Catalina de Habacoa

Whilst perusing Arranz Marquez's Repartimientos y encomiendas en la Isla Española: El repartimiento de Albuquerque de 1514, we saw yet another cacique from the western part of the island whose community was forced to serve encomenderos in what is now the Dominican Republic. According to Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, Habacoa was a district or canton in Guacayarima (the southwestern part of Haiti). Thus, the cacique, Catalina de Habacoa, whose 44 Indians were forced to work to 2 Spaniards in Higuey, likely had to travel from one end of the island to another. This obviously meant that many indigenous peoples were forcibly relocated from the area they called home before 1492, and this likely contributed to the high mortality rates of the native population as they resisted, succumbed to hunger, or experienced disease and horrendous working conditions. 

The Cacicazgo of Marien and Guacanagari

Map of Chican site clusters from Deagan's En Bas Saline: A Taíno Town Before and After Columbus

One aspect of Hispaniola's indigenous history that has been debated recently is the status of Guacanagaric as a paramount chief. Since it is possible that Columbus and the early European colonists misunderstood the nuances of indigenous political systems and possible changes in power relations, some have argued that Guacanagaric was possibly a subordinate or lesser cacique whose importance was exaggerated by Spanish accounts and his early alliance with Columbus. A problem with this narrative, however, is the power of Guacanagaric and the Marien chiefdom can be evaluated based on archaeological and historical evidence. While much remains to be done in terms of understanding the indigenous settlements and political arrangements in northern Haiti before 1492, the fact that Guacanagaric's probable capital, En Bas Saline, had one of the largest known plazas on the island of Hispaniola is significant. Evidence of public, monumental architecture and early Spanish sources suggest that Guacanagaric probably was one of, if not the most powerful, cacique on the northern coast of the island from at least Guarico (Cap-Haitien) to Monte Cristi, including parts of the northern plains and sierras to the south. 

Deagan's map of En Bas Saline in relation to the north coast

First, let's begin with the written sources. Columbus, whose Journal of the First Voyage in Journal of Christopher Columbus, is one of our earliest texts, saw Guacanagaric as a "youth" who was carried on a litter and accompanied by 200 men (117). In addition, Columbus later met 5 kings (caciques) subject to Guacanagari (141). This precious testimony suggests that Guacanagari was possibly a young, new ruler in 1492. Yet, despite his youthful appearance, he had at least 5 lesser caciques serving him. Or, at least that's what Columbus believed. Besides Columbus, the chronicler Oviedo also wrote of Guacanagari and Marien. According to Oviedo, a relative of Guacanagari accompanied Columbus on the return to Spain, where he was baptized and took the name of the Spanish monarch (30). This supports the idea of Guacanagari being recognized by the Spanish as a powerful king or Lord. Oviedo similarly wrote of Guacanagari's alleged sexual improprieties with his many women (133). Well, according to Jose Oliver, the cacique had 20 wives at one point (157). While still fewer than Behechio of Xaragua, some of these wives were likely part of matrimonial alliances with other caciques or lesser caciques. Accumulating so many wives was likely part of a strategy pursued by caciques to enhance their position on the island through alliances with different communities. Indeed, stealing or killing the wife of another cacique was of great significance. For example, Columbus's son wrote that Behechio of Xaragua, for instance, was said to have murdered a wife of Guacanagaric while Caonabo stole another. This would have disrupted alliances and family networks that affected how subordinate caciques or nitainos viewed their relationship with Guacanagaric. 

A  guaíza from En Bas Saline. Guacanagari gifted elaborate types of these to Columbus. 

Columbus and the early Spanish sources  provide a wealth of details, despite their obvious limitations and bias. For instance, these sources provide an idea of things that were considered valuable in Marien. Cotton, for instance, was common at Guacanagari's village (Columbus 128). Elsewhere, a relation of tribute received from Indians in 1495, lists gold and an elaborate belt with 4 sheets of gold given by Guacanagari (Relación del oro y joyas que recibió el Almirante después que el receptor Sebastián de Olaño partió de la isla Española para Castilla, desde 10 de Marzo de 1495"). Thus, even without control of gold mining areas, Guacanagari's chiefdom still had access to fine and elaborate gold objects, belts, and even a frog-shaped grain of gold. Villages or settlements in the region could also be rather large. Guarico, nearby, may have held over 2000 people (Columbus 130). Furthermore, the land of Guarionex was said to be located 4 days to the east. This suggests that, roughly, Las Casas, writing in Apologética historia sumaria, may have been broadly correct when he wrote that Marien covered the northern coast after Guahaba to Vega Real, including parts of the Vega Real and the sierras. It was then followed by Macorix de abajo, which included Monte Cristi. Overall, Marien covered 15 leagues or more, and likely even more territory when the hills were included. Elsewhere, in "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Las Casas claimed to have personally met several high-ranking vassals of Guacanagari (20). This is further, albeit late and problematic, testimony of Guacanagari likely possessing paramount chieftain status in the North. 

