There were three waves of migrants to the island of Hispaniola from South America, the first around 2600 B.C. Not much is known about these fishers and gatherers. The second group, usually called the Saladoids, arrived around 250 B.C. and displaced or absorbed the previous peoples. They were excellent potters and believed to come from the Arawak peoples of the Guianas and Trinidad.
The third group arrived around the birth of Christ and by 700 A.D. had totally displaced or absorbed the previous cultures. They occupied the Bahamas and all the Greater Antilles except for Western Cuba. These people called themselves "Taino" which means "friendly people" in their tongue.
An extimated 400,000 Taino lived on Hispaniola when CHristoforo Colombo arrived in 1492. Thirty years later, there were only a thousand left, killed off by European disease and wretched treatment (they were made to serve in the gold mines). Some Taino words in use today include "barbecue", "hurricane" and "savanna".
After landing in a small Bahamian island and on the island of Cuba, the Pinta, the Nina and the Santa Maria found a mountainous land that Columbus called "La Isla Espaniola", the Spanish Island. The name was later corrupted to "Hispaniola" which still describes the island that houses Haiti and the Dominican Republic. ... more to follow ...
... more to follow ...