns and soon became known as buccaneers. Their numbers grew, and
eventually no town was safe along the Spanish Main, an area that included the coasts of what are
now Colombia and Venezuela. The Spanish could not afford a sufficient military presence to
control the area or enforce their trading laws. This led to constant smuggling and colonization in
peacetime, and if a war was declared there was widespread piracy and privateering throughout
the Caribbean. To combat this, from the 1560s the Spanish adopted a convoy system - a treasure
fleet (flota) would sail annually from Seville (and later from Cádiz), carrying passengers, troops,
and European goods to the colonies of the new world. The classic route in the Caribbean was
through the Lesser Antilles to the ports along the Spanish Main, and then northwards into the
Yucatan Channel to catch the westerlies back to Europe. Pirates were more likely to shadow the
fleet to attack stragglers than try and seize the main vessels.

Among these robbers were the “sea dogs” sent by Queen Elizabeth I of England to raid Spanish
fleets. They included such famous English captains as Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins.
These raiders committed acts of piracy before the queen declared war on Spain and made them
privateers. A Privateer is a privately owned armed vessel. Before the development of strong
navies, many nations commissioned privately owned ships to assist them in time of war. The
privateers attacked merchant ships of the enemy nation and sank or robbed them. Unlike pirates,
privateers operated with their government's permission. The officers and crew of such a privateer
could keep a large part or all of the money from the captured vessels. When a privateer was less
successful the temptation to become a pirate, and attack every ship in sight regardless of what
nation, was often great. There was not much difference between pirates and privateers in the
Caribbean at that time. The distance between the Caribbean area and the European nations
prevented the latter from exerting much control on the privateers.

Spain was also at war with the Netherlands. Holland was a trading nation so it already had many
ships plying the Caribbean sea routes and between 1569 and 1609 Dutch privateers were also
very active in the region. The Dutch were a major presence but they were mainly there to trade
rather than to colonize. Even so, Dutch pirates proved to be a headache for the Spanish and
diverted enough Spanish ships for the British and French to colonize most of the Lesser Antilles.
Eventually the Spanish chased the Dutch out of the Caribbean.

The Spanish Caribbean Empire was in decline from the 1600s and the Spanish presence in the
Caribbean began to decline at a faster rate, becoming more dependent on African slave labour
and with a reduced military presence. Meanwhile, other nations began to become more
established - Barbados, the first colony, was established as was a colony on Providence Island in
1625. It soon became a haven for pirates. (n.b. althought Barbados was the first British
colony, St Kitts was the first successfully settled British Caribbean colony. It is referred to
as the mother of the British Caribbean colonies).

The end of widespread conflict in Europe left most of the nations in a dreadful state, especially
Spain which had bankrupted the state. This was reflected in the Caribbean with both a constant
influx of European refugees and the shrinking of Spanish power. While the major cities of the
region were still Spanish, the surrounding Caribbean islands were being overrun by other
nations' more aggressive expansion. The English had expanded beyond Barbados, with
successful colonies on St. Kitts (from 1623) and Nevis (from 1628), Antigua (from 1632),
Montserrat, and Bermuda. The French were well established on Guadeloupe, Hispaniola and
Martinique and they nominally held Tortuga, a noted pirate base from the 1640s. The Dutch had
remained an almost baseless trading presence in the area but following the Spanish decline they
became established at Curaçao and St. Eustatius.

The Caribbean continued to reflect European policy shifts. As England, France and Holland
became stronger they moved from fighting the Spanish over religion to fighting each other over
economics.

Smuggling

Local Caribbean smugglers sold their tobacco or sugar for decent prices and then bought
manufactured goods from the trans-Atlantic traders in large quantities to be dispersed among the
colonists of the West Indies and the Spanish Main who were eager for a little touch of home.

The effects of European rivalry

1. Illegal trade, armed assault and colonization combined to end Spain's monopoly of the
America’s.

2. The fight for colonies broke the Caribbean into a region ruled by different European
countries, diminished the Amerindian population and introduced African slavery.

3. After the Dutch were thrown out from the Caribbean, this paved the way for the serious
battles between the English and the French (Anglo-French battles).

Related Past Paper Questions

1. Read the passage below, then answer the questions that follow

England , France and Holland were Spain's strongest enemies. As Spain became weaker
during the 1600's and 1700's, her enemies fought Spain and each other over the riches of
the colonies in the Caribbean. Many colonies changed hands. Warfare among the
European powers had important effects on the settlers in the Caribbean.

(a) Give TWO ways in which Spain's enemies tried to share in the wealth of her
Caribbean colonies in the 1600's.

(b) State TWO steps which Spain took to protect her trade and settlements in the
Caribbean in the 1600's.

(c) Give TWO effects that warfare had on the lives of Caribbean settlers during the
1700's.