Myths and Realities of Caribbean History

170 Pages·2009·2.35 MB·English

by  Basil A. Reid

Myths and Realities
of Caribbean History
CARIBBEAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOHISTORY
Series Editor Antonio L. Curet
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Myths and Realities of
Caribbean History
Basil A. Reid
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA PRESS
Tuscaloosa
Copyright © 2009
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0 380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Typeface Caslon
∞
The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of Americ an
National Standard for Information Sciences-P ermanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1 984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Reid, Basil A., 1961–
Myths and realities of Caribbean history / Basil A. Reid.
p. cm. — (Caribbean archaeology and ethnohistory)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8173-5534-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Caribbean Area—History—Errors,
inventions, etc. I. Title.
F2176.R43 2009
972.9′01—dc22
2008035776
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Foreword xi
Introduction xiii
Myth 1. Caribbean History Started with the Arrival of Christopher Columbus
in 1492 1
Myth 2. The Arawaks and Caribs Were the Two Major Groups in the
Precolonial Caribbean 11
Myth 3. Columbus Met Arawaks in the Northern Caribbean 49
Myth 4. The Natives Encountered by Christopher Columbus in the Northern
Caribbean Migrated from South America 58
Myth 5. The Arawaks Were the First Potters and Farmers to Have
Settled in the Caribbean 75
Myth 6. The Ciboneys Lived in Western Cuba at the Time of
Spanish Contact 83
Myth 7. The Island-C aribs Were Cannibals 88
Myth 8. All the Amerindians Migrating from South America to the
Caribbean Island-H opped from the Continent to the Lesser and
Greater Antilles 100
Myth 9. The Spanish Introduced Syphilis into the Caribbean and the
New World 111
Myth 10. Christopher Columbus Wrote the Version of His Diario (Diary)
That We Use Today 117
vi / Contents
Myth 11. The Spanish Colonists Brought “Civilization” to Native Societies in
the Caribbean 121
Conclusion 129
Glossary 131
References Cited 137
Index 151
Illustrations
1.1. An Indian Cacique of the Island of Cuba 2
1.2. A time line for Trinidad and Tobago 3
1.3. Nuer time-r eckoning system 5
1.4. Banwari Trace, Trinidad 7
1.5. Stone artifacts from Banwari Trace 8
2.1. Saladoid site locations, northeastern South America 13
2.2. Ortoiroid and Casimiroid migration and colonization 15
2.3. Casimiroid art 17
2.4. Early and late Saladoid sites, Lesser Antilles 18
2.5. Saladoid- La Hueca colonization of the Caribbean 19
2.6. Asymmetrical Saladoid vessel from Erin, Trinidad 20
2.7. Trants, Montserrat, northern Leeward Islands 21
2.8. Lapidary stone found at Blanchisseuse, north Trinidad 23
2.9. Saladoid stone pendant found at Blanchisseuse, north Trinidad 23
2.10. Elliot’s and Royall’s in Antigua 25
2.11. A Saladoid adorno from Whitelands, Trinidad 26
2.12. A sample of Saladoid sites in Trinidad and Tobago 28
2.13. Saladoid village layout at Blanchisseuse, north Trinidad 29
2.14. Saladoid village layout at Manzanilla, east Trinidad 30
2.15. Barrancoid colonization of the Caribbean 31
2.16. Barrancoid- infl uenced Saladoid adorno 32
2.17. Troumassan Troumassoid colonization of the Caribbean 34
2.18. Troumassan Troumassoid pottery 35
viii / Illustrations
2.19. Suazan Troumassoid colonization of the southern Caribbean 37
2.20. Suazan Troumassoid pottery 38
2.21. Lover’s Retreat, Tobago 39
2.22. Island- Carib colonization of the southern Caribbean 40
2.23. Precolonial Barbados 42
2.24. Conch (Strombus gigas) ax-a dze from Silver Sands, Barbados 43
2.25. Conch (Strombus gigas) ax-a dze from Silver Sands, Barbados 43
2.26. Chronology of the series and subseries of cultures in the West Indies 44
2.27. Ostionan Ostionoid pottery 45
2.28. Stewart Castle and Retreat, Jamaica 47
3.1. The Taínos in the Caribbean at the time of Spanish contact 50
3.2. Advance of the Arawakan speech- communities 52
3.3. Classic, Western, and Eastern Taínos at the time of Spanish contact 56
4.1. El Caimito pottery 60
4.2. The Saladoid- Archaic- Ostionoid-T aíno model 61
4.3. The Saladoid- Archaic- Ostionoid-T aíno model 62
4.4. The Saladoid- Archaic- Ostionoid-T aíno model 63
4.5. The Archaic-O stionoid-T aíno model 64
4.6. The Archaic-O stionoid- Taíno model 65
4.7. The Archaic-O stionoid- Taíno model 66
4.8. The Archaic-O stionoid- Taíno model 67
4.9. The Archaic-S aladoid- La Hueca-O stionoid-T aíno model 69
4.10. The Archaic-S aladoid- La Hueca-O stionoid-T aíno model 70
4.11. The Archaic-S aladoid- La Hueca-O stionoid-T aíno model 71
4.12. The Archaic-S aladoid- La Hueca-O stionoid-T aíno model 72
4.13. The Archaic-S aladoid- La Hueca-O stionoid-T aíno model 73
5.1. Early ceramic sites in central Cuba 77
5.2. Palms (Prestoea pubigera) 80
5.3. Sapodilla (Sapotaceae) 81
6.1. Guanahatabeys in western Cuba 85
7.1. Cannibal Indians, from a 1621 engraving 89
7.2. Mancos Canyon in southwestern Colorado 92
7.3. Burial remains from Mancos Canyon 93
Illustrations / ix
7.4. Human bones from Mancos Canyon 94
7.5. The Battle of the Vega Real, Hispaniola, April 1495 96
8.1. Overlapping visibility areas in the Lesser Antilles 101
8.2. Ocean currents in the New World 102
8.3. Trade winds and currents in the Caribbean 103
8.4. Direct jumps by Saladoid groups from South America 105
8.5. Traditional Greenland kayak skeg 106
8.6. Carib skeg 107
8.7. Distances between coasts and landmass visibility ranges 109
9.1. Image of spiral-s haped organism that causes syphilis 112
9.2. A sickroom interior showing preparation and use of guaiacum 113
9.3. Syphilitic damage to the human skull 115
10.1. First voyage of Christopher Columbus, 1492–93 118
10.2. Columbus’s journeys through the Bahamas on his fi rst voyage 120
11.1. Chiefdoms in Hispaniola based on the names of caciques 124
11.2. Location of ball court sites on Puerto Rico 125
11.3. Aerial view of the Caguana dance and ball courts 126
11.4. Two- plaza site of MC- 6 on Middle Caicos 127