Gilbert R. Valmé's aerial view of En Bas Saline and the larger Plaine du Nord region in 

Perhaps the most detailed yet problematic source of all is an account of Guacanagari's capital described by Luis Joseph Peguero. A writer from the Spanish colony, he may have had access to lost sources, including an account by Rodrigo Escobedo and Juan Salsedo. These two allegedly went to Guacanagari's court. One pueblo in the chiefdom, Cacuma, allegedly held 300 houses. The capital of Marien, likely today's En Bas Saline, was said to have 8000 houses of straw and wood. There were allegedly 4 streets, 4 barrios or sections, and a plaza in the center with the "palace" of the king in the midway point of the plaza (Peguero 38). It is very likely that the estimate of 8000 houses is a gross exaggeration, although Escobedo and Salsedo may have meant the larger district and not just the main settlement. Besides this estimate of 8000 houses, the capital's plaza contained a large house on its Southside where 100 soldiers and officials were (39). This may be an allusion to important elders and soldiers (nitainos) who assisted Guacanagari in the administration of the chiefdom. Later, the cacique was said to have had 25 nobles in his personal guard and a court with 8 elders (40). If he was relatively young in 1492, these elders may have been advisors who offered wisdom and practical experience in government. The Spaniards allegedly saw the temple of Marien, too. Supposedly square-shaped, made of wood and containing idols (including those fabricated with gold), the temple may have been a caney or similar structures used for various ceremonies (41). The idea of a highly ranked or stratified society also emerges in the description of the temple as having 4 separate entrances/exits for the different classes: royal family, nobles, plebeians and one only entered by the dead (used for funerary rites or rituals?). Guacanagari's palace was allegedly 32 paths long, 10 wide and divided into 4 parts. His palace included a nearby section used by 40 or more Indian women who cooked or prepared food (42). Later on, Peguero wrote of Guacanagari sending 800 archers to fight for the Spanish (73). While Peguero also blamed Roldan's rebels for burning Guacanagari's Pueblo and killing him for failing to pay tribute, other sources suggest Guacanagari died alone, in the mountains, after earning the hatred of his people and the betrayal of his Spanish allies (Nau's version of events). 

Although there are obviously many questionable aspects of what Peguero wrote about Marien's capital, Deagan's work at the site of En Bas Saline partly affirms it. Settlement at En Bas Saline by people who made Chicoid pottery began about 250 years before the arrival of Columbus. It may have been a Chican intrusion into a part of northern Hispaniola occupied by Meillacoid pottery makers (36). In addition, En Bas Saline was the only known ceremonial plaza site on the coast (39). Its larger region may have stretched from the west side of Fort Liberte bay to the west side of the Bay of Acul (40). The site of En Bas Saline also covered 90,000 square meters and features public architecture (56). The central plaza covered around 50,000 square meters and featured 3 mounded areas (73). The elite mound site in the plaza was apparently 34 meters by 16 meters (98). The earliest definable building on the central mound was circular or elliptical in shape with a diameter of 12 meters (114). Using Curet's ratio of floor space-per-person, Deagan has estimated the central mound building may have housed 20-30 people (123). This could have been the 'palace' of Guacanagari described by Escobedo. In addition, the evidence for public feasting at the pits shows the communal nature of the space (129). However, Deagan did not see probable evidence for surplus storage distribution by the cacique for these feats (138). Nonetheless, she found evidence for control or organization of labor and the means of craft production at the elite mound in the plaza (232). This indicates that the cacique did exert some control over the means of production (at least for some goods). Further evidence of at least some degree of social stratification or "ranked" societies can be seen in the fact that the scarcest animals, iguanas, sea turtles, and manatees, were only found in the central mound residence and burial pit (270). This would match descriptions in the Spanish chronicles of caciques monopolizing certain types of meat and food (such as a finer quality of casabe). 

