Chiefdoms of Hispaniola
The Taíno of Hispaniola were an Arawak people related to the inhabitants of the other islands in the Greater Antilles. At the time of European contact, they were suffering attacks from a rival indigenous group, the Island Caribs. In 1508, there were about 60,000 Taínos in the island of Hispaniola; by 1531 infectious disease epidemics and exploitation had resulted in a dramatic decline in population. An estimated 600.
Hispaniola
Christopher Columbus brought sugar cane on his second voyage to the island. Molasses was the chief product. Diego Colon's plantation had 40 African slaves in 1522. By 1526, 19 mills were in operation from Azua to Santo Domingo. In 1574, a census taken of the Greater Antilles reported 1,000 Spaniards and 12,000 African slaves on Hispaniola.