Hispaniola's Indigenous Child Population (c.1514)

Using the total numbers in Arranz Marquez's breakdown of the 1514 repartimiento of Hispaniola, one can easily find numbers for the child population of the island. According to Arranz Marquez, only 6.1% out of the total population of 26,189 were children (1,600). Out of that Indian child population, slightly over 1/3 were assigned to encomenderos in the Santo Domingo region. This was followed by La Conception, San Juan de la Maguana, and Santiago. Clearly, the indigenous population of the island was not prospering since most areas had very small child populations. However, one must keep in mind that the Indians enumerated in 1514 were not the total population of the island. Thus, many areas probably contained hidden communities whose members are not likely counted here. Nonetheless, it is interesting to note how the only areas with sizable (around 100 or more) child populations in western Hispaniola were Salvatierra de la Sabana and Vera Paz, areas built on the ruins of the cacicazgos of Xaragua and Hanyguayaba. Xaragua likely once held a much larger proportion of the indigenous population of the island in 1492. Indeed, it may have even grown demographically before its conquest as some Indians from the eastern part of the island may have sought refuge there before Ovando destroyed it.