The Taino Genocide: Columbus and the First Caribbean Extinction

Before the Aztec or Inca fell, before the Spice Islands were contested, there was the Taino. On the island of Hispaniola, within a generation of Columbus's landing in 1492, a population of perhaps several hundred thousand was reduced to a few thousand. This episode looks at the mechanisms of that collapse: the encomienda system that forced Taino to mine gold, the diseases that swept through communities with no immunity, the violence of Spanish reprisals under governors like Nicolás de Ovando, and the tragic figure of Caonabo, the Taino cacique who led one of the earliest indigenous rebellions. We also explore the ethical debates of the time, including the fiery sermons of Friar Antonio de Montesinos, which directly inspired Bartolomé de las Casas, and the infamous Requerimiento, a legal document read to indigenous people before attack. The Taino story is not a footnote—it is the template for colonial destruction across the Americas. #Taino #Hispaniola #ChristopherColumbus #Encomienda #Caonabo #AntonioDeMontesinos #BartolomeDeLasCasas #Requerimiento #NicolasDeOvando #Genocide #CaribbeanHistory #IndigenousResistance #Colonialism #Disease #Gold #1492 #History #FexingoHistory #EuropeanImperialism #AgeOfExploration Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo