In this part of our biography podcast, find out about the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, whom Christopher Columbus met. We will first find out who the ancestors of these Indigenous Peoples were. Then, we will proceed to find out how these Indigenous People lived.

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Summary

The first humans came to the Americas through the Bering bridge, which is also known as Beringia. Since the global temperature at that time was 8°C lower [Citation 1] than it is today, and a lot of water was in the form of ice, Beringia was not covered by water. So, people came to this Beringia, 24,000 years ago [Citation 2] & [Citation 3], because it offered them better chances of survival [citation 4]. They stayed there for around 10,000 years or lesser and then moved to the Americas [Citation 5]. These people were the ancestors of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas.

Caribbean Islands

Two Indigenous Peoples lived in the Caribbean during the time of Columbus' arrival. They were the Lokono and the Kalinaga.

Lokono [Citation 6]

Friendly people who loved peace
Lived by fishing, hunting, and farming
Each man had around two to three wives
Cacique, the leader, had around 30 wives
They lived in big houses. Around 100 people lived in each house
Had weapons like poisoned arrows, spears with fish hooks on one end

Kalinaga [Citation 7]

Fierce people who loved war and fighting
Lived by fishing, hunting, and farming
Men lived together in one big house where they trained
Women lived in many smaller houses
Trained their children from a very early age for warfare
Had weapons like poisoned arrows, burning arrows, etc.

When Christopher Columbus first came to the Caribbean, he met the Lokono. Then, he sailed further south and met the Kalinaga. He called the Lokono as Arawaks and Kalinaga as Caribs.

The Caribs had a custom of eating human flesh to acquire the characteristics of the person who died. It was a ritual for them. They used this ritual before going to a battle and when they trained children. But they did not eat human flesh like for the taste or pleasure of it. But Columbus used their custom to spread the rumor that they were cannibals. So, he was able to acquire Queen Isabella's permission to capture the Caribs.

Christopher Columbus used the queen's permission as an excuse to capture Caribs and Arawaks and use them as slaves. In the years that followed, most of the Caribs and Arawaks died not only due to abuse and inhuman working conditions, but also due to the diseases brought by the Spanish.

Citations

Resources

A map of Beringia - https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/sunken-bridge-size-continent/

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The Indigenous Peoples of The Americas - Part 1