The long established story that the Caribbean Was first discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 is not entirely true as taught and commonly believed. New data compiled from further research have revealed that the story is not an accurate account of the events as described, written and published in many books of history. It is a misrepresentation of Caribbean indigenous people, their history, cultures and way of life.
Before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean, most of the islands had already been discovered and inhabited by a diversity of aboriginal people of different ethnic groups originated from parts of the Orinoco and Amazon River valleys, the Caribbean coast of Central and South America and the forest wetlands of (Florida) North America.
Columbus first voyage at sea was to find a way to East Asia by sailing westward. After sailing for weeks on the open sea he eventually landed on the southeast of the Bahamas Islands called the Lucayos or (Leeward Islets) by the Spanish. Long before his arrival, those islands were known as Guanahani by the native Arawakan-speaking Taino who were the first group to meet Columbus and his crew. The Taino (Arawaks) were grouped in large communities mainly in Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Puerto Rico and parts of the southern Windward islands.
Ciboney tribal groups who also lived in (Isla de Beimenhi) Florida, inhabited the western part of the Bahamas when Columbus arrived. They are said to be the first group of people to arrive in the Caribbean region and settled in the eastern parts of Cuba, the Bahamaian islands, Leeward islands, US and British Virgin islands. The three main indigenous groups of inhabitants were the Ciboney (Guanahuatebey) or stone people, the Taino (Arawaks), a rain forest agricultural people and the sea-fearing Caribs of the reefs and forest wetlands.
The Amerindian Groups of the Caribbean islands are said to be ancient descendent of the Inca, Aztec and Maya Indians that gradually migrated along the coastal villages stretching from northern Belize to Cayen (French Guyana) in the south. They are said to be skillfull hunters and gathers of food and other resources found on the Caribbean island. As they migrated further away from the mainland, they inhabited and populated most of the Leeward and Windward islands with very few exception.
To better comprehend the geographic dominance of the Caribbean by the different Amerindian groups, look at how the area was populated and where the dominant groups were mostly concentrated. Central America includes eight countries: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama. South America include nations of Colombia Venezuela, Guyana Suriname and Cayen (French Guyana).
The Caribbean is composed of two distinctive chains of islands: the Lesser and Greater Antilles. The Lesser Antilles are a line of mainly volcanic islands sweeping northward from the island of Trinidad, near the mouth of the Orinoco River in Venezuela. This island chain continues northward to the three American Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix), where they meet the Greater Antilles.
The Greater Antilles consist of four large islands: Puerto Rico, Hispaniola (containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Cuba, and Jamaica. While there is evidence of volcanism in the Greater Antilles, they are, for the most part, a submerged mountain range jutting westward into the Caribbean for over a thousand miles. To the north of Cuba and Hispaniola are the low-lying Bahamain Islands. The whole of that area and the eastern coast of Venezuela are collectively known as the Cultural cradle of the Caribbean.
Long before the occupation and colonization of the islands by the Spanish, British and other European powers, the inhabitants had long established names for all the islands in the Caribbean. The Amerindian names had some similarity in sound, spelling and pronunciation based on ethnicity but formed part of the linguistic lexicon of indigenous dialect.
The major languages of the Amerindian include Arawakan, Carib and Tupi-Guarani. Arawakan was the largest single family, including the Taino, representing Neo-Indian migrations after AD 200. Arawakan includes 74 languages divided into Aruan, Guahiban, Harakmbet, and Maipuran family. The Carib languages are divided into two branches, 21 in the North and 8 in the southern regions.
Author's Note: The content of this page is a compilation of data extracted from the archives of various universities, colleges and other sources. The links list in the right column are parts of or the entire document extracted from the original source. These documents have been formatted, validated for Html conformity and re-published by Anbanet. More history can be found at centerlink. for Caribbean history.
