History of Haiti
Following the arrival of Europeans, La Hispaniola's indigenous population suffered greatly to near extinction, in possibly the worst case of depopulation in the Americas. A commonly accepted hypothesis attributes the high mortality of this colony in part to European diseases to which the natives had no immunity. A small number of Taínos were able to survive and set up villages elsewhere. Spanish interest in Hispaniola began to wane in the 1520s, as more lucrative gold and silver deposits were found in Mexico and South America. Thereafter, the population of Spanish Hispaniola grew at a slow pace.
1712 Huilliche rebellion
The Huilliches of Chiloé had already taken action against their Spanish lords back in 1600. In that year a group helped the Dutch corsair Baltazar de Cordes attack the Spanish settlement of Castro. Unlike in continental Chile, the indigenous population of Chiloé grew from 1700 onwards. By 1712 indigenous peoples made up around 50% of the population of the archipelago. The encomiendas of Chiloé were the largest of Chile and the administration of this form of labor more abusive than on the mainland. Moreover, the encomenderos did not fulfill their obligations; they did not register tribute nor salaries. Encomenderos often did not pay legal salaries or salaries at all and did not observe the "free time" of Indians in the encomienda laws. The encomienda activities in Chiloé included the Indians traveling to the continental coast to log for alerce wood.