Return To Hispaniola: Reassessing a Demographic Catastrophe

History, Numbers, and Methods

There is a dead body on the sidewalk in front of a skyscraper. Whether it fell from the fourth or the fortieth floor is irrelevant for the coroner who has to determine the direct cause of death. It was, beyond a doubt, the impact with the pavement. On the other hand, the police investigating the death are interested in determining from which floor the body fell: was he pushed, and by whom, or did he commit suicide? Hispaniola's Tainos, a few decades after Columbus' landfall, completed their course to extinction. This is a relatively well-established fact. But what were their numbers in 1492: one hundred thousand, one million, or ten million? The answer to this question is important, since it may shed light into the mechanisms of the following decline.

This article has two aims. The first is to narrow the irreconcilable estimates made by modern authors as to the contact population of Hispaniola, using a variety of methods. The second is to discuss the relative weight of the various determinants of the extinction: disease and mortality, impaired reproductive mechanisms, or mixing with other groups. These two tasks are closely interrelated, because a better estimate of the contact population helps in understanding the mechanisms of extinction, and vice versa.

Columbus' first expedition set foot on the northwestern shore of Hispaniola in December of 1492 and departed in early January of 1493, leaving behind a small settlement of 38 people (Navidad). He returned with 17 ships and 1,200 men at the end of the same year, only to find that the first colonists had been killed. ¹ A new settlement (Isabela) was founded on the northern coast, and from this point various expeditions went southeast, exploring the fertile valley of Vega Real and the mountainous region of Cibao, where gold was to be found. The period from 1494 to 1496 saw the attempt to subjugate the unwilling Tainos, who abandoned their cultivation and fled to the mountains, causing widespread famine and high mortality. A tribute in gold and kind was imposed on them, but it failed, and rebellions were easily crushed by the Spaniards. Columbus departed in 1496, leaving the colonists under the command of his brother Bartolomé, who founded the new "capital" of Santo Domingo, on the southern coast. The incessant search for gold led to the allotment of native labor to colonists. Discontent raged among the Spaniards—many resented the rule of Columbus' family—leading to unrest and open rebellion. On the other hand, the crown wanted to extract the maximum profit from the island but the rule of Columbus' clan became an obstacle and was therefore terminated in 1500.

In 1502, Nicolás de Ovando was sent to the island with full powers of command and a fleet of 32 ships and 2,500 persons. He ruled until 1508, subduing the natives in the peripheral areas of the island, founding new strategic settlements, establishing taxation, setting up the administrative and judicial system, organizing the first repartimiento, and distributing natives among the Spaniards as indentured labor. The production of gold reached its maximum during this period, but the native population was visibly declining. The Spaniards, who numbered only a few hundred when Ovando arrived, had swollen to several thousand upon his departure. Columbus' son Diego was sent to the island as viceroy in 1509, but much of the power was given to administrators faithful to the king and directly responsible to him. Diego ordered the second repartimiento in 1510; it was practically disavowed, and a new one executed by administrators loyal to the crown was taken in 1514. By that time only 26,000 natives were left. The rapid decline of the native population led to serious economic problems: a shortage of manpower caused gold production to decline. Many Spaniards fled the island, first to Cuba, then to the more promising destinations [End Page 5...