Indigenous Society and Conquest

There are no written accounts of pre-1492 Cuba and no indigenous accounts of the European conquest. Cuba's indigenous population was not organized into the elaborate hierarchies that existed in Mexico and Peru, and the population was virtually wiped out within fifty years of the conquest. Only in the past fifty years have Cuban archaeologists excavated the pre-Columbian artifacts that have allowed them to begin to piece together a picture of the original Ciboney inhabitants of the island and of their replacement by the Taíno prior to 1492.

Nevertheless, indigenous peoples and the experience of conquest remain important in today's Cuba for several different reasons. The conquest itself led to a set of institutions, relationships, and ideologies that had a long-lasting effect on Cuba's development. It was also the conquest that set the stage for Cuba's incorporation into the growing Atlantic economy, later characterized by the importation of slaves and the production of sugar. In addition, although the depopulation of indigenous peoples was severe, they nevertheless left important cultural legacies. In some areas of Cuba, as José Barreiro describes, there are communities that still identify ethnically with their indigenous past. And everywhere in Cuba, stories of indigenous resistance to Spanish rule are an important part of commonsense knowledge of their country's history. Except for Barreiro's contemporary oral histories, we have no written accounts by indigenous sources that describe their own lives and society. The Spanish priest Bartolomé de Las Casas, however, recorded countless indigenous testimonies as part of his crusade to stop the cruelties of the conquest. Although mediated by Las Casas's own agenda, these testimonies still stand as unique historical documents that capture the voices of those who had no other means of entering the historical record.

Christopher Columbus "Discovers" Cuba

Christopher Columbus

When Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean in 1492, he was convinced that he was near the coast of Japan and China. Europeans termed his landfall a "discovery," though in recent years those more critical of Europe's endeavor have pointed out that while it was a discovery for Europe, the terms encounter or even invasion more accurately capture the nature of the event for the inhabitants of the Americas.

The natives Columbus encountered in the Bahamas indicated that a large island lay to the south, and he concluded that it must be Japan (which he called Cipango) they were talking about. Although there may be some wishful thinking in his comment about Cuba's trade and wealth, it does indicate that the Caribbean natives had a good knowledge of the region's geography and were less isolated than some accounts have suggested. The following excerpts from Columbus's logbook constitute the first written accounts of Cuba and give the first European impressions of the island.

Columbus's original logbook has been lost. The text has come down to contemporary readers through a handwritten manuscript by Bartolomé de Las Casas (author of the second selection in this book), who transcribed and summarized the journal entries from the original. Las Casas copied the sections in quotes directly from Columbus's logbook; the quotes are interspersed with Las Casas's summaries of Columbus's words.

Wednesday, 24th of October

"At midnight I weighed the anchors and left the anchorage at Cabo del Isleo, in the island of Isabella. From the northern side, where I was, I intended to go to the island of Cuba, where I heard of the people who were very great, and had gold, spices, merchandise, and large ships. They showed me that the course thither would be W.S.W., and so I hold. For I believe that it is so, as all the Indians of these islands, as well as those I brought with me in the ships, told me by signs. I cannot understand their language, but I believe that it is of the island of Cipango that they recount these wonders. On the spheres I saw, and on the delineations of the map of the world, Cipango is in this region. So I shaped a course W.S.W. until daylight, but at dawn it fell calm and began to rain, and went on nearly all night. I remained thus, with little wind, until the afternoon, when it began to blow fresh. I set all the sails in the ship, the mainsail with two bonnets, the foresail, spritsail, mizen, main topsail, and the boat's sail on the poop. So I proceeded until nightfall, when the Cabo Verde of the island of Fernandina, which is at the S.W. end, bore N.W. distant 7 leagues. As it was now blowing hard, and I did not know how far it was to this island of Cuba, I resolved not to go in search of it during the night; all these islands being very steep-to, with no bottom round them for a distance of two shots of a lombard. The bottom is all in patches, one bit of sand and another of rock, and for this reason it is not safe to anchor without inspection with the eye. So I determined to take in all the sails except the foresail, and to go on under that reduced canvas. Soon the wind increased, while the route was doubtful, and there was very thick weather, with rain. I ordered the foresail to be furled, and we did not make two leagues during that night." ...

Sunday, 28th of October

"I went thence in search of the island of Cuba on a S.S.W. coast, making for the nearest point of it, and entered a very beautiful river without danger of sunken rocks or other impediments. All the coast was clear of dangers up to the shore. The mouth of the river was 12 brazos across, and it is wide enough for a vessel to beat in. I anchored about a lombard-shot inside." The Admiral says that "he never beheld such a beautiful place, with trees bordering the river, handsome, green, and different from ours, having fruits and flowers each one according to its nature. There are many birds, which sing very sweetly. There are a great number of palm trees of a different kind from those in Guinea and from ours, of a middling height, the trunks without that covering, and the leaves very large, with which they thatch their houses. The country is very level." The Admiral jumped into his boat and went on shore. He came to two houses, which he believed to belong to fishermen who had fled from fear. In one of them he found a kind of dog that never barks, and in both there were nets of palm-fibre and cordage, as well as horn fish-hooks, bone harpoons, and other apparatus "for fishing, and several hearths. He believed that many people lived together in one house. He gave orders that nothing in the houses should be touched, and so it was done." The herbage was as thick as in Andalusia during April and May. He found much purslane and wild amaranth. He returned to the boat and went up the river for some distance, and he says it was great pleasure to see the bright...