The Mythology of the Taino

For many years, throughout the history of humanity, many parts of the world have been changed as a result of take over. Colonization is defined as the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination of indigenous people. Although many argue that colonization is a natural path a country must take in order to develop and come out on top, it is also important to understand that the process if colonizing a nation or country means grave loss to the culture of the indigenous people. With history being key indication, we must understand that all actions have consequences and through learning how people and culture are suppressed and silenced in order for those in power to turn profits, we can also learn to prevent such horrendous acts towards humanity. Thinking about imperialism in a classroom in the United States, almost immediately the name Christopher Columbus comes to mind, who has become the icon of the conquest escapades in the “New World”. In this essay, the culture of indigenous peoples, namely the Taino, and their encounter with the Spanish colonizers, will be reviewed to better understand how the Taino were wiped out almost entirely (or so it is believed).

The encounter of the Taino with Spaniards, namely Christopher Columbus and his men, marked the beginning of their demise. Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in northwestern Italy. Under the orders of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Columbus (accidently) led voyages to the New World, or what they thought was a new route to Asia, and ended up widening the colonization of Spain (Wolf, 1982). Those voyages, and his effor...

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...he appearances of both played a major role in the reactions of these two cultures when they collided.

Works Cited

Deagan, Kathleen. "RECONSIDERING TAÍNO SOCIAL DYNAMICS AFTER SPANISH CONQUEST: GENDER AND CLASS IN CULTURE CONTACT STUDIES." American Antiquity 69.4 (2004): 597-626. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 18 May 2011.

Gonzalez, J. Harvest of Empire: A history of Latinos in America. New York: Penguin Books, 2000. (pp. 13 - 21).

Hans Koning, “Up North: Virginia and Plymouth The Conquest of America: How the. Indian Nations Lost their Continent. New York: Cornerstone Books, 1993. (pp. 56 – 73).

Lemonick, Michael D., and Andrea Dorfman. "Before Columbus." Time 152.16 (1998): 76. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 18 May 2011.

Wolf, Eric Robert. Europe And The People Without History. Berkeley : University Of California Press, 1982. (pp. 100 – 115).