Ultimately, Deagan views En Bas Saline as a "corporate chiefdom model." This may very well be true, but it seems probable that Guacanagari was not a lesser or subordinate cacique. Indeed, there was a string of villages on Haiti's North coast which were connected by an aboriginal road that ran from En Bas Saline to the modern-day Dominican republic (Keegan, 72). It is likely that Guacanagari's Marien was the most powerful chiefdom in the region and exerted influence on most of (if not all) of Haiti's northern coast. Furthermore, the cacicazgo may have been engaged in trade with Lucayans from Turks and Caicos. Keegan, who identified a prominent site (MC-6) on Middle Caicos, has found imported Chicoid pottery and speculates that the settlement likely engaged in trade with the northern coast of Hispaniola. Indeed, Keegan has even proposed that Caonabo, said to be of Lucayan origin, was from MC-6 (Keegan, 148). If so, then it is possible that Caonabo may have known of Guacanagari's chiefdom before Guacanagari became its ruler. Moreover, Marien may have been able to control trade between Hispaniola and Turks & Caicos along Haiti's northern coast.

The evidence, despite its limitations, suggest Marien truly was the seat of a paramount cacicazgo. To what extent Guahaba was fully in its sphere of influence is uncertain, but population numbers from the 1514 Repartimiento for Lares de la Guahaba and Puerto Real are suggestive of a much greater population in the area of Puerto Real (built near En Bas Saline). The population of Guahaba, whose center may have been at Gros-Morne, could have been autonomous but gradually fell under the influence of Guacanagari as he tried to use his alliance with the Spanish to increase his status. Las Casas, who at least met several of the subordinates of Guacanagari, believed it covered at least 15 leagues of territory and Moreau de Saint-Mery extended its southern border to the Artibonite. The latter even included Port-de-Paix in Marien and posited that Guacanagari commanded as many as 200,000 people! Moreover, by c.1514, there were still hundreds of Indians assigned in encomiendas far away from Puerto Real, about 317 indigenous people, whose caciques were from Marien. They might represent the core of the Marien cacicazgo's population, decimated by colonial conquest and forced relocation. One can imagine that their population in 1492 was significantly larger, and Guacanagari's chiefdom may have extended its influence across much more of northern Haiti.

Bibliography

Casas, Bartolomé de las, and Edmundo O'Gorman. Apologética Historia Sumaria. [3. ed.]. México, 1967

Casas, Bartolomé de las, and Nigel Griffin. A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. London, England ; New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, 1992.

Columbus, Christopher, and Clement Robert Markham. The Journal of Christopher Columbus: (during His First Voyage, 1492-93), and Documents Relating to the Voyages of John Cabot and Gaspar Corte Real. New York: B. Franklin, 1970.

Deagan, Kathleen A. En Bas Saline: A Taíno Town Before and After Columbus. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press, 2023.

Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, G., Amador de los Ríos, J., & R. Academia de la historia, M. (1851). Historia general y natural de las Indias, islas y tierrafirme del mar océano. Impr. de la Real academia de la historia.

Keegan, William F., and Florida Museum of Natural History. Taíno Indian Myth and Practice: The Arrival of the Stranger King. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2007.

Moreau de Saint-Méry, M. L. E. Description Topographique, Physique, Civile, Politique Et Historique De La Partie Française De L'isle Saint-Domingue: Avec Des Observations Générales Sur Sa Population, Sur Le Caractère & Les Moeurs De Ses Divers Habitans, Sur Son Climat, Sa Culture, Ses Productions, Son Administration, &c. &c. : Accompagnées Des Détails Les Plus Propres à Faire Connaître L'état De Cette Colonie à L'époque Du 18 Octobre 1789 : Et D'une Nouvelle Carte De La Totalité De L'isle. A Philadelphie: Et s'y trouve chez l'auteur ..., 1797.

Nau, Émile. Histoire Des Caciques D'Haiti. Port-au-Prince: T. Bouchereau, imprimeur-editeur, rue Courbe, 1855.

