Hispaniola
The primary indigenous group on the island of Hispaniola was the Arawak/Taíno people. The Arawak tribe originated in the Orinoco Delta, spreading from Venezuela. They travelled to Hispaniola around 1200 CE. Each society on the island was a small independent kingdom with a lead known as a cacique. In 1492, which is considered the peak of the Taíno, there were five different kingdoms on the island, the Xaragua, Higuey (Caizcimu), Magua (Huhabo), Ciguayos (Cayabo or Maguana), and Marien (Bainoa). Many distinct Taíno languages also existed in this time period. There is still heated debate over the population of Taíno people on the island of Hispaniola in 1492, but estimates range upwards of 750,000.
Spanish conquest of Honduras
After 1530, it was the colonists themselves who held the keys to power, installing new governors and removing them from office. By 1534, the Spanish colony in Honduras was close to collapse. Trujillo had a population of less than two hundred; it was the only Spanish settlement in Honduras, and very little territory beyond the town itself had been conquered. The Spanish were beset by infighting, and had provoked widespread indigenous uprisings. Simultaneously, the native population had collapsed as a result of disease, mistreatment, and the export of large numbers to work on the sugar plantations of the Caribbean islands.