Islands of the Taíno
Open the map in 1492 over the Caribbean. Find the Taino labels on Cuba, Hispaniola and Jamaica, and Boriken Taino on Puerto Rico. How might islanders travel between them?
Open this view on the mapSpanish Caribbean · 1492-1542
Hispaniola: the Taíno and the first Spanish colony
The Taíno of the Caribbean were the first people in the Americas to live under Spanish rule. Students explore Taíno society, the forced-labour system that devastated it, the Taíno leaders who resisted, and the friar who changed his mind.
- Length
- 50 minutes
- Ages
- 12–15
- On the map
- 3 steps, AD 1492 to AD 1530
- Live lesson
- 7 rounds, 3 on the map
- Worksheet
- Two A4 pages, with Classroom
- You need
- A projector; phones for live
Live lesson · new in Classroom
Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.
Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.
€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.
- 7 rounds
- 3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
- About 15 minutes
- Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
- A report
- Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
Introduction
5 minRead aloud
The Taíno of the Caribbean were the first people in the Americas to live under Spanish rule. Students explore Taíno society, the forced-labour system that devastated it, the Taíno leaders who resisted, and the friar who changed his mind.
By the end of the lesson, students can
- Describe Taíno society on Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico before 1492.
- Explain how the encomienda system worked and why the Taíno population collapsed.
- Describe the actions of Hatuey, Enriquillo and Bartolomé de las Casas.
Explore the map
15 minProject the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.
A colony is drawn
Jump to 1530 with the same view. Which labels have replaced the Taíno names? What does this change on the map hide about the people who lived there?
Open this view on the mapMountains of refuge
Zoom in on the Bahoruco mountains in the south-west of Hispaniola. From 1519 to 1533 the Taíno leader Enriquillo resisted the Spaniards here. Why were these mountains a good refuge?
Open this view on the mapClass discussion
15 minPick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.
- The Taíno lived in villages led by caciques, grew cassava and played a ballgame on plazas called bateyes. What does this tell us about their society?
- Under the encomienda, Spaniards received the labour of Taíno people in return for "protection" and Christian teaching. Who really benefited?
- In 1511 the friar Antonio de Montesinos asked the settlers of Santo Domingo whether the Taíno were not human beings too. Why was that question so explosive?
- Estimates of the number of Taíno on Hispaniola in 1492 range from under 100,000 to several million. Why are such numbers so hard to know?
- Bartolomé de las Casas first held Taíno workers, then spent about 50 years defending Indigenous rights. What can change a person's mind?
Game round
10 minNo Spanish king is in Rule History. Play one round as Suleiman the Magnificent, who ruled at the same time as Charles V, the king who signed Spain's New Laws of 1542. Afterwards, discuss: how much can a ruler far away really control what happens in his colonies?
Open Rule HistoryWorksheet
5 minThis worksheet comes with Classroom
€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.