Oliver, José R. 2009. Caciques and Cemí Idols : The Web Spun by Taíno Rulers between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.

Peguero, Luis Joseph, Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, Biblioteca Nacional, and Publicaciones del Museo de las Casas Reales. Historia De La Conquista, De La Isla Española De Santo Domingo Trasumptada El Año De 1762: Traducida De La Historia General De Las Indias Escrita Por Antonio De Herrera Coronista Mayor De Su Magestad, Y De Las Indias, Y De Castilla, Y De Otros Autores Que Han Escrito Sobre El Particular. Santo Domingo: [Museo de las Casas Reales], 1975.

Stone, Erin W. "The Conquest of Española as a “Structure of Conjuncture”. Ethnohistory 1 July 2021; 68 (3): 363–383. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00141801-8940494

Valmé, Gilbert R. Atabey, Yacayequey, Caney, 6000 Ans D'aménagement Territorial Préhispanique Sur L'île D'Ayiti: Haïti/République Dominicaine : Une Approche Holistique Du Patrimoine Zux Antilles : Les Paysages Culturels. Pompano Beach, Florida: Educa Vision, 2012.

The Afterlife of Marien

 

Whilst perusing the very helpful tables of Arranz Marquez in Repartimientos y encomiendas en la Isla Española: el repartimiento de Albuquerque de 1514, we came across 5 caciques with "del Marien" in their names. None of them were linked to encomenderos in Puerto Real, the Spanish colonial city founded near the likely site of Marien's capital. Thus, within about 22 years of first meeting Columbus, the population of Marien was severely displaced and likely experienced high amounts of death through disease, forced relocation, disrupted food supply, and forced labor. Guacanagari's people were now spread around in La Concepcion and Bonao. In the latter town, a surprisingly high number of Indians tied to the Marien caciques Torres del Marien (170 indios) and Velazquez del Marien (70) were laboring for Juan de Ampies. In La Concepcion, 3 caciques from Marien were listed: Antonio Escobar del Marien, Barahona del Marien and Cristobal del Marien. The indios linked to them numbered 117. This suggests that by 1514, Marien (presumably its "core" had about 317 indigenous people who had been relocated through the encomienda system. Over half of this group ended up in Bonao. In Puerto Real itself, where it is probably safe to assume much of the indigenous population was from the old cacicazgo of Marien due to the absence of gold mining, it is difficult to trace where the caciques and their communities came from. 

In one case, that of Francisquillo de Bayaha, we can presume he was from the area of modern-day Fort Liberte. The cacique called Mayordomo de Hatiel may have come from a region that appears in the Morales map to be south of the Artibonite and east of its mouth. This area may not have been part of the Marien cacicazgo. According to Bernardo Vega, it likely covered the territory from Borgne to Monte Cristi.It is unlikely for the area south of the Artibonite to have been part of Guacanagari's spheres of influence. In the case of Diego Aynaguana, however, it is somewhat ambiguous. The cacique Diego Aynaguana in Azua may have been relocated there via the encomienda system. Once again, the Morales map provides a clue since it appears to identify a river called Aynagua northeast of Puerto Real. If so, that means at least 349 Indians were forced to relocate from the environs of Marien. 

And of the caciques in Puerto Plata and other regions, a few may have been linked to the period of Guacanagari's rule in the 1490s. One cacique from Marien went by the name Cristobal. Was this possibly in reference to Columbus? Another cacique, Juan de Manuy, was assigned to an encomendero married to a native woman, Gonzalo de Arevalo. We were unable to find out when he came to the island, but if his wife was from this part of the island, he may have used her kinship ties and connections that may have preceded 1492 and the calamities of the colonial conquest. Furthermore, the one cacique assigned to a Puerto Real encomendero with more than 100 Indians was a man named Fernando Guanabax. We know from Peguero and Oviedo that a relative of Guacanagari traveled to Spain with Columbus on his first voyage. He was baptized there and took the name Fernando de Aragon. Is there any chance Fernando Guanabax was the same man? We admit this is pure speculation and quite unlikely, but he was the only cacique with more than 100 followers in the Puerto Real area.

