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.
Captaincy General of Santo Domingo
Prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, the native Taíno people populated the island which they called "Quisqueya" (mother of all lands) and "Ayiti" (land of high mountains), and which Columbus later named Hispaniola. At the time, the island's territory consisted of five chiefdoms: Marién, Maguá, Maguana, Jaragua, and Higüey. These were ruled respectively by "caciques" (chiefs) Guacanagarix, Guarionex, Caonabo, Bohechío, and Cayacoa.