The earliest known occupants of the islands to the east of Central America and Florida were the Ciboney. Not much is known of them but at the time of Columbus they were restricted to a small area in western Cuba. They are believed to have migrated from Florida where there is still today a small community. These people, who were a rather primitive hunter-gatherer society were mostly displaced by the Arawak between 750-1000 A.D. These latter peoples had farming and pottery as well as hunting skills. By the time Columbus came across this world the Arawak had been displaced by Caribs in the more southern islands. Both these latter tribes had emigrated from South America, the Arawak over many years coming from the eastern slopes of the Andes. Both tribes still had populations on the southern continent as well at this time.

Columbus first made landfall on the island of San Salvador (Watling Island), part of the Bahamian archipelago. Here he encountered Lacaya, of the same Taino culture as the Arawak. These peoples seem to have been displaced from the Windward Islands by the cannibalistic Carib invasions. They were very friendly and had no arms.

When he landed on the north coast of Cuba he encountered Arawak who were at first more shy. He nevertheless established good relations with many communities both on this island and the neighbouring island of Hispaniola (present day Haiti and Domincan Republic). He made note that the further east he travelled the more armed the populace were until at the eastern end of the island he met the Ciguayo who were heavily armed with large bows and poisoned arrows. This was because the greater fear of invading Caribs. At this time the Caribs had completely taken over Dominica and islands to the south (but not Trinidad) and had partially occupied the islands from Guadeloupe to Anguilla.

On the first expedition of three ships, Columbus and his colleagues found the indigenous population to be friendly and generous. They took back to Spain much gold that they had been given. The second expedition was a much larger enterprise comprising seventeen ships with apart from settlers, 1200 soldiers and a few hundred adventurers whose main intention was to get as much gold as they could and return to Spain. Inevitably, scant regard for the Arawak and particularly sexual abuse of their women led to problems. The Spaniards began executing any non-compliant Indian, and forced others to labour for them. With disease also taking its toll, the population fell drastically. Of Hispaniola’s population of about 300,000 in 1492, only 50,00 were still alive by 1508 and 20,000 by 1512. By 1548 Oviedo doubted if there were yet 500 still living and when Drake sacked Santo Domingo in 1586 he saw not one. Other islands populations were equally decimated.

As labour became short in Cuba and Hispanilola, the Spaniards who had hitherto dismissed the Bahamian Island as of no economic importance returned but simply to collect Lacayas as replacements. Many did not even survive the journey and the Lacaya were extinct by 1600, just over 100 years since Columbus had first landed.

For it is certaine that among them the lande is as common as sunne and water, and that Mine and Thine (the seedes of all mischiefe) have no place with them. They are content with so litle, that in so large a countrey they haue rather superfluitie then scarcenesse: so that (as we have sayde before) they seeme to live in the golden worlde without toyle, living in open gardens, not intrenched with ditches, divided with hedges, or defended with walles: they deale truely one with another without lawes, without booke, and without judges: they take him for an evill and mischievous man, which taketh pleasure in dooing hurt to other.

Peter Martyr of Angleriam (1511); translation Richard Eden (1555).

It was during that time that the Spaniards caught at least three - I think it may have been four Indian chiefs and burned them alive: they built a bed of branches on top of four or six forks and tied the caciques securely to a pole across them. They set fire underneath and as they began to be roasted, they gave such cries I think even animals could not endure to hear them. Meanwhile the captain was resting at some distance and, hearing those lamentable cries, gave orders to strangle them and finish them off, either from pity or because they were disturbing his rest. But the aguazil in charge of executing the sentence, who was the author of that act, had his men put sticks in the open mouths of his victims to stop the noise, and so they died parched and burned to death, as if their whole race had been killed because they were its chiefs. And I have seen all this with my very own eyes.

Las Casas, Historia; modern translation.