As for the area around Lares de Guahaba and Haiti's northwest, we are unsure. Las Casas seemed to exclude Guahaba and Amaguey (near modern Gros Morne?) from Guacanagari's Marien. Charlevoix, writing in the 18th century, believed Marien covered all of the north coast from Cap St. Nicolas (Mole St. Nicolas) to Monte Cristi, as well as a part of the northern Vegal Real. Moreau de Saint-Mery echoed that sentiment, including Port de Paix as once in the domain of Guacanagari. Indeed, he even believed the Artibonite was the southern border for Marien, implying Guahaba would have fallen under Guacanagari's control or influence. In the next century, Haitian historian Emile Nau also wrote of Marien including Guahaba and the western limits of the Artibonite (Nau, 36). Perhaps even more boldly, the Haitian author Gilbert Valme added Tortuga to Guacanagari's territor (Valme, 229). Interestingly, the remaining indigenes of Tortuga were assigned to an encomendero based at Puerto Plata in c.1514. In terms of other modern scholars, Deagan, the archaeologist who has presented the best case for identifying En Bas Saline as Guacanagari's capital, similarly included Guahaba in his land (Deagan, 240). 

Until scholars uncover new sources, the mystery of Marien's end will continue. Scholars have different theories on the death of Guacanagari, for example. It would appear that he was likely dead within 10 years after meeting Columbus. And while his capital was likely occupied until the 1520s, it too was eventually abandoned. With about 317 Indians from Marien serving encomienda holders on the other side of the island in 1514, one can imagine high mortality rates and labor exploitation wiped out much of the remaining population. Even Puerto Real itself was later disbanded. But if 317 Indians from Marien were enumerated in 1514, scholars might be able to reach more accurate population estimates of the region's population in 1492. To what extent Guacanagari was able to control other provinces is up for debate, but the large plaza and public architecture at his capital suggest he was not such a minor or subordinate cacique after all. Indeed, Las Casas personally claimed to have met several of Guacanagari's vassals who were of high standing, presumably meaning caciques and nitainos who occupied more than the region near En Bas Saline. 

Caonao (Cahonao)

A section of northern Haiti/Dominican Republic depicting the likely site of Caonao, where the mountain of Cauta supposedly included the caves of Cacibajagua and Amayauna, in the famous map of Morales.

Whilst revisiting various sources on the indigenous polities or societies of the island, we came across some inconsistencies in Bernardo Vega's otherwise great Los cacicazgos de la Hispaniola. At one point he tries to concoct a theory that the island of Cayemite may have been the site where, according to indigenous legend, their ancestors first appeared on the island. However, his reasoning here assumes that Peter Martry and Morales, the cartographer of one of the most detailed maps of the island, mistook the Bajabonico for another river possibly located in the Sud of modern-day Haiti. His reasoning here is not convincing, and in fact, by the book's conclusion, Vega seems to have returned to the original proposition on the site of the early origins of Haiti. Thus, by pages 69-70, Vega seems to place Caonao, the province where the caves of Cacibajagua and Amayauna were located, near the Bajabonico River in the Dominican Republic. As Martyr's account of Indian legends of origin was based on the relation of Ramón Pané, taking a second look at Arrom's translation and proposed etymologies for (mythic) places and landscapes is necessary. Arrom, who translated Caonao (the Cahonao of Martyr) as "place where there is gold," one should look to parts of Hispaniola where gold was found in abundance.

That would suggest somewhere in the Cibao or Vega Real is a good contender. In addition, Pané apparently collected most of his information in this part of the island subject to Guarionex, a powerful cacique whose sister married Diego Colon, the indigenous translator of the Admiral. Guarionex, according to Pané, was the son of a cacique named Cacibaquel. Arrom suggests this name could mean "shelter" or "refuge" and "descendant of" the "cave" (caciba). If this cacique was the father of Guarionex, and much of Pané's recorded traditions came from this cacicazgo or its environs, then the myth of Cacibajagua as a cave of origin near Caonao (or Cahonao) likely refers to this area near the Bajabonico. According to Peter Martyr, Guarionex's domains bordered the mountains of Cibao, Cahonao, and Cazacubana. It is thus very likely that the mythical site of Cacibajagua and Amayauna were located somewhere near Cahonao, which remains to this day the name of a river or affluent of the Bajabonico west of the pueblo of Imbert. 

A map in Deagan's En Bas Saline showing coastal Chicoid pottery sites in northern Hispaniola.

