Christopher Columbus
Since the late 20th century, historians have criticized Columbus for initiating colonization and for abuse of natives. Among reasons for this criticism is the poor treatment of the native Taíno people of Hispaniola, whose population declined rapidly after contact with the Spanish. Columbus required the natives to pay tribute in gold and cotton. Modern estimates for the pre-Columbian population of Hispaniola are around 250,000–300,000. According to the historian Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes, by 1548, 56 years after Columbus landed, and 42 years after he died, fewer than 500 Taíno were living on the island. The indigenous population declined rapidly, due primarily to the first pandemic of European endemic diseases, which struck Hispaniola after 1519. The natives had no acquired immunity to these new diseases and suffered high fatalities. There is also documentation that they were overworked.
Hondurans
The Amerindian population consists of seven indigenous groups recognized by the Confederation of Autochthonous Peoples of Honduras (CONPAH) and the government of Honduras, among them they recognize the Afro-Caribbean and Garífuna groups which are not Amerindian. The seven indigenous groups are: the Ch'orti', a Mayan group living in the northwest on the border with Guatemala; the Garifuna speaking a Carib language., they live along the entire Caribbean coastline of Honduras, and in the Bay Islands; the Pech or Paya Indians living in a small area in the Olancho department; the Tolupan (also called Jicaque, "Xicaque", or Tol), living in the Department of Yoro and in the reserve of the Montaña de la Flor and parts of the department of Yoro; the Lenca Indians living in the western highlands of Intibuca, Lempira, La Paz, Valle and Choluteca departments; and the Miskito Indians living on the northeast coast in the Gracias A Dios department and along the border with Nicaragua.