After their arrival in Cuba, the Europeans were greeted and welcomed by the largely unarmed Taíno with generosity a sentiment that was not returned. On the contrary, after only a small period of peaceful coexistence the Spaniards raped Taíno women and enslaved or killed the men on the island. Taíno were forced to work in mines and plantations instead of planting the crops that had fed them for centuries and many Taíno starved to death as a result. The crimes of the Spanish against the native population was so shocking and atrocious that even by Western standards of the time eye witnesses had to admit that the Spanish were kinder to their animals than to the Taíno. However, much more harmful than the harsh treatment of the newcomers on the island to the indigenous population was the infectious diseases they brought with them. A smallpox outbreak in Hispaniola killed 90% of all Native Americans who had survived the initial encounter with the colonialists and in 1529, a measles outbreak in Cuba killed two-thirds of the remaining natives who had previously survived smallpox. Mass suicides to avoid subjugation was another factor contributing to the Taíno being nearly extinct after only 50 years of the Spaniards arriving in Cuba.
This genocide was legitimised in the name of Christianity with a common practice being the burning alive of 13 Taíno at a time – in memory of Jesus and his 12 Apostles – and the cruelties committed against the native population often for sport were justified in that they were considered “salvajes sin dios” – “godless savages”.
Hatuey, a Taíno chief, led an unsuccessful rebellion against the invading Spanish becoming one of the first fighters resisting colonialism in the New World a fact that earned him the title of "Cuba's First National Hero". When he was captured he was tied to a stake to be burned alive and a priest asked him if he would accept Jesus and go to heaven to which he famously responded: “if Christians go to heaven, I do not want to go”.
More on this to follow in the next blog post.