As for another important cave of indigenous myth, the cave from which emerged the Sun and the Moon, Pané is less clear. Supposedly, the cave was located in the land of a cacique named Mautiatihuel. Arrom has suggested a possible translation for this (mythical?) cacique's name: "Son-of-the-Dawn." If so, and the sun rises in the east, one might assume this (mythical) cave was located somewhere in the east. This contradicts Moreau de Saint-Mery's unverifiable theory that the cave site of Voûte-à-Minguet in the parish of Dondon was the site in question. A more eastern location would fit the possible sites for Cacibajagua and Amayauna, too, especially if this tradition is largely derived from the cacicazgo of Guarionex or its neighbors. It may also have been important for this cave, a site of pilgrimage, to be close to the cave of origin for the island's population. According to Martyr, the site of Camoteia, where humans first settled the island of Hispaniola at Cahonao, was also a revered site to which gifts were given. Martyr adds details here not explicit in Pané, perhaps drawing from Morales and other sources. Nonetheless, it is not unfeasible for the site of Cacibajagua to have been located in the same region as the cave of Iguanaboina.

This question of Cacibajagua and Cahonao may also have some bearing on the origins of Marien, a powerful cacicazgo in the northern part of Haiti. According to archaeological findings, the probable site for Guacanagaric's capital, En Bas Saline, was likely a Chicoid site in a region (northern Haiti) where Meillacoid ceramics were usually found. If En Bas Saline began as a Chicoid settlement in an area whose immediate vicinity was devoid of Meillacoid settlements, it is possible that the early people came from the east. They may have shared in this wider mythology of origin that traced the human presence on the island to Cacibajagua and the cave site in which the Sun and Moon emerged likely somewhere in the same region. We are assuming here that ceramic styles reflected some deeper cultural orientation or identification, but Guacanagaric's cacicazgo could have brought those traditions or legends of origin to the northern part of Haiti when a Chicoid settlement emerged at En Bas Saline by the 13th century. Of course, by the time of Columbus's arrival, the people of Marien may have developed a very distinct identity and new traditions of origin. But their cacicazgo wa said to have stretched as far east as Monte Cristi and parts of Vega Real, meaning some degree of contact with the indigenous centers there was feasible. 

Cacicazgo of Agueybana

Image of a duho from Puerto Rico's southern coast reproduced in Joanna Opstakowicz's Taíno Wooden Sculpture: Duhos, Rulership and the Visual Arts in the 12th-16th Century.

Although the extant corpus of Spanish sources isn't as detailed as Spanish accounts of chiefdoms on Hispaniola, there are tantalizing clues about the development of a possible paramount chiefdom led by Agueybana. Located on Puerto Rico's southern coast, most Spanish sources from the first half of the 16th century suggest Agueybana was the most senior of all caciques or perhaps "king" of the island. This notion is repeated by Oviedo, implied by a 1511 letter addressed to Agueybana from the Spanish monarch, and further implied by Agueybana II's leadership of the revolt against the Spanish. Indeed, Peter Martyr d'Anghiera wrote of Puerto Rico as under the domain of one king, presumably an allusion to the powerful chiefdom of Agueybana which may have occupied a position of economic, political and ritual power. Indeed, Martyr d'Anghiera based his brief description of Puerto Rico on information from natives of Puerto Rico who traveled on a ship from Columbus's 2nd Voyage. 

The cacicazgo, sometimes called Guaynia in older secondary sources, may have been near the modern town of Ponce or its environs. According to Sued Badillo, the site of Cayabo may have been the chiefly lineage of Agueybana. Elsewhere, in a book on Agueybana, he claimed his territory stretched from the cacique Yauco to the cacique Abey. Francisco Moscoso, in his study of caciques and aldeas on the island, suggested that the land of Agueybana included the mouth of the Coayuco river and the salines of the Guanica area. This region was particularly fertile, thereby allowing for a larger yuca production. Access to abundant sources of fish further favored a demographic expansion in this area. If one remembers Xaragua in Hispaniola, easy access to marine protein was one factor for its large population centers. Moreover, Agueybana's cacicazgo included more encomienda Indians, 600, assigned to Cristobal de Sotomayor. This encomienda included 70,000 mounds of Indian-styled conucos, suggesting the region was one of the leading centers of casabe production on the island and heavily populated. Moscoso tentatively estimated that the land of Agueybana may have included a total population of 3000 if one considers that the 600 encomienda Indians did not include the entire population but those fit for work. 

Jose Oliver, drawing on archaeological evidence and early colonial sources, suggests strong ties between Puerto Rico and eastern Hispaniola. The region of Higuey appears to have participated in similar symbolism of chiefly rank and may have engaged in intermarriage or guatiao relationships with the powerful cacicazgo on Puerto Rico's southern coast. Indeed, the name Agueybana was also used in La Saona and Cayacoa near Santo Domingo, perhaps suggestive of close relations between chiefly lineage groups in Higuey and other parts of Hispaniola with Puerto Rico. For example, there was a cacique of La Saona named Agueybana. Another cacique, in Higuey, was said to be related to the Agueybana of Puerto Rico. Further evidence can be seen in archaeological evidence of contacts across the Mona Passage that may stretch back to the 7th century in terms of cemis, stone collars and other artifacts, like duhos. It is possible that the cacicazgo later associated with Agueybana was one of these centers that engaged in relations with Hispaniola centuries before the Spanish conquest. 

Unfortunately, the development of the sugar industry likely destroyed many traces of the indigenous civilization that prospered in the area. But the clues from the colonial archive and archaeological evidence point to strong ties between Puerto Rico and eastern Hispaniola. These included important symbols and paraphernalia of chiefly lineages and status. That it was Agueybana II, the brother of Agueybana I, who was able to draw 30 caciques to fight against the Spanish in 1511 points to the status of this cacique as a respected leader. In terms of "rule" over the island, it was likely based on indigenous concepts in which tribute in labor may have been acquired over vassal caciques ruling individual valleys. Close ties to Hispaniola's east may have been a further factor in the status of Agueybana's cacicazgo as it could have been a source of prestigious trade goods. Indeed, trade with the south through the Lesser Antilles to South America may have been an additional factor as guanin and other highly valued imports could have reached Puerto Rico's southern coast before being traded to other parts of the island or Hispaniola. Lastly, the fact that Agueybana II could call upon so-called "Carib" allies in his conflicts against the Spanish in the 1510s may be another indication of a regional power with influence extending to the Lesser Antilles. As succession to the position of cacique in this cacicazgo appears to have been through the maternal line, one may surmise that the exchange of women as wives from this cacicazgo to others may have been seen as a prestige for allies and subordinate caciques.

Wayuu Match

Whilst playing around with Gedmatch, we came across some more recent kits for Wayuu peoples of South America. Since they appear to have been in contact or at least interacted with the Taino (or the ancestors of the Taino) based on linguistic evidence, we have always wondered if any Wayuu would match Caribbean peoples with indigenous ancestry genetically. Well, we seem to have encountered one we share 6.1 cM of DNA with on a segment of our second chromosome. Assigned to "Indigenous Puerto Rico" by Ancestry, this seems to suggest the indigenous component of Puerto Rican ancestry is similar to the genetics of the Wayuu and other Arawakan speakers of this part of South America. In order to confirm our findings, however, one must thoroughly check the segment and see if any other matches can be found there for indigenous segments in Puerto Ricans and Wayuu. Of course, one must also consider the large-scale slave trade of indigenous captives from the circum-Caribbean into the Caribbean by the Spanish during the 1500s. From the limited tools of Gedmatch, the shared segment appears to be "Amerindian" if one trusts admixture chromosome painting tools. However, there is only one Wayuu sample we share at least 6 cM of DNA with. 

Indigenous Americas Update (2025)

In terms of Indigenous Americas ancestry, the algorithm used by Ancestry still inflates "Taino" ancestry in Puerto Ricans. The overall "Puerto Rico" estimate remained at 9%, but the "Bolivia & Peru" decreased slightly to a fraction of 1%. The appearance of "Central America" was the new aspect of this update. Like the case of indigenous peoples of the Andes, we assume this is capturing some of the component parts of the genetic makeup of the "Tainos." The Central America region as defined by Ancestry seems to emphasize El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua and is possibly related to the "Taino" through ancient pathways or migrations from Central America into South America (or vice-versa). It would be very useful for Ancestry to tell us which indigenous groups from Central and South America they